Lunges, squats, crunches.

Lifting, biking, eating.

Sleeping.

Dreaming.

This is the all-consuming 24-hour-a-day life of Missoula’s elite skier, Landon Gardner.

With eyes on the 2010 Winter Olympics, the 24-year-old is living smack dab in the middle of his own, hard-fought 11th hour.

The clock is ticking down rapidly, showtime is near, and Gardner’s bid for the U.S. Olympic Team begins in earnest this month.

The first World Cup mogul race will be held in Finland in December, and skiers who represent the U.S. there will be decided by U.S. Ski Team officials on Nov. 19.

Those who go will likely be the same competitors who represent the United States in February, at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia.

If Gardner doesn’t make the squad then, he’ll have a few more chances — Olympic selections on Dec. 16 and the U.S. Olympic Trials on Dec. 23, all in Winter Park, Colo. Any skier who wins the trials is on the team.

So it’s safe to say Gardner has more than a weight bar on his shoulder these days — he’s carrying around an unfulfilled dream.

“I’m coming up from the bottom, but I’m still really confident about what I am doing,” Gardner said last week while working out at the Peak Health & Wellness fitness center in Missoula.

Officially, he’s on the U.S. Ski Team “C” roster, listed behind the four-person “A” team of Patrick Deneen, Sho Kashima, Michael Morse, Nate Roberts and “B” team members Dave Babic and Bryon Wilson.

Gardner has had his eye on the 2010 Olympics since — as a Big Sky High School student — he packed his bags for Salt Lake City in 2004 to train in earnest and make a name for himself.

In that time, the 24-year-old has chased his dream around the globe — competing with the U.S. Ski Team in Switzerland, Italy, France, Japan, Germany, Norway and Sweden — and has medaled in World Cup competitions.

He’s one of the rare mogul athletes who has remained, against all odds, injury free.

Stronger and more fit than he’s ever been, Gardner considers his health his secret weapon.

Anything can happen between now and the time the U.S. Olympic team is officially selected, he said.

“I’ve learned a lot of things in the last couple of years, and experience is huge in all of this,” Gardner said. “Our team is so good, and any one of us could be on the A, B or C team depending on the day.

“I know that, and I’ve learned how to become confident in my abilities, believe in myself and how to approach competitions. You need to have the skills to compete, but so much of competition is mental and getting that experience of that pressure. You only learn by doing it.”

In the 11th hour, he’s turned his back on Salt Lake City, where most of his colleagues train, to come home to Missoula to put the finishing touches on his training regimen.

Gardner religiously sticks to the program prescribed by the U.S. Ski Team that gives him strength, flexibility and endurance.

Here, he said, he got an immeasurable emotional boost from his large family and many friends.

Now, with a mandatory three-week team training session in Colorado beginning this week, it’s time to jump full throttle into his dream.

“My major focus is on today and what’s directly in front of me,” he said. “I can’t worry about the future because it’s an intense road to qualify.”

It’s the same focus he applies in mogul competitions, in which he’s judged for speed down a giant bump course and form in the air over two mandatory jumps.

Fifty percent of a competitor’s score depends on how well a skier turns in the bumps, how well the skier presents him or herself coming down the course, with emphasis on fluidity, Gardner explained.

For the past few years, he’s perfected a jump rarely seen in competition that he will use to qualify for the team — and hopefully wow the Olympic judges.

It’s called a corkscrew 720 truck driver grab.

Hard to explain, the trick is fascinating to watch — some Snowbowl skiers have witnessed it over the years, as Gardner trained and competed locally. It involves Gardner flying off a jump, twisting off axis in the air, grabbing the sides of his skis and “driving” them like a giant steering wheel — all before he lands back in a mogul field.

“It’s a really presentable jump and a crowd pleaser,” Gardner said. “Only one or two other people do it, so it’s really fun to do and unexpected for the judges.”

More than sweat poured off Gardner last week in one of his final hometown workout sessions. In a humble outfit that boasted no U.S. Ski Team logos or big name sponsors, Gardner emanated deep calm and focus — and an undeniable cheerfulness.

“I’m really excited to begin training in Colorado,” he said. “The time has come. Whatever happens, it’s up to me.”