Park City, UT – He took his legendary flip on skis resort to resort, hop-scotching from Boyne to Heavenly, Sugarbush to Aspen and on to Park City. He found a home at Deer Valley, arriving on a handshake and a look in the eye from his friend Edgar Stern. He exuded grace and elegance while carving … Continue reading Remembering Stein Eriksen
Lillehammer, Norway – Rosie Brennan paced nervously alongside the Olympic ski tracks in Lillehammer as start time approached, staying close to the technicians working to prepare the best classic skis they could for her from their tiny wax cabin. It was a long way from the trails of White Pine Touring in Park City, Utah, where … Continue reading Behind the Gold: Making History as a Team
Copper Mountain, CO – Ski racer Auden Pankonin clicked into his Head skis, pulling his goggles down over his Shred helmet. He nervously moved towards the starting wand, placing his Leki pole tips into the snow. His young mind was racing, thinking about the advice Olympic champion Ted Ligety had just given him. The Welch Village racer from … Continue reading Behind the Gold: Winning a Trip to Ski With Ted Ligety
Shaftsbury, VT – Sitting back on his Delta flight bound for Europe, Andy Newell’s mind drifted to the friends and family he left behind. It would be nearly four months until he hung out with them again at Stratton. In the cargo hold was a lone U.S. Ski Team High Sierra duffel bag—his personal closet on … Continue reading Behind the Gold: Andy Newell’s Life on the Road
Stubai, Austria – Hailey Langland gazed out the window of her room at the Sporthotel Neustift. All around her were jagged, snow-covered peaks. Along the flanks, larch trees were turning yellow mixed in with green. In the village, a lighted clock tower stood out as dawn crept over the Stubaital southwest of Innsbruck. Having just turned … Continue reading Behind the Gold: Taking Success One Step at a Time
Steamboat Springs, CO – As Bryan Fletcher battled for the lead at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships last March in Sweden, his mind kept racing back to that day as a six-year-old cancer victim in Steamboat Springs when he finally convinced mom to let him ski jump. Bryan finished fifth in Falun – another milestone … Continue reading Behind the Gold: Learning to Thrive
Soelden, Austria – Ronnie Berlack and Bryce Astle grew up almost a continent apart. Ronnie was raised in a ski racing family in Franconia, N.H., as a kid watching hometown hero Bode Miller make his rise to ski stardom. He later moved to Burke Mountain Academy, where his dad was a ski coach. Born in California, … Continue reading Ski in Peace: Ronnie and Bryce
