Nordic ski state championships preview: Eagle Valley sets ‘new normals’ at ‘Ski-a-thon’

January 15 wasn’t a perfect day for cross-country skiing.

Steady 35 mph winds blew drifts of freshly fallen flakes over the Vail Nordic Center’s groomed paths. The sandpaper-slow snow was to be expected in 10-degree weather.

Brutal.

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The conditions didn’t phase the Eagle Valley Nordic ski team. The Devils are pretty used to getting out the door, no matter what.

“We usually train at night,” said Tyler Blair. “We have to drive 45 minutes to get up here every day, so we get home at like 8ish, but it’s definitely worth it.” 

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Head coach Paul Steiner’s efforts to gradually grow a skinny-ski culture at Eagle Valley have included many headlamp-lit technique talks. The result: personal growth and on-snow success.

The Devils will send four girls and seven boys to this year’s state Nordic ski championships, which kick off with a 5-kilometer interval start skate on Thursday at Snow Mountain Ranch in Granby. The action concludes with Friday’s 5-kilometer mass start classic. The Devils’ young squad might not be the largest in the 13-team field, but after that cold, blustery day last month, one could argue they’re the toughest.

“The primary goal,” Steiner said of the team’s Jan. 15 ‘Ski-A-Thon’ — wherein athletes set a distance-in-a-day goal and then skied all afternoon (and evening) to reach it— “was to help kids realize what is possible.”

Steiner hoped the fundraiser (donors offered financial support for team wax and equipment on a per-kilometer pledge basis) would force athletes to put “one foot in their comfort zone and one foot out,” and create an environment where he could offer support as they battled inevitable personal and physical self-doubt.

Ultimately, the endeavor was about — to use a phrase Steiner regularly employs — ‘establish new normals.’

“It’s about kids being able to say ‘I did that and had the guts and grit to ski farther than I ever have before,'” he said. “For many, this was the biggest thing that they had ever done, not just in Nordic skiing.”

Blair agrees. One of the region’s top high school trail-running prospects — the prodigious sophomore already boasts a sub-16-minute 5k running best — Blair said completing 61-kilometers that day was the hardest thing he’s ever done in endurance sports.

“Oh for sure,” he said. “It was hard.”

Like most of his teammates, skiing is a sport Blair picked up relatively recently. In fact, Steiner said that most of the kids join his program lacking any prior knowledge.

Jack Packert, fresh off a breakout cross-country running season that saw him go from being a mid-junior varsity pack runner to part of the varsity’s scoring five, joined the Nordic team for the first time this winter.

Steiner said the senior’s Alpine background and ‘mental maturity’ has made the transition easier.

“He’s been an awesome addition to the team,” he said.

Alex Gonzalez, in his third year, is the only other senior on the boys team.

“Alex has no issue with the grind,” Steiner said of the three-year veteran. “He and I often joke, high school races are just too short for him. He can ski forever.”

Ava Bergsten will guide the Devils’ squad of Ginger Reilly (a first-year skier), Tovah Pollack and Hailey Ehman at state.

“When things get thick, Ava Bergsten gets it done,” Steiner said of his lone senior. “She has many irons in the fire but is able to keep all of her balls in juggle mode.”

Steiner said he often references the Vail Daily’s U.S Ski Team pipeline series from May of 2022, highlighting to his athletes examples of Olympians who were pulled in different athletic, academic and artistic directions during their development days.

“Kids need to be multi-skilled, have enjoyment and pleasure in their activities, learn new skills and new things about themselves,” he said.

Growth in technique is one obvious goal. Occasionally, his ‘baby giraffes’ go from slipping around to skating to the top of the podium, like Eagle Valley alumnus Ferguson St. John did in winning two discipline state titles in 2022 (a year the Devils won the boys team title as well). But Steiner’s primary aim isn’t winning titles. Rather, he cares about ‘generating great experiences’ and introducing young people to the Nordic ski ‘lifestyle.’

“I wish the community from Vail to Glenwood Canyon knew what Nordic skiing is all about, how much fun it is and how the skiing aspect transfers to other aspects of life,” he said.

“When first starting, Nordic is not easy, but it is pretty darn fun. We need to keep the spirit alive.”