I never understood the traditional path of ski racing and why so many families would choose to sacrifice everything a normal kid gets to experience for this one sport. So I grew up playing every sport I could get my hands on, eventually nailing it down to a four-season rotation of football, ski racing, lacrosse, and waterskiing. I would drive up to the mountains on the weekends and ski at Copper Mountain and Loveland Ski Area, but up until my junior year of high school I was still living down in Denver and not skiing full-time. At one point I was driving myself up to the mountains to train as soon as the hill opened, then immediately getting in my car to drive back to Denver to make my afternoon classes and then go to football practice that afternoon. It became clear that I had to choose, and I finished high school at Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy. But still, even given all the hardships and initial shortcomings that came with it, I wouldn’t have traded having a normal upbringing with so many other influences around me for anything.

By my senior year of high school I still wasn’t skiing fast enough to ski for a school that I was interested in, let alone make the US Team, but luckily I had other passions. My dream at the time was to stop skiing to attend Stanford and eventually study medicine; I really loved school and was even submitting research for publication for publication during my senior year of high school. However, I wasn’t accepted to school and with no skiing offers, I was forced to take a post-graduate year to ty and figure something out. That year things suddenly clicked and I was recruited to join the team at Dartmouth College and offered a spot on the US Team. I wanted to take the chance and commit to my dream 100% so I joined the team that spring. This environment allowed me to win the overall Nor-am title the very next year and earn my spot on the World Cup.

Then Covid hit halfway through my first year of trying a few World Cups, realistically taking me out of my misery of getting last at every World Cup I entered. That summer after a mental reset and starting my college education, I was suddenly skiing better than I ever had in my life. I won the opening races of the year against the full US and German national teams, and went to the opening World Cup downhill in Val D’Isere full of confidence. I came across the line in the first training run in 8th place, miles better than any other professional race I’d entered, but caught an edge just before the finish and tomahawked through it. I ended up tearing my ACL, MCL, my AC joint in my shoulder, and broke most the bones in my right hand, ending my hopes for the season in an instant.

What I thought was going to be a straightforward recovery process ended up taking me about 2 years, missing what could’ve been my first Olympics and so much else along the way. Every day hurt to train, and even though I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel for a long time, there was never any doubt in my mind that I would make to back to the World Cup someday. Then in 2022/23, I finally made my comeback season from injury, and simultaneously made my full-time debut season on the World Cup as well . I didn’t quite know what to expect, but in my first World Cup in close to three years and first race back from injury, I made it down in 23rd place, marking the best result of my career. I went on to score top 30’s a few other times, and got to represent my country at my first ever World Championships where I came in 17th.

Last year, 23/24, was a story of ups and downs. After starting the year well, I ended up fighting through sickness and injuries for months through the middle of the season, and getting beat in just about every race I entered. But after a cancelled race and some rest, I just barely managed to recover in time to save the season at the last races of the year in Kvitfjell. With a top-15 and top-20, my best World Cups to date, I managed to break into the top 30 ranked skiers in the world in Super G, making me one of 3 guys in the world my age to be ranked this well in Downhill or Super G.

Now I’m entering my third season on tour, and couldn’t be more excited and grateful for the continued opportunities to do what I love for a job with so many of my best friends. Even with the setbacks, I wouldn’t trade a minute of this journey for anything easier. Because even when nothing goes as smoothly as you had planned, isn’t that all part of what makes this all so exciting?