Skiing Synergy

In the last two years, participation in the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation (FVSEF) ski race program at Whitefish Mountain Resort has doubled as new residents flocked to northwest Montana and families have prioritized outdoor recreation for their kids. Along with the spike in demand, the young alpine ski racers are proving themselves as they travel across the western region, landing on podiums and qualifying for competitive races in Alaska and Sun Valley, Idaho.

For example, Eureka resident Valerie Cross grew up in Florida, only skiing on family vacations before joining the team in 2021. At age 15, she’s surpassing many of her competitors who have several more years of experience – earning third and fifth places in giant slalom and super-G while qualifying for the U16 Western Region Championships in Sun Valley.

“She really loves ski racing, and she wants to keep going and be successful – she’s very focused and driven,” said Hilary Lindh, the FVSEF executive director and head coach. “She’s the kind of athlete that’s never 100% happy with her performance because she always wants more, but that’s what drives her. She understands she’s new to the sport.”

Cross’ teammate, Melody McNalley grew up in Columbia Falls and joined the FVSEF team at age 10. Lindh says she is also incredibly focused this year and has claimed several victories in giant slalom and super-G this season. McNalley joined Cross as a qualifier for the championships in Idaho, along with three other athletes.

Additionally, two athletes were invited to the U18-U21 Western Region Championships at Alyeska Resort in Alaska and nine qualified for U14-U16 Tri-Divisional Championships in Grand Targhee. FVSEF placed second in the division for overall team standings for the season behind Big Sky Ski Education Foundation, which Lindh says has three times as many athletes.

After a successful career on the U.S. Ski Team where she competed for 12 years and skied in three Olympics – winning a silver medal at the 1992 Winter Games in France – Lindh moved to Whitefish in 2016. At the end of 2021, Lindh took over as FVSEF’s head coach and transitioned into the executive director position this year.

Since Lindh started coaching, she’s focused on retaining athletes who tend to lose interest in the sport as the commitment becomes more serious. Once racers graduate into the U14 age group, Lindh says the commitment bumps up a notch, with up to five days per week of training and traveling on the weekends to ski areas across the state.

“That’s been a lot of our focus – we are working with the kids for several years and they are improving their skills and getting more competitive and we’re trying to hang on to them as they get older,” Lindh said. “As kids get older, they have other interests and they don’t’ want to commit, but that’s what happens in lots of sports.”

To keep kids hooked, Lindh is promoting a positive environment for the team and the FVSEF board is aiming to build a sense of community among the members.

“We’re making a team where kids have a lot of friends and the families make those connections,” Lindh said. “That, more than anything, keeps them in the sport. We’re trying to make that experience really positive.”

Lindh says there are athletes from all over the region, with families coming from as far as Eureka and Polson. But she says despite the travel and intensive training, some families are showing a lot of dedication and adjust their schedules with homeschooling while others leave school mid-day to keep up with the commitment.

Siblings Greta and Otto Lund live in Polson and, despite the far distance, are both successful athletes who qualified for the Western Region Championships in their respective age groups.

In addition to the race team, FVSEF launched the Flathead Freeride Club last year, which focuses on all-mountain skiing skills that entail big ski lines, hitting features and competing in Junior International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association (IFSA) events.

There’s overlap between the two teams, Lindh says, and some FVSEF athletes who race in the traditional disciplines of slalom, giant slalom, super-G and downhill also dabble in the freeride team.

“The athletes that are doing the best have experience with our club as ski racers,” Lindh said. “They developed strong technical skills and took that into the freeride competitions. There’s some synergy there.”

FVSEF athletes head to Sun Valley, Grand Targhee Resort and Alyeska Resort at the end of March to compete in championship races.