The blue skies and high desert hills of Heber Valley, Utah, were home to a non-native species last weekend: the Missoula Ice Badger. Just south of Park City, the valley is home to grand mountain chalets and snow capped mountains, all surrounding the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center (referred to as “SoHo” by the coaches and athletes).
This Olympic course features steep, complicated terrain fit for the best skiers in the world. Due to record low levels of snow in the west, the race course was completely made by snow machines, creating an eerie juxtaposition between the pure white lane of snow and the muddy brown hillsides it winds through. It was here that the Ice Badgers made their appearance. Among these skiers are Hellgate’s own Odin Berryman, Addy Terwilliger, Caroline Chitty, Sabine Glaser, George Shimanek, Canon Gardner, Georgia Moore, Justin Harris, Ender Berryman, and Logan Anderson.
Chitty, a senior at Hellgate, has been on the Ice Badgers Nordic Ski Team since its birth, about seven years ago. She joined its competitive race team two years ago. She was one of ten Hellgate students to attend the Soldier Hollow Junior Nationals Qualifier race, along with a number of their younger teammates.
“SoHo is one of the biggest races of the season, and it’s a great opportunity to earn points to qualify for Junior Nationals,” said Chitty.
Many of the athletes attending this race have hopes to continue on to the Junior Nationals competition at the end of the season, and each race they ski in allows them a chance to earn the points needed for this qualification. This lends an incredibly competitive air to the whole weekend.
Despite this competitive pressure, the Badgers make sure to represent the true spirit of Missoula skiing; bringing the party. Pitted against towering Scandinavian skiers, the Badgers rely on their own unique powers of hype and commitment to achieve success.
They may not have the resources and funding of the Norwegians, or the home field advantage of the Park City and University of Utah skiers, but they have a magic that no other team contains. As the underdogs (under-badgers?) they have a steely grit and determination that comes from the drive to work harder than other, more established teams.
Veteran Missoula skiers Payton Gardner, Orion Berryman, and Chris Chitty serve as the team’s wax techs; a paramount and heavily mythological position in skiing. These three snow magicians, along with the hype-man extraordinaire Shaun Radley make up the eclectic coaching staff of the Missoula Ice Badgers.
At an event like SoHo, these four coaches work to make sure the athletes are prepared to navigate the stressful environment of an internationally attended competition, as well as offering sideline coaching and technical advice.
As the coaches tend to the team’s skis with roaring blowtorches and whirring buffers, a roaming group of Badgers looks over the races, yipping and yelling for their teammates.
“Most of the races are at different times so you get to have your whole team cheering for you and supporting you from the sidelines,” Chitty said.
It is with this level of hype and hard work that the Ice Badgers succeed for the weekend.
Having left Soldier Hollow with great results and even better memories, the team looks forward to the next Junior Nationals Qualifier race, held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
