吃瓜网

For some 吃瓜网 students, joining a club ski team feels totally natural. “I grew up Nordic skiing behind my mom,” says Maura Kelly ’26, an Art and Hispanic Studies double major from New Hampshire. As an endurance athlete who skied throughout high school, joining the team as a first-year was a no-brainer.

But for many students, stepping into a set of bindings means stepping out of their comfort zone. “I had never been skiing prior to attending Whitman, but when I saw how much fun my friends were having, I had to sign up.” says Camryn Zoeller ’26, a Biology-Environmental Studies major from South Dakota. 

Kelly and Zoeller are Co-Captains of the Nordic Ski Team, one of Whitman’s two student-run club ski teams. 

Low Barrier, High Adventure

Both the Nordic Ski Team and the Alpine Ski Team prioritize accessibility, offering loaner gear, relying on school funding to offset costs and welcoming a wide range of experience levels.

With no prior experience required to join the Nordic Ski Team, each year about half the team is new to the sport, says Zoeller. While dryland training began in October, the team’s official season kicked off with a training trip to Bend, Oregon, in early February. There, veterans explored the trails while team captains taught rookies the basics. 

Meanwhile, for safety, Whitman’s Alpine Ski Team requires students to have intermediate skills before joining. “We want to make sure everyone is comfortable racing in some pretty challenging courses and conditions,” says Co-Captain Helena Salathé ’26, a Mathematics major from Seattle. Students interested in gaining experience can hone their skills in Whitman’s for-credit beginning, intermediate and advanced . 

Whitties don’t have to travel far to practice. The Nordic team does dryland training at a nearby golf course and snow training at , about an hour from campus, while the Alpine team heads to , also just an hour away. During ski season, the mountain is also accessible via Whitman’s free Saturday ski bus to Bluewood. And recreational skiers can sign up for ski trips through Whitman’s popular Outdoor Program.  

Building Skills On & Off the Snow

Both club teams compete against seven other schools in the .

For Alpine Ski Team Co-Captains Salathé and Bryce Mason ’26, an Economics-Environmental Studies major from California, improvement is measurable. Both joined the Alpine team with no racing experience. Four years later, Salathé’s rankings have jumped from the high 30s to the low 20s in a typical field of 30–60 racers, while Mason says his technique has gone from “nonexistent” to solid. 

The Alpine Ski Team is beyond proud that Rebecca Mize ’28 qualified for the USCSA National Championships at Regionals in February. And last year, the Nordic Ski Team , Peter Manolis ’25 and Jackson Garrison ’28, to the National Championships. 

Growth happens off the snow too. As Nordic Ski Team Co-Captains, Zoeller and Kelly coach, organize practices, plan trips and more. Whether they're explaining weightlifting form, kick wax do’s and don’ts, or downhill balance, co-captaining the team has given them the opportunity to develop and strengthen their leadership skills. 

“I'm in charge of finding the right words or metaphor so that something new truly sticks in someone's brain,” Zoeller says. “It’s really gratifying to help [first-years] who are in the same position I was in just four years ago.”

Community Beyond the Ski Season

Students may join Whitman’s ski teams for the sport, but they stay for the community. Mason and Salathé say the friendships they’ve built, both with their teammates and with skiers from other colleges, are the most valuable part of their ski team experience. 

And Zoeller loves that Nordic skiing can become a lifelong hobby. “You can’t really age out of [it],” she says. “I have had some pretty interesting conversations with some 80-year-olds in warming huts.”

When asked what makes their teams special, Whitties overwhelmingly mention relationships over rankings. “We’re really about having fun outside on the snow and spending time in nature,” says Kelly.

“It has been especially rewarding planning practices and trips with [Kelly] and then watching our new team members make meaningful college memories,” says Zoeller. Whether that’s sharing soup cooked in a hotel kitchen, playing Frisbee on skis, or finishing a final run under fresh snowfall, they’re the kind of moments that linger long after the snow melts.