[Music]
When I'm in the start gate, I love the feeling of, sort of, the butterflies in my stomach.
It's a reflection of how much work you put into that specific moment in time and how
you can execute your work and your training to the best of your abilities.
Excitement... Adrenaline... It's a very focused mindset.
My entire thought process is, the conditions, what I need to know about the course,
how I want to execute.
It's a feeling that, it's like no other. It makes your heart race.
You're just flooded with excitement.
[Music]
Nothing else really matters; no other thought in your mind besides the course,
which I think is a sort of empowering feeling.
I'm Ian Hanrahan.
I'm a senior at Rowland Hall.
I'm a senior.
I graduated from Rowland Hall last year.
I am a junior here at Rowland Hall.
...and I'm on Rowmark Ski Academy.
What really pushed me over the edge to come to Rowmark was the academics
and the coaching staff here.
This is a program that is going for both academic and athletic excellence.
Rowmark and Rowland Hall are located in a very unique setting, close to seven major ski
resorts that are all about a half-hour, or a little bit further away.
I think it's the best-placed ski academy in the country, not only for incredible ski race
training but for cultural arts and playing other sports.
So in the high school, we have 30 Rowmarkers out of a student body of 300,
so about 10 percent of the school's population is involved in our program.
Three words I would describe Rowmark with are probably perseverance...
...impressive
...challenging
...hard-working
...competitive
...teamwork
...supportive
...academic excellence.
Once school starts we're getting together every day, Monday through Friday, after school...
...general fitness and cardio, and then we get more ski racing and power specific
as we get into the fall.
During the winter we're working on maintaining that fitness that we developed
in the summer and the fall.
We train at Park City Mountain Resort, and now we're adding Utah Olympic Park,
which we couldn't be more excited about.
West Peak opened in 2023 providing a full-length Super G and GS venue, complete with a high-speed
quad chair lift, snowmaking, and lights.
It is now the most complete and challenging training and race venue in the country.
Our competition season will start right about the end of November, early December, and goes
all the way through mid-April.
They travel a lot which is really fortunate for them, but it's also a real skill to be
able to balance everything, to be confident, and keep up with skiing at the level that
they want to.
We're here racing today at Snowbird.
[Over radio] "We've got 170 now on course."
"Coming towards the finish, 171."
We'll start off with a camp, usually in Mammoth, California, and then we do a second camp
could be Mount Hood, Oregon, it could be New Zealand, it could be Chile
a third Camp typically in Italy.
Our fourth Camp is typically in Copper, and then our fifth camp was in Aspen, Colorado.
It's really important that they gain independence, in terms of their time management,
tuning their skis, being on the road, and communicating with their teachers.
The fact that you're in a normal K–12 school that offers art, and music, and debate,
and other sports, to me that's the most valuable thing.
At Rowland Hall the academics are definitely rigorous, and they challenge you, but they're
100 percent doable, and you have all the opportunities and tools to get through everything.
I think Rowmark really encourages teamwork by just incorporating everybody.
Truly everybody here has your best interest in mind.
The team part and the team culture is what made the skiing itself so much fun.
When we're on the race hill, and we're racing, everyone's there, taking down clothes for
each other, clicking each other in, giving people course supports.
During training, we're all supporting each other, trying to push each other, trying to
make each other get better.
In school everyone's supporting each other.
You know, if someone misses a day, we're giving each other notes.
14 of our athletes in the last 20 years have moved on to the national team, and tens of
others went on to ski in college very successfully.
We've had Olympians in every Olympics since the program started.
[Commentator] "Very clean skiing from Breezy Johnson."
"It is Alice McKinnis flying across the flats."
Meeting the criteria to make it to the US Ski Team, it was a huge goal of mine.
[Commentator] "From USA"
[Over Radio] "Incredible, good read for Mary."
I plan to go to Dartmouth next year.
I continue to have goals to ski at the Olympics and ski World Cup...
...put myself more on the map for the college world of ski racing.
That's kind of the next path for me.
What I would say to a potential skier to come to Rowmark was, it's kind of the place to be.
It's very professional and the academics are incredible as well.
It truly is the place to be.