The BSM alpine ski season has begun.  After a warm and long fall, the alpine ski team members are ready to hit the slopes again. Last Monday, the alpine ski team embarked on its first practice at Hyland Hills in Bloomington.

As an outdoor winter sport, the weather guides the timeline of most practices and team events. This past monday, the ski team ran its first outdoor practice in sunny, 65 degree weather.  Some of the members are optimistic about a temperature decrease in the coming weeks.  “Today the snow’s been really sticky and it’s kind of crappy to ski on because your skis get stuck to the ground and you can’t really carve a lot; but it should get cooler here in the coming weeks,” senior Noah Shields said.

Much of the excitement for the upcoming season comes from the hard work put dedicated to training over the last month.  “We’ve been out practicing dryland since sometime in October; so we’ve already been out here about a month – and then [Monday, November 27th] was our first day on snow,” captain Willy Grieger said.

Until late December, the team will be practicing at Hyland Hills to prepare for their first race at Wild Mountain in Chisago County.  This race features dozens of schools (many in the Metro West Conference), allowing the alpine team to get a first look at their competitors.  “[The Wild Mountain Invite] is the first time we’re competing against other kids in the Section so it’ll show what every team is bringing this year,” Grieger said.

After a difficult season last year, which saw no skiers individually competing in the State tournament, the upperclassmen hope to have more success.  After losing many 2017 graduates, the upperclassmen look to begin the transition into a successful alpine program.  “It’s important to us to get back and show what we can do as a team and get some skiers to State this year,” Grieger said.

The team’s main goal is to build a competitive team that will compete in the State Tournament.  However, Shields predicts that Sections will be the most intense race of the year as the emotions of skiers run high.  “Not everyone goes to State, so it’s kind of the last ski race for a lot of people, so I think that’s going to be a really fun one to look forward to,” Shields said.

With great weather comes optimistic attitudes about the upcoming alpine season.  The team has been patiently waiting for the real snow to fall, and it finally has.