Tahoe/Truckee’s ski culture is often seen as being all about ripping down steep mountains and hucking cliffs — but it’s also about the grit and solitude of cross-country skiing.
On April 4, the Tahoe Nordic Expo will celebrate the latter with a combination all-day in-person event at Tahoe XC and a live virtual panel with Olympic, Paralympic, and World Cup Nordic Skiers.
“It is an inclusive opportunity to bring together Nordic enthusiasts of all disciplines, experience levels, and abilities,” said Elyse Sara, the event’s founder and director. “It offers an opportunity to participate, learn, and feel part of Tahoe’s Nordic culture.”
The expo aims to be more than just another event where spectators watch athletes compete from the sidelines — Sara went on to note the value of the day’s interacting connection. Attendees will get personalized stories from the athletes as well as highlights from Milano Cortina and insights and anecdotes on the Nordic skiing world in 2026: where it is, how it is doing and why, and where it is going. Speakers will offer behind-the-scenes portraits of key races, detailed glimpses into the workout regiments, toil, and camaraderie of non-race days; texture on the varied culture of the sport; and avail themselves for engaged question-and-answer collaborations.
The in-person event at Tahoe XC starts at 10 a.m. with a community ski and runs until 5 p.m. with demos, clinics, food, drinks, swag giveaways, and fun. From 2 to 3:30 p.m., the panel viewing-and-interaction will take center stage. While virtual guests (attending from all over the continent and the world) may submit questions in advance, Tahoe XC in-person attendees will have the ability to ask questions and follow-ups in real time.
“The expo is built around participation and conversation,” Sara said. “It’s a chance for the local community to ski together and then engage directly with the Olympic, Paralympic, and World Cup athletes.”
The speakers and athletes are a venerable who’s who of the global Nordic and free-heel scene:
Kikkan Randall
On the shortlist of greatest American cross-country skiers ever, Randall is a five-time Olympian who has won 17 U.S. National titles, made 29 podiums on the World Cup, and — along with Jessie Diggins at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in the women’s team freestyle sprint — brought home the first ever U.S. cross-country gold medal. When you hear her speak on the panel, her voice may sound familiar: Randall was a commentator for Nordic events at Milano Cortina. She will be inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame exactly one week after the expo.
Oksana Masters
A multi-sport athlete, Masters represents the U.S. in para Nordic skiing, para-cycling, and para-rowing. A 7-time Paralympian and a 19-time Paralympic medalist (nine gold, seven silver, three bronze), in 2020 Masters was the first para-athlete to ever earn an ESPY nomination for Best Athlete, Women’s Sports. She is also the author of The Hard Parts: A Story of Courage and Triumph, which chronicles her inspirational journey of a life. Born near Chernobyl, the events of the nuclear tragedy are thought to have played a role in the birth defects of Masters’ legs and hands.
JC Schoonmaker
The lone male on the panel, Schoonmaker grew up skiing the groomed trails at Tahoe XC and has made the last two Olympics, racing for the U.S. and finishing 8th in the men’s sprint classic in Milano Cortina. A many-sport athlete as a youth in Tahoe City, he came to focus on cross-country skiing at the University of Anchorage Alaska, where he became an NCAA All-American. With two U.S. National sprint titles to his name, Schoonmaker has put in the time to clear his mind — though a renowned and tenacious physical sprinter, he credits his focus on the mental aspects of the sport as the key to his success.
Julia Kern
A six-time World Cup medalist and two-time Olympian (’22, ’26), Kern is widely recognized as one of the best sprint specialists and all-around skiers in the nation. In addition to her athletic prowess, she holds a degree in economics from Dartmouth College and is an Athlete Representative for the Federation of International Skiing (FIS).
The above-quoted Sara thinks that the inaugural Tahoe Nordic Expo can be the start of something beautiful and long-lasting. “Yeah, there’s a lot to talk about in this Olympic year,” she said. “But we have so much to talk about every year. There are so many things we can do to grow the community. There will always be conversations to be had.”
Rounding out the speakers are Annika Malacinski, a member of the U.S. Nordic Combined team — an event that comprises ski jumping and cross-country skiing — and Jaz Taylor, an FIS Telemark skier and two-time Overall World Cup Champion who holds the British record for most World Cup and World Championship medals.
The panel will be moderated by American cross-country legend Andy Newell. A four-time Olympian and the owner of X Ski Films, Newell has the unique ability to do 720s and backflips on Nordic skis and has been clocked at over 50 mph (by the Vermont State Police) on them too. He is a writer, coach, activist, and thinker.
Thinking about Nordic skiing one’s mind may tend to move toward Ullr, the Norse god so intertwined with snow; and to how he and his goddess counterpart Skaði are depicted throughout the ages not on heel-locked Alpine skies but on cross-country skis — hunting their game, defeating their foes, living mightily and doing brave deeds.
Indeed, cross-country skiing has a long history in our human story — and April 4, 2026, with the Tahoe Nordic Expo, sees another chapter added to the book.
