After much nail-biting and cheering for the U.S. Ski Team on the long and unrelenting course of the Lauberhorn Downhill in Switzerland, my son, René, and I joined hundreds of spectators surrounding the ice rink in the center of town, where the U.S. and Canadian ski teams were engaged in a spirited hockey match. This was 1992, and when Bill Hudson, Olympic Valley friend, neighbor, and member of the U.S. downhill team, skated over to greet us and tell us about the race, a nearby spectator asked incredulously, “Do you know him?”
“Yes, we were in Mighty Mites together,” René replied proudly.
I can only guess what the incredulous spectator thought, but for me, it was a reminder of how mighty those mites have become in the history of U.S. Alpine ski competition.
“Almost all of Squaw’s future champions began their careers as Mighty Mites, racing for the first time on Papoose in the Easter Bunny Race, where anxious parents lined the course to cheer, coach, and sometimes rescue their 5 to 7-year-olds,” I wrote in my 2013 book, Tales from Two Valleys – Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows.
Everyone got a prize, and soon stuffed animals would be replaced with trophies and medals, as generations of Easter Bunny Champs progressed through the Mighty Mites program to local ski clubs, universities, and on to the U.S. Ski Team. In fact, current records show that 71 Mighty Mites continued training and competing with local teams all the way to the U.S. Ski Team. Twenty-five of them became Olympic skiers, including present Olympic Team members Bryce Bennett and A.J. Hurt. That is an astounding record when you consider all the ski teams in mountain communities across the country, training and competing to represent their team and their country on the world stage.
Edith Thys describes her experience racing from Mighty Mites to the Olympics in the introduction to my book:
“Growing up in Squaw Valley was just about as good as it gets for a kid. For starters, the mountain provided an ideal playground, with all the terrain and snow conditions you needed to become a top-level skier in whatever discipline suited you. Beyond the mountain itself, Squaw was home to an international smorgasbord of talent — daring, skilled, and enthusiastic athletes and coaches who inspired and encouraged successive generations of skiers. Many of them had stayed on after the 1960 Olympics, and by the ’70s a vibrant ecosystem breeding world-class athletes was in full swing. As young ski racers we were guided and pushed by French, Swiss, Austrian, Japanese, Argentinian, and American coaches, and welcomed by the local athletes with whom we strove to keep up. When I went from the Mighty Mites program to the U.S. Ski Team and to the Olympics, I followed a well-worn path.”
This photo has been on my wall for over 50 years. I recognize a few faces, but wondered — who are the others, and where are they now? After posing that question on Facebook, an avalanche of replies with names, memories, and comments assured me that all of them have remained connected to the ski and mountain culture they grew up in.
