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With 18 mountains open for business, the ski season is upon us in Colorado.

Students from 15 high schools across the state will be competing in the nordic classic, slalom, giant slalom and freestyle events over the season, and will meet at Winter Park on Feb. 10-11 to determine who takes home the team championships, as well as bragging rights on the slopes for the Skimeister, the best overall skier at all events.

Both of last year’s Skimeisters, Grant Stevenson of Battle Mountain and Amber Moran of Clear Creek, graduated last spring, so the race is wide open this season.

Many eyes are turned toward perennial powerhouses Aspen and Summit, which have won the past six girls team titles between them, as well as the past two boys titles.

Steamboat Springs and Battle Mountain have drawn the attention of their competitors, though, as they continue to build strong programs.

Last year’s boys giant slalom champion, Tanner McDonald of Summit, looks to defend his title in his senior year, while fellow senior Paul Britvar from Aspen will attempt to retain his crown in the slalom competition, although both will be attempting to juggle skiing for their schools with competing for the U.S. Junior Ski Team as well.

On the nordic side of things, Marty Smith and Mike Gleason of Steamboat Springs will be returning to compete in events they won at last season’s championship, the nordic classic and freestyle, respectively.

Junior Jenny Hearn will return for Aspen this season and seeks to preserve her dominance in the alpine events, having won both the slalom and giant slalom last year.

Her command of the events is mirrored by Summit’s Brittany Perkins’ status in the nordic events, as she won the freestyle and nordic classic last season as a junior.

Many coaches feel the interest levels in high school skiing is up this year, as Colorado’s national image as an “outdoor activities” state blossoms.

“We get a fair turnout of kids that are into cross country skiing that like hunting, fishing and camping,” said Lake County’s Don Quinn, who is in his 30th and final year as a head coach. “They love the outdoors and look forward to it.”

Summit’s program has grown from 16 to 44 members over Tory Hauser’s time as a coach there, and the impact on the students is immeasurable.

“It’s (high school skiing) a big positive. They’re going to be skiers for life,” Hauser said.

While there always have been distractions from sanctioned skiing, such as a chance at the U.S. Junior Ski Team or the Olympics, one of the growing problems has been snowboarding.

“Boarding pulls a lot of kids away from racing,” according to coach Kathryn Benysh of Battle Mountain, but the Colorado High School Activities Association has yet to create a sanctioned snowboarding competition, so there are only nordic and alpine events for now.

All of the preseason predictions can only determine so much, though, because the students are the ones who finally determine how everything will stand at the end of the day Feb. 11, which was best summarized by Aspen coach Bill Madsen when he said, “It all depends on who skis well.”

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