Mountain Times - Volume 48, Number 48: Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2019

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64 • The Mountain Times • Nov. 27 - Dec. 3, 2019
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On and off the slopes
Spencer Wood: Big stage races in a small town
As the ski racing world arrives
in Killington this week, we who ski
and ride here look up and see our
local ski hill transformed
into an amazing
scene. Flags from
around the world line
the grandstands and
a huge VIP structure
takes over the party
scene at the Umbrella
Bar. The crowds roar
and cheer for hours,
national music acts
take the stage and
the best skiers in the
world huddle at the
top of the Skye Peak,
waiting for their start. But what’s it
like to be a World Cup skier, placing
your poles over the wand and
trying to focus on the course while
thousands of fans scream your
name? Instead of just wondering,
I sat down with current Paralympics
Alpine National
Livin’ the
Dream
By Merisa
Sherman
Team Member and
2018 Paralympian
Spencer Wood.
Born and raised
in Pittsfield,Wood
said he absolutely
loves when fans get involved as
they do at the Killington World
Cup.
“It elevates the athlete to want
to achieve more and try harder,”
Wood said.
Of competing at the 2018 Paralympics
in Pyongyang, South Korea,
Wood said that “the course was
no different, but the stakes were
higher, so it does make it harder to
tune all that out, to not look at the
olympic banners everywhere and
focus only on the course.”
While he didn’t get on the
podium in Pyongyang, Wood
learned some good life lessons and
recommitted himself to a strenuous
schedule for the next four
years. Currently a full time student
at the University of Boulder in
Colorado, Wood has already started
his training preparations for the
2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing,
China, and is disappointed that he
will be unable to attend the races
on the Superstar glacier this year
due to training schedule conflicts.
Don’t worry, though, he surprised
his mom by coming home for
Thanksgiving last week instead!
As for growing up skiing on
the East Coast? Wood says it only
makes you better.
“Skiing five days a week in harsh
conditions at Killington? You get
used to it. Standing at the top of an
icy course is exciting for me,” he
said, adding, “I’m not West Coast
spoiled.”
Wood, the son of two long-time
Killington Resort employees,
both of whom got their start at
the company teaching skiing, is
definitely “Pittsfield Proud.” In
fact, Wood said that there must be
something in the water, and mentioned
several other high
level athletes who were
also raised on the west
bank of the Tweed River,
including U.S. Alpine Ski
Team Olympian Chelsea
Marshall, pro downhill
mountain bike racer
Mazie Hayden and collegiate
cyclocross racer
Andrew Borden. When
asked what he wishes he
could have brought with
him from Vermont to Colorado,
Wood was quick to
answer: Joyce and Roger Stevens,
the owners of the famed PittStop
Gas Station. “Knowing the people
who provide your goods and services,”
Wood explained, “teaches
you that it’s important to rely on
one another.”
“Knowing the people who provide your goods
and services,” Wood explained, “teaches you
that it’s important to rely on one another.”
It’s that small town feel that
Wood misses the most as he travels
the world for ski races. “Killington
isn’t a big community,” Wood
explained, “but one where you see
the same faces every day.”
For young Wood growing up,
that meant feeling comfortable
in his surroundings and being
confident to just be himself. He
spoke fondly of his years on the
Sharks, the Killington Rec Department
summer swim team
based in the town pool, where he
learned how to be a teammate. No
one was “gunning for you,” Wood
said. It was more like being part of
a “group of individuals,” respected
and supported by members of the
community.
As I listened to Wood describe
his years with the Sharks, I realized
that he was describing exactly
what happens at the Killington
World Cup.
As the 30,000 fans watch from
the bottom of Preston’s Pitch, we
don’t just cheer for Mikaela, Tessa
or Alice, gunning for the others
to catch a tip or slip out around a
turn. Instead, we cheer loudly for
every single skier that slides into
that starting gate –
and we don’t leave
until the final racer
has crossed the finish
line.
Maybe that’s
what makes Killington
such a special stop on the
Women’s Alpine Ski World Cup
tour – we bring that small town
feel to the biggest race of the
season. Or maybe, just maybe
… there’s just something in the
water.
Submitted
Spencer Wood stands at the top of a race course in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.