It’s pitch dark, 15 degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind howls through the forest blowing the snow into swirls. Yet, the Minnetonka Nordic Ski Team (TNR) is ready to race. The sport has been around for thousands of years, and has cemented itself in cultures across the globe, from Finland, Chile, and notably, Minnesota. TNR is one of many high school Nordic ski teams in the state that have maintained a healthy competitive spirit for decades. This team – usually around 75 skiers strong – practices almost every day for hours, from November to February. Races happen almost every week during the height of the inhospitable winter.

     This is a difficult sport:, both skill and endurance are required to dash across the course, up and down hills. A skier needs to know how to balance, step right, glide, use the poles properly, focus on breathing, and strategize effort level across the course. Not only physical endurance, but enduring weather as well. Dedicated skier Kiera Mondale, ‘25, emphasized that enduring through the winter conditions makes it infinitely more challenging, saying that last year it “was freezing rain and cold. We had two races in a row. One interval sprint and another one. That was one of the most brutal days.” Sylvie Hooker Reese, ‘25, affirms this, saying her most difficult moments as a skier were “when all of the hills were ice.”

     However, although the time, discomfort, and effort the athletes put into training is essential for success, the general consensus is that the community is what makes skis go faster. Metaphorically, of course. Rachel Autio, ‘25, says her most stand out memories were not of the skiing itself but of “the solstice ski on the winter solstice with costumes and the pasta parties.” These events are only a part of the reason the community is so strong. Skiing together, taking breaks to explore the woods, getting hot cocoa at the Theodore Wirth Park Chalet after practice, and feeling accomplished together after a race ends up bringing the skiers together. 

     As students graduate from high school, and from TNR, it’s not the end. It’s practically a tradition for alumni to make appearances during winter break practices, home for the holidays. Hooker Reese says that after she graduates she still will have “a sense of community, and a place of belonging, because Nordic skiing is a lifelong sport that remains with us to old age.”