NC’s nordic and alpine ski teams are being impacted not only by the COVID-19 Pandemic but also by the lack of snow. Normally there is enough snow on Casper Mountain to begin nordic skiing by Thanksgiving and Alpine skiing around the start of December, but that is not the case this year. So far, both the nordic and alpine ski teams have been unable to ski and early season races have been canceled. 

When asked how the nordic season is going senior Isabella Brown said, “We are making the best of it. We’ve been doing a lot of dry land training, so it’s a lot of running and circuit work. We are really wanting snow.” Brown said that before this year the longest the team has had to do dry land training was two weeks her freshman year. However, this year the team has already completed three weeks of dry land with little snow in the forecast. 

For Brown, this is a special season not only because she is a senior, but because the state nordic ski meet will be held on her home course on Casper Mountain. Brown has been looking forward to having state at her home course ever since she realized the meet would be held in Casper her freshman year. 

Brown has personal goals of doing well at state and qualifying for nordic ski nationals, but she also has goals for her team. “What I really want is for our team to do really well at state. Since state is on the home course this year, we are hoping we can pull something off.”

The girls’  and boys nordic teams of NC have a long history of placing in the top three at state, the state titles often going to Jackson. Only time will tell if the home course advantage will be enough for the NC girls and boys to “pull something off” as Brown put it.