Reprinted with permission from the Park Record. You can follow Tom Kelly’s Ridgelines column every Wednesday in the Park Record.
Park City’s Steven Nyman led a group of friends off Passo Pardoi, making a beeline for the village of Arraba in the heart of Italy’s Dolomites. It was mid-day on their circumnavigation of the Sella Ronda massif. But they needed a break to watch the fabled Val Gardena downhill taking place a few ridgelines away. At the base of the piste, they clicked out of their skis and clomped down Via Boè to Bar Peter, a pizzeria in the heart of town.
For the better part of the last 16 Decembers, the Dolomites have been home for Nyman. A three-time champion on the grueling Saslong, he has celebrity status in the valley and a kinship that has beckoned him back year after year.
Today, things were a little different. When he rolled into town, gone were the bags of race skis and a duffel packed for months on the road. Retiring last season, Nyman had said addio to the Saslong. But he couldn’t imagine a December without spending time in the Dolomites for himself.
“This place is just stunning – awe-inspiring, everywhere you go,” said Nyman. “Everyone I’ve taken here is like ‘Wow, no matter where we are, whatever turn we make – it’s just blowing my mind.’”
The geological structure of the Dolomites is unique. Icy grey rock spires that glow like Moab redrock in the sunshine stand as a staging backdrop above quaint villages in the valleys. The rocks have created a mountaineering culture, while the broad, sweeping slopes of pasture land are quickly covered by early winter snowfall and dotted with mountain hotels and ristorantes.
Once the scenery captures your attention, the culture comes in and envelops you. One village speaks German, the next Italian. Tying it together is the unique local tongue of Ladin. And then there’s the food.
“It’s not the same old hamburger and fries you’re getting in the States,” said Nyman. “It’s the region’s food, and they’re proud to show it off.”
Like Rifugio Emilio Comici, which sits at 7,000 feet at the base of the towering Forcella Sassolungo near the race start, where freshly caught seafood is trekked in daily from the coast and served on fine china. No cafeterias here!
As one of the race’s honored champions, Nyman was a guest of the organizing committee. But he brought a handful of VIP friends to experience the Dolomites. Thursday was a ski day, riding two dozen lifts as they traversed groomed slopes from village to village on the Sella Ronda. Somehow, they needed to squeeze in screen time to watch American Bryce Bennett, the 2021 race champion, in the first of two downhills.
The night before the race, Nyman texted Bennett. “You’re good. You’re fantastic. You’ve won here. You know what do to. Trust in yourself. You deserve to be on that podium.”
Starting 34th, Bennett used his lanky legs and BMX background to absorb the rough and tumble course, every ripple echoing through his body as he chased race leader Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Down through the iconic Camel Humps and into the sweeping Ciaslat, Bennett was close – but not close enough. Coming down into the finish schuss to the village of Santa Cristina, he dug deep, pushing the afterburners on his Fischer skis and beating the favorite by a mere three hundredths.
When Bennett and Nyman connected in person later that afternoon, the two embraced. Bennett thanked him for the pre-race encouragement telling Nyman, “That’s what I wrote in my journal. I just needed that confirmation from you.”
Bennett and Nyman now have five downhill victories between them on the Saslong. The connecting thread comes from Leo Mussi, the Italian serviceman for Fischer Skis, who also worked with Kristian Ghedina, who has four wins there.
But the underlying story of Nyman and Bennett's success is more than scenic slopes and fast skis. It’s one of family.
For over a decade, Mussi has been like an Italian father figure to Nyman. And down in Selva di Val Gardena at the Hotel Alpino Plan, the Demetz family has been serving up bowls of pasta to hungry U.S. Ski Team athletes for years.
“They’re passionate; they love us,” said Nyman. “They just open their arms and are so proud. And it’s motivating. There’s so much history of success here from our team. It drives you. You want to perform. You want to live up to that level that’s been set.”
Was it tough being there and not racing?
“I took my career to the max, and I’m fine with that,” said Nyman. “It’s been a lot of fun just logging kilometers and carving up groomers. And I’m fine watching and cheering – trying to bring confidence to the boys however I can.”
