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MID-SEASON
In Recognition of years of service to the cross-country ski community, SOLDIER HOLLOW SKI RESORT and The Master Skier salute
Heading one of the longest running citizen series in the country, Dave Hanscom has, for many years, overseen unparalleled growth in the Wasatch Citizen Series (with many records set in
2006-07).
He has also seen several Olympians begin their skiing careers in Utah's premier Series, including past Olympic Team members Wendy Wagner and LauraMcCabe.
A 1963 graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, and a lifetime New Englander (even if residing in Utah), Dave majored in Physics, while competing as a Nordic combined skier (cross country and ski jumping).
A captain of the Middlebury College Ski Team, Dave also was formidable in golf.
Dave is now Professor Emeritus at the University of Utah (retiring in June, 2006). Dave is co-author of Wasatch Tours, a three volume guide to ski touring in the Wasatch Mountains.
As a race organizer, he has annually tackled the task of coordinating schedules and making sure events in the Wasatch are truly for those more race oriented. He also sees to it that a family atmosphere prevails in all events.
The Series races include a mix of classic and skate technique for seventeen age categories for each gender.
Participants' ages range from 5 to 70+, and many, many families regularly attend the races. (And sometimes, even Chief Organizer Hanscom jumps in after the wave starts are underway.)
A few year's ago, Dave 'warned' everyone that it was time to retire, and asked for a successor to step up. Well, no one did, in great part due to the standard he had set, and also to the admiration for work well done.
No one wanted him to leave. As Soldier Hollow's General Manager, Howard Peterson noted, “It was as if the legendary country singer George Jones had weighed in, wondering 'who's going to fill his shoes'”?
Fortunately, Dave 'unretired', and remains the key player in keeping the Wasatch Citizen Series the popular circuit that it is.
The future of cross-country skiing moves onward and upward thanks to people like Dave Hanscom
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