WHEN ROSS ANDERSON placed second at the Pro Speed Skiing World Championships in 2001, he became the first person of color ever to stand on a speed skiing podium. The lesser-known form of ski racing is won by reaching the fastest speed in a 100-meter course that is steeply pitched downhill. “It was the feeling of freedom,” says Anderson, who is Cheyenne-Arapaho and Mescalero-Chiricahua Apache. Born in New Mexico but raised skiing at Purgatory Resort in Colorado, Anderson drove all night from Denver to California’s Tahoe Donner for his first race. He napped in his car before competing in a secondhand motorcycle helmet and downhill racing suit. In 2006, he set what remains the American record of 154.06 miles per hour at the world professional championships in Les Arcs, France. A member of the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame and U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Hall of Fame, the 53-year-old Albuquerque resident received Ski New Mexico’s Lifetime Achievement Award in October for his accomplishments.
Basically, it’s a long drag-racing track, but it’s on the mountain.
A lot of your equipment is custom made just for you. You have a nonbreathable latex suit that takes about 45 minutes to an hour just to put on. That doesn’t include the fairings behind the calves that look like a wing on a plane. Then you have your aerodynamic helmet that goes over your shoulders. And you’re using 240-centimeter skis.
My first race, I was out of my comfort zone in every way possible, being the only Native person there, or person of color.
As a spectator, you actually get to hear the wind and feel it. It’s like a jet engine when they’re going by.
I made the mistake of watching [other speed skiers] when I was on tour. It gives you the perspective, Now I know how fast I’m really going. I don’t want to do that again until I retire.
I normally do prayers to Mother Earth. I have my medicine pouch with me. I’ve been doing that since day one when I was racing.
I put earphones on and listen to music. I was always a Yanni person, feeling everything, getting that heart rate to be where it should be.
You’re able to work with the air and the speed—not against it, but with it.
At the world professional championships in 2006, I hit a little bump and popped up. I knew I was losing speed. I got to the finish line, and I was mad—like, Dang, I had that, thinking I lost so much.
In the distance, I could see the big Jumbotron and could kind of see what the numbers were. I thought it was 241 km. Then I got closer and saw the numbers, and it was 247.934 km per hour. I thought, Holy crap, I just beat the record.
I couldn’t believe it.
You train yourself. You train your mind. Even when you’re not skiing in the summertime, you work on other things, such as playing chess or playing golf. It’s a head game.
I ran youth programs from Durango to Ski Apache. I was at Ski Apache for nine years. I was the marketing manager for the ski area, as well as the Inn of the Mountain Gods resort.
It was about learning the mountain, learning what your territory is, and appreciating it a little bit more, understanding that there’s more out there than just a ski slope.
It’s good to be recognized. But at the same time, I hope somebody out there as a kid can now see there’s somebody in that hall of fame that looks just like them, and that’s all I care about.
Keep up with Ross Anderson (if you can!) on Facebook.