Editor’s Note: This is Part II in The Tahoe Weekly’s ongoing “Olympic Hopefuls” series leading up to the Olympics in February. Part I of the series may be found at http://yourtahoeguide.com/2013/12/local-athletes-eye-olympic-winter-games/
Olympic sports: Alpine skiing, Super G, Downhill & Super Combined
Hometown: Truckee
Resort team: Squaw Valley
By Jessie Marchesseau
Travis Ganong can’t quite remember why he started skiing. At only a 1½ old, he probably didn’t have much say in the matter. Now 25, he does have a say, and says he wouldn’t trade his job as a professional downhill ski racer for anything.
From the mountains and the snow to the friends, the travelling and the pow, he loves every single part of it.
Born in Truckee, Ganong grew up in Tahoe City, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley. It goes without saying that the mountains were his back yard. He graduated from the Squaw Valley Mighty Mites to the race team at around 7 or 8, following in his sister Megan’s footsteps. Megan went on to race World Cup as part of the U.S. Ski Team and Travis wasn’t far behind.
Ganong has been on the team since he was 16 and started racing World Cup in 2010. Since then, he has wasted no time making a name for himself in the world of ski racing, competing in both downhill and super-G.
But, he is more than just a racer, he’s a skier. Ganong takes his powder skis wherever he goes, always ready to jump at the chance for a little big mountain free skiing or some early morning freshies.
While training with the Squaw Valley ski team, he remembers they had a 3-inch rule: if there was more than 3 inches of fresh snow, they would forgo gates for free skiing. He would often end up following pro skiers around the mountain and believes he’s a better skier because of it.
“Every aspect of skiing helps out each other. If you’re only a racer, you’ll be limited as to what type of skier you can become,” Ganong said.
And, he has yet to reach his limit, not even when he took his powder skis to some of Alaska’s most extreme winter terrain for the filming of Warren Miller’s 2012 film “Flow State.”
While Ganong may have a soft spot for big mountain skiing, he has no intention of trading in his race skis anytime soon. It’s the intensity of race day, the elevated heart rate, the knotted-up nerves, the heightened consciousness and the adrenaline rush of hitting a jump at upwards of 80 mph that keeps him coming back for more.
He’s looking forward to another decade or so of World Cup racing and hopefully a couple of Olympics along the way.
This year’s team will be announced at the end of January, just weeks before the games kick off in Sochi. That gives racers just six downhill and four super-G races to prove themselves and secure one of the coveted spots.
This is Ganong’s first year with a real shot at the Olympic team, and he thinks his chances are pretty good. He said he has been skiing well so far this season and, thanks to a new training regimen, is feeling stronger than ever.
As a professional ski racer, Ganong doesn’t get much down time. His off-season is filled with training, and when the snow flies, he’s busy racing and travelling to ski resorts all over the world, not to mention more training.
As a result, Ganong said that he doesn’t get back to Tahoe as much as he would like, but he does try to take time to ski with the Squaw Valley ski team when he does. He enjoys sharing his experiences and passing on things he’s learned along the way. He also just likes to ski here. From Alaska to the Alps, Ganong said there is no place that beats skiing in Tahoe.
