Inspired by doing the Grand Traverse with his sister in 2014, one of the instructors at the Adaptive Sports Center (ASC), Cam Smith, is now a pro Ski Mountaineer (Ski-Mo) Racer striving for the 2026 Olympics. When Cam’s sister asked him to do the Grand Traverse in 2014, he was a freshman at Western Colorado University. Cam said, “I wasn’t really interested, but I agreed to do the race with her as a thank you for being a nice sister.” Little did he know agreeing to do the race with his sister would change his life forever. Cam immediately got “hooked on the form of movement and the access [ski mountaineering] created,” and over time his love for the sport progressed to a competitive stage. Throughout the next few years, Cam began to compete more, and in 2017 he was placed in the U23 category for the world championship. He has been racing ever since, training 20-25 hours per week. Ski-Mo racing can vary from long traverses to shorter sprints. This diverse range has shaped Cam’s training to entail everything from doing independent traverses to dynamic gym-focused sessions. Cam said his focus has changed throughout the years, specifically with his goal of attending the 2026 Olympics, which only includes the sprint Ski-Mo races. Cam has always been enamored with the Olympics. “I remember watching the 2002 Olympics as a kid,” he said, “and thinking, wow it’s so cool that these athletes are doing these crazy things on snow.” To attend the 2026 Olympics, Cam, and other US Ski-Mo racers must first work together to earn a quota spot as a country. Currently, Cam and the US team are preparing for six World Cup races happening throughout Europe. Right now, “the racing dynamic is all about the team,” Cam said, and less about independent competition. Inspired ever since he was a little kid, Cam aims to race in the 2026 Olympics as a personal goal as well as an opportunity to learn about the different events and see all the different countries. “I think it’s really beautiful in concept to see all the countries of the world come together,” Cam said. Racing in the Olympics is also about representing your own country. “There are things about America that I don’t appreciate,” Cam said, “but it’s still the country that my friends and loved ones are from, and it’s still the country that does promise the American dream, and I’m prideful of representing that too.” While spending his winters enveloped in training and racing, Cam’s summers are spent at the ASC, helping instruct and guide individuals to reach their goals and optimize their independence. Although Cam has often seen his involvement at the ASC separate from his racing life, he also said they are “united in the theme that I really love being outside and pushing myself and seeing what I’m capable of, and that’s the same thing that our participants [at the ASC] are doing.” Cam recently raced for round two of the Olympic qualifications, skiing into the A final and coming in 11th. Reflecting on the race, Cam said, "my favorite part about the race was that it came down to such a close finish. Every moment of practice, teammate cheering, and coach coaching could have been the difference! So it goes to show how much of a team effort this season is." We are so grateful to have Cam as an instructor for the ASC and are excited to see his success in the races to come. Go Cam! We wish you good luck!
