News & Stories

Junior Loppet Skiers and Alumni take on West Yellowstone!

Over Thanksgiving break, two North Minneapolis middle schoolers and four high schoolers, all from our Loppet program, left the snowless Twin Cities for a once-in-a-lifetime experience out West. Under the guise of their coaches, Allie Rykken and Annie Rogosheske, the group set off to ski and train in the mountains of Yellowstone National Park at the West Yellowstone Ski Festival.

With a generous grant from the Mayo Clinic, The Loppet Foundation was able to provide equipment, coaching, transportation, food, and lodging for all six of the Loppet athletes.

When the group arrived in the small town of West Yellowstone, they were welcomed by cool temperatures and fresh snow. For the next week, the skiers were out on the trails for hours on end, honing their technique, getting reacquainted with their skis, and having fun in the mountains.

For our group, the West Yellowstone Ski Festival experience wasn’t just about skiing, it was also about having fun and meeting new friends from all over who share the same interests. Victor Morales, an 8th grader from North Minneapolis commented after the trip that, “It was cool to meet all these new people while out skiing. I feel like I made a lot of connections that I wouldn’t have been able to if I didn’t. The skiing was fun, too!”

On Thanksgiving day, after a long ski, the group sat down together and everyone shared one thing that they were thankful for. Sherman Powell, an alumni of Nellie Stone Johnson’s skiing program said, “I’m so thankful for this awesome trip!”

Thank Yous

The Loppet Coaches would like to say ‘Thank you’ to the following people and groups who helped make this trip possible: The Mayo Clinic, Sherman Powell, Victor Morale, Emily Kral, Brad Hooper, Quinlan Brogdon, Nico Borello, the whole Loppet Foundation team, and all of you who support us. With your support, this opportunity and this community that we are all a part of, has come to mean so much for so many people.