Growing up Jackson
After winning three alpine medals
at two Olympic Winter Games (silver
at Squaw Valley in 1960, silver and
gold at Innsbruck in 1964) Josef
“Pepi” Stiegler spent time in the U.S.
and eventually settled in Jackson,
Wyo., where Seppi and Resi grew
up shredding Jackson Hole resort.
Both Denver coach Andy LeRoy
and Seppi’s mother, Carrie, suspect
growing up on the iconic Wyoming
mountain made Seppi the kind
of skier he is today — the kind
who thrives when conditions are
toughest.
“[He’s] the guy who actually
gets better when the conditions are
worst,” LeRoy says. “I really believe
part of that’s due to the fact that he
did so much freeskiing at a place
like Jackson Hole growing up, where
you get a huge mix of different kinds
of conditions and terrain.”
Carrie Stiegler echoes LeRoy’s
sentiment and recalls the exact
moment she realized her son was a
fearless skier.
“When Seppi was about 8 years
old,” Carrie Stiegler says. “I dropped
him off at his Saturday morning
ski group — which included kids
like Resi, Max Hammer and Travis
Rice. It was a great powder day at
Jackson and I felt the kids were in
good hands with their coaches Sean
Clark and Kina Pickett. Later that
morning, I was riding up the Sublette
chair, which showcases the Alta
chutes. I almost fell off the lift when
Sean, Kina, Seppi, Resi and friends
dove into Alta without a moment’s
hesitation. I knew right then and
there the kid had no fear and was a
true-blue Jackson Hole boy.”
“When he arrived at DU, he wasn’t exactly a blue-chip recruit,” says Denver alpine
coach Andy LeRoy. “He had something like 45 points in GS and 35 points in slalom. But
it was pretty obvious — to us, anyway — that he had raw speed. We believed that if we
could just change a couple things, the sky would be the limit for him.”
If Stiegler’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the son of Austrian Olympic champion
Josef “Pepi” Stiegler and younger brother of U.S. Ski Teamer Resi Stiegler. Compared
to his father and sister, who earned national team spots as teenagers, the 22-year-old
Seppi has taken a bit longer to develop his prowess. That’s not to say, however, that
Seppi’s been without major successes or that he’s maturing late in general.
He was a first-team All-American in slalom during his freshman year at the age of
19 — young, considering many top NCAA skiers don’t matriculate until they’re as old
or older than he is now. But his sophomore and junior years were marked by both
inconsistency and season-ending injuries, and in a way he’s only now turning the page
on that freshman season.
So what’s made the difference in 2011, helping Stiegler achieve career-best 14-point
results in slalom and GS during his recent stretch of victories?
“It’s the culmination of a lot of things,” says the soft-spoken Stiegler. “[First of all, in terms
of college skiing] we’re at the height of our schedule and [we’re supposed to be peaking
right now]. I’m also in a very good mental state — confident but not overconfident. I’ve
found a plan and a strategy on race day that seems to work for me, and my physical
technique has kind of managed to catch up with that. I’m at a place where I can rely on
that technique and not think about it too much.”
Reading between the lines — that is, between what LeRoy and the reticent Stiegler
say — it seems Stiegler’s physical ability and technique are maturing to a point where
they’ve caught up with a deeply rooted faith in his ability.
“When he got here,” LeRoy says, “we paired him with Adam Cole, a former world
junior champion, to challenge him during dryland training. Seppi didn’t back down from
anything. Ever. Next thing you know, in his first year, he was starting in the back and skiing
into the top five or top 10 in every race, eventually making it to NCAA championships
and finishing second in slalom. I think that [typifies] how he works: he genuinely believes
he’s going to get that next level long before he gets there.”
For whatever success Stiegler had as a freshman, he knew he still had a long way to
go before reaching his current form.
“I had pretty solid slalom technique coming into Denver,” Stiegler says. “But Andy has
really helped me improve my GS and super G. He’s explained things differently than I’ve
heard them in the past, changed my style quite a bit, and it’s really clicking for me.”
While Stiegler has had his ups and downs getting here, LeRoy says one thing has
always been true of his senior star.
“The tougher it is, the better he is,” says LeRoy. “If you think he’s good on a clean course,
you should see it when he starts 60th. The super combined at World University Games
KELLY GORHAM/MSU; CARRIE STIEGLER
was a perfect example of that. He started 87 in the slalom portion and finished [that run] in the top 10, I believe. The same thing happened in slalom: after [a major mistake in the first run], he started 25th in the second run and beat the first-run winner by more than a second, coming from behind to win the race.” As Stiegler continues to win high-profile racesandlowerhispointprofile, skiracing fans will undoubtedly speak of a young
athlete who’s stepping out from under the shadow of his famous family pedigree. But
don’t expect to hear stories about a kid who resented being in that shadow.
“Resi and my father are my No. 1skiing role models, my biggest heroes,” Stiegler says.
“In a lot of ways, I love skiing because of them and I’ve always looked up to them.”
Stiegler also says that the inspiration he derived from his family’s successes extends
to the teammates who’ve helped Denver win three consecutive NCAA titles the past
few years — teammates such as Leif Kristian Haugen, who concurrently raced on the
RMISA, World Cup, and Olympic circuits before claiming the NCAA GS title last year.
“It’s always good to have other fast skiers on the team,” Stiegler says. “They’re
constantly showing you what you can do, how far you can take it. They show you that
it’s not that far out.”
From March 9 to 12 in Stowe, Vt., Stiegler will compete at the NCAA Championships
for the first time since he was a freshman. And coach LeRoy thinks Stiegler is poised to
show the next generation of Pioneers how far they can take it.
“In many ways he’s
been inspiring our team
the entire time he’s been
here,” LeRoy says. “He’s
just the consummate team
captain — the first guy to
help someone who needs
it, the hardest working guy
on the mountain. But I think
now he’s about to take his
skiing even farther, and
there’s a good chance we’ll
be watching him for many
years to come.”
Stiegler steams to second place
at MSU in January.
