Ski Racing - December 27, 2011

Some people might think that is too much for them,
but I don’t mind. For me, getting to that certain point
where you’re wearing dirty clothes again trying to do
laundry in Europe. ... small details.”
Especially, for Kasper, when there’s racing to be
done. But it was a skipped race that seemed to spark
him to another gear. “I hadn’t been finishing, so I de-
cided to skip [the World Cup slalom in] Wengen,” he
said. That was the start of a 14-day stretch during
which he won a Europa Cup slalom at Zuoz, Switzer-
land. It was no standard sprint.
“I took a car and just drove around,” Kasper said. “I
met up with the Europa Cup guys, trained with them;
went with the Canadian World Cup guys and did a
day of training with them; then did some races with
the Europa Cup guys; then jumped back with World
Cup guys for Kitzbuehel and Schladming, and then
right after went to France where some of the World
Cup/Europa Cup speed guys were in Meribel. We
did a super G, super combined there and GS. I just
kind of hopped around between teams and changed
the pace up a little bit. That’s part of the reason why
I think I started skiing well at that point. I was able
to do whatever I wanted. You know, a six-hour drive
from Switzerland to Austria is tough, but I can say I
want to go there and train, send some emails and if
it will work out go, if not go and meet up some other
guys.”
It became pretty routine. Who did he call after win-
ning at Zuoz? “I don’t think I made a call at all,” he
said as he recalled the day, though it is likely he was
making arrangements for his next 24 hours of travel
and racing.
Nolan Kasper is the third of four boys with the young-
est coming a full 10 years after him. He grew up in
New Jersey, the son of a ski instructor and coach
who taught him and his brothers a love of the sport.
The family moved to Vermont in 2000. He has a lot
of friends and no shortage of relatives in New Jersey,
an area of the country he really enjoys.
“I grew up in Jersey, but I’m nothing like — ” Kasper
said with a pause. “One of my older brothers lives
there now, and he’s pretty New Jersey. I’m not like
that. But, I love the place and go there for all my holi-
days, go to the shore. I’ve got some friends who live
in parts that are very, very rural.”
In the 12 years since Kasper moved to Vermont
U.S. men have claimed 19 World Cup slalom podi-
ums. Kasper’s was the only one last season — or the
season before that. Although he doesn’t truly think
of himself as a slalom specialist, he has a pretty firm
grip on the reigns as the top gun in the U.S. men’s
slalom arsenal. Part of the reason for that, he sus-
pects, is a natural quickness he’s always seemed to
have. Another part is being the right age when FIS
changed the rules for the discipline and shortened
the required distance between gates three years
ago.
“The shorter gates are definitely easier for me,”
said Kasper. “Look at Kranjska Gora. You had two
guys setting courses that are according to their style.
When you get down to eight meters that’s where I
make time on guys. When it [the minimum] came
down from 13 [meters] you can link every turn and
arc it. Coming 30, 35 miles an hour in slalom is not
where I do the best. I’m working on getting better
at that because there are some races that are still
pretty open, that are set at 11, 12 meters. But you get
down under nine, that’s where I excel.”
Some, Kasper recognizes, have adapted well. He