MEN Pepi Neubauer
MASTERS SKIER OF THE YEAR
Although Pepi Neubauer is no stranger to ski
racing awards and honors, this season the 66-
year-old from Naples, N.Y., seems to have tapped
into the Fountain of Youth. He went undefeated
in his Class 9 all season, and along the way won
the overall in several New England Masters Series
races, as well as those in his home state. Neubauer
was absolutely dominant at the 2012 Nationals,
winning the Group D men by large margins. A super
G win in his Group (50-plus) at the International
Criterion races at Mammoth Mountain following the
Nationals provided the icing on the cake.
His performances on the slopes may seem
effortless, but success always extracts a price. “I
really worked hard this year with the goal of skiing
well at the Nationals and Internationals,” said
Neubauer. “I drove out West and spent some time
training at Vail before the Nationals, which really
helped out.”
If there are any thoughts of what might have been
for Neubauer after getting hurt at the Austrian
Olympic trials as a 19-year-old budding young star
in 1964, he has certainly put them to rest. His win in
the National Championship slalom race marked his
100th-career national championship medal.
