{"id":803225,"date":"2020-01-19T18:30:52","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T01:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=377581"},"modified":"2020-01-19T18:30:52","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T01:30:52","slug":"join-us-in-telling-the-story-of-the-greatest-skiers-snowboarders-in-summit-county-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/join-us-in-telling-the-story-of-the-greatest-skiers-snowboarders-in-summit-county-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Join us in telling the story of the greatest skiers, snowboarders in Summit County history"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This winter the Summit Daily News launches “Peak Performers,” an audience-powered content series that will honor the greatest winter sports athletes in county history, culminating in naming the Mount Rushmore of Summit County athletes.<\/strong>
Afton Pospisilova \/ Colorado Mountain News Media<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

FRISCO \u2014 We, the people \u2014 the athletes \u2014 of Summit County live in a truly unique and challenging place for sports. High up in the Rocky Mountains, our sporting lives and journeys come complete with high-altitude conditions and mountainous terrain. As Summit County has become settled over the last century, our snowglobe setting has been the perfect place for the sprawling, progressive growth of winter sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A century of sporting spirit<\/strong>
It was just about 100 years ago Summit County\u2019s primary sporting pastime began transitioning from America\u2019s game, baseball \u2014 which was popular among early mining settlers<\/a> \u2014 to winter sports. In 1919, Anders Haugen, a famous Norwegian skier, jumped to a world record of 213 feet at the Dillon ski jump<\/a>, located near the present-day overflow outlet at the base of the Dillon Reservoir dam. Ever since, to quote the title of the autobiography penned by Arapahoe Basin Ski Area co-founder Edna Dercum, it\u2019s been \u201cdownhill all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

There has been downhill skiing greatness here in Summit County, but I mean what I say more as a metaphor. The county\u2019s momentum in winter sports has never stopped. Whether it be the influences of international Olympic downhill racers in the middle of the century<\/a>, the bravery and boldness of high-Alpine skiers a few decades later<\/a>, or the ardent ambition of our snowboarders today<\/a>, Summit County has a sporting ethos all its own.<\/p>\n

That athletic spirit is a history harbored by the people of this place<\/a>. It\u2019s an energy that revolves around a bravery to try what\u2019s never been tried before<\/a>. It is us. It is Summit County.<\/p>\n

Chronicling greatness<\/strong>
In honor of this history, the Summit Daily News is launching \u201cPeak Performers: The Mount Rushmore of Summit County athletes.\u201d With Peak Performers, it\u2019s our goal to work hand-in-hand this winter with the people of Summit County to honor the best athletes and most influential figures in the history of four sports at the core of our community: Alpine skiing, snowboarding, freestyle sking and Nordic skiing.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll do so by having you, the people of Summit County, submit nominations across those four sports for the Peak Performers Mount Rushmore. In the spirit of our country\u2019s national memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the Peak Performers Mount Rushmore will be the four top county figures in the history of these winter sports.<\/p>\n

Help tell the tale<\/strong>
But long before audience votes and the input of a judging panel decides who will be on Summit County\u2019s sporting Mount Rushmore, we are asking the people of Summit County to submit nominations for those Mount Rushmore spots. If you have a family member, a friend, an idol whom you think deserves to be recognized as part of our county\u2019s history, please nominate them at our Peak Performers page: summitdaily.com\/peakperformers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nominations submitted at that link \u2014 where you can send in a photo and write up to 200 words on what makes the nominee special \u2014 will be published in the Summit Daily News sports section. This is our way of shining a light on all those who have helped shape the sporting story of Summit County over the last century.<\/p>\n

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When nominating, be sure to remember that both athletic achievement and community impact will be weighed when taking into account the total gravity of a Peak Performers nominee. We know there\u2019s going to be debate between, say, an Olympic athlete who succeeded at the highest level and a more local figure who may have had more of an long-term influence on winter sports here in Summit County. That\u2019s part of the debate, part of the fun, part of the story.<\/p>\n

The timeline<\/strong>
Nominations are open now through Feb. 15. Then, on Feb. 23, the voting phase of Peak Performers will begin. Come March 7, voting will close.<\/p>\n

The input of voters will be combined with input from a judging panel \u2014 none of whom are eligible for the Peak Performers Mount Rushmore \u2014 to finalize the four faces of Summit County winter sports. To wrap up Peak Performers, the Summit Daily will publish the results via feature profiles of Peak Performers winners, as well as complementary content highlighting the other top finishers in each sport.<\/p>\n

An eye to the future<\/strong>
In sports, especially in Summit County, there\u2019s always a focus on what\u2019s next. We are also accepting nominees for a youth category across all four sports. The same nomination, voting and judging process will be used for this 17-and-under category.<\/p>\n

With the youth category, we are asking the people of Summit County to clue us into a youngin\u2019 who may just be in contention for the Mount Rushmore of Summit County sports 50 years from now.<\/p>\n

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