{"id":806277,"date":"2020-04-10T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=381616"},"modified":"2020-04-10T11:30:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-10T17:30:00","slug":"qa-with-peak-performers-nordic-skiing-runner-up-gene-dayton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/qa-with-peak-performers-nordic-skiing-runner-up-gene-dayton\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with Peak Performers Nordic skiing runner-up Gene Dayton"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Matthew, from left, Therese, Gene and Josh Dayton. Since Gene Dayton first visited Summit County in 1961, the Daytons have played an integral role in the founding and growth of Nordic skiing in the county.<\/strong>
Summit Daily file<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

DILLON \u2014 Gene Dayton, 77, is the patriarch of what many Summit County locals would describe as the first family of Summit Nordic skiing.<\/p>\n

After transitioning from a swimming career at Florida State University, Dayton was the founding father of modern Nordic skiing in Summit County<\/a>, instrumental in what the Breckenridge and Frisco Nordic centers have become while also helping to found the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center<\/a>. Dayton is a successful master\u2019s champion skier \u2014 along with his wife, Therese \u2014 who raised accomplished cross-country skiing children, including 2002 U.S. Olympian Matt Dayton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What is your ski origin story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been fascinated with Colorado my entire life. My father, Chuck, was born on the plains of Colorado in 1909 in a homestead, moved back to Iowa when he was quite young. His stories of Colorado enchanted me. I\u2019d see the pictures, with a swimming pool in the foreground and white peaks in the back. \u2026 To take you way back, growing up in Illinois, I remember seeing a man ski in a snowstorm under lights on the street at night, and he was flying. I talked to him, he showed me his skis, and I was fascinated with it. And I actually tried to make skis as a kid. We built ski jumps in my backyard when I was a kid in Illinois.<\/p>\n

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