On an evening known as one of ski racing’s biggest parties, it was a homespun family affair last week at New York City’s Ziegfeld Ballroom. For 60 years, as autumn leaves turn golden, America’s ski and snowboard stars have gathered in New York City to celebrate their sport. The Gold Medal Gala is a rite of autumn, a reunion of old friends and a sure sign that winter is just around the corner. Welcome back to Ridgelines, where each week I’ll take you up on the hill with me to explore a sport woven deeply into the heritage of our Park City community. Six decades ago, a group of New York business leaders and ski enthusiasts gathered at Tavern on the Green to raise money for the U.S. Ski Team. What began as a fundraiser grew into one of the sport’s grandest traditions. For me, this year’s gala was a homecoming. I had the privilege of bringing legends from six decades to the stage, pioneers whose achievements helped pave the way for today’s stars. Backstage in the Green Room, I found myself surrounded by a remarkable collection of memories. Could it really have been nearly a quarter century since snowboarder Ross Powers led an American sweep of the Olympic halfpipe at Park City Mountain? Today, the ever-humble Olympic champion is more comfortable talking about the young athletes he coaches at Stratton than his own golden moment in 2002. Alongside him, Olympic champions Billy Demong and Shaun White chatted about Shaun’s new Snow League series coming to Park City this January. Demong led an extraordinary American nordic combined team that captured four medals at Vancouver in 2010. Diann Roffe and I reminisced about her golden moments, as well as the young racers she now coaches at Burke Mountain Academy. Just 17 when she won GS gold at the 1985 World Championships, Roffe gave me one of my favorite Olympic memories nine years later. Starting first in super G at Lillehammer, she watched racer after racer come down the mountain, none able to dislodge her from the top spot. But among all those champions, one held a special place in my heart. Barbara Ann Cochran was one of my first ski racing heroes. As a teenage skier in the early 1970s, I devoured everything I could read about my newfound sport. Few stories captured my imagination like that of the Cochran family from Vermont.  Under the watchful eyes of parents Mickey and Ginny, all four Cochran siblings became world-class ski racers, each earning a place on the 1972 Olympic Team in Sapporo. Barbara Ann came home with slalom gold, winning by a breathtaking two-hundredths of a second. More than half a century later, she still carries the quiet confidence of a champion. But when she talked on stage, Olympic gold wasn’t the most meaningful lesson. It was a childhood report card. She remembered bringing home a C in social studies. Her mother asked just one question: Had she done her best? When Barbara Ann answered yes, Ginny assured her that was all that mattered. That simple lesson carried Barbara Ann to Olympic gold and years later became part of the wisdom she passed along to her son, Ryan Cochran-Siegle. Ryan had his own addition to the family philosophy: “Have fun.” For Ryan, skiing has always been about family. “She taught me how to ski 32 years ago, and it’s been my passion ever since,” he said, reflecting on the special bond he shares with her. Having her alongside him in Italy as he added another Olympic medal to the Cochran family legacy brought that journey full circle.  But Ryan sees family as something bigger than a famous ski racing surname. “My teammates are family,” he said. “And that’s really what this sport is about. I think it’s the community that allows us to achieve these amazing things.” In those few words, Ryan captured something that has kept me close to this sport for more than half a century. The New York Ski Ball, now the Gold Medal Gala, has always been about raising money to help athletes chase their dreams. But its enduring power comes from something you can’t measure in dollars or medals. It’s the connection between generations — champions who become coaches, parents who become mentors. But it’s also about the connection we have as fans — fellow skiers and riders — with our real-life sports heroes. We are all a part of a sport family.  As I looked around the ballroom, I saw athletes whose victories I had celebrated decades ago now standing alongside a new generation preparing to write its own history. The season is now upon us, and that new generation will chase its dreams like the legends did in the past. The post Ridgelines: Gold Medal Gala is a family affair appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less