NM speed skier Ross Anderson to have a day named after him
· Yahoo Sports
On the other side of the phone came a laugh. The genuine kind. Like the ones that often happen when something doesn’t seem believable and yet there isn’t any uncertainty.
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Like that kind that comes with, say, a winning lottery ticket.
“Because you don’t believe it until it’s in your hand,” Ross Anderson said.
In a way, that’s how the months leading up to Friday have felt for the New Mexico native — and former world-class speed skier and record holder. It’s surely how it will feel on Saturday at Sports Systems when the state officially declares May 8, Ross Anderson Day.
The celebration will include Albuquerque leaders, representatives from the Cheyenne-Araphaho Tribe (of which Anderson is a member) and an official proclamation from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, along with cultural performances and a traditional acknowledgment. All organized with the help of Anderson’s Star 154 Foundation, which aims to introduce Native youth to skiing, improve educational avenues and promote other community outreach opportunities.
Friday will also be Anderson’s 55th birthday.
“What else can you compare it to?” Anderson said of his lottery analogy. “I never thought I'd ever get into a Hall of Fame and now I’m in five. I never thought in my life that I would have a day.
“But hopefully, it helps the younger generation realize that they can do the same, that they can follow their dreams and do something with it.”
Anderson’s dreams? Those grew as he did.
Born at Holloman Air Force Base in 1971, Anderson’s former life lasted two weeks.
Earney and Phyllis Anderson helped provide a new one. The couple adopted him and together, the family soon moved to Durango, Colorado.
It was his father who first introduced Ross to skiing. A former racer in college, Earney quit the sport after witnessing a fellow competitor die colliding with a tree.
Skiing, however, was never too far away, at least recreationally. A professor of economics at Fort Lewis College, Earney was a weekend ski patroller at Purgatory Resort. The place became a backyard snowy playground for Ross; somewhere to learn and hone his skills, and have fun.
“I loved skiing to the point when I remember when I was 8 years old and needing my mom’s iron, I snuck it into my bedroom so I could wax my skis on the dresser,” Anderson said.
The skis came out all right. His bedroom carpet? That took some damage in the form of a burn mark or two.
“It wasn’t a good idea,” he confessed. “But that’s how much I was into it.”
Anderson loved skiing and he was good enough at it that he decided to try to make a career out of it. If not for himself, then for others. Especially for the people who looked like him, those he noticed were absent from televised skiing events and media and podiums.
“I decided, ‘You know what? I’m going to pursue this and see what I can do,’” Anderson said. “It didn’t matter how far I was going to get at that time. I figured I was at least going to try to make a difference for others.”
Olympic speed skier Dale Womack offered a little inspiration and direction to make that happen. His advice? Why not try speed skiing?
Anderson was intrigued by the aerodynamic helmets, by the suits that looked like they could belong to someone going to outer space, by the speed at which everything was happening.
He entered his first qualifying race in 1993 with an old, fully-enclosed motorcycle helmet, a used downhill suit and second-hand skis — all from a pawnshop. None of it mattered and looks be damned. It was everything Anderson wanted it to be.
“Being in that natural environment, there’s just a joy of being outdoors and everything that goes with it,” Anderson said. “And then, you’re sliding down a hill and you have to be in control with it. It’s one of those things that’s kind of like a convertible. You put the top down and have the wind going through your hair. It just feels good. It’s a natural feeling of just satisfaction and that’s kind of what I felt.”
And he did it across the globe: The United States, Finland, close to the Russian border under the Northern Lights, Italy in the Alps, France.
Les Arcs, a ski resort in Sovoie, France, near the Italian and Swiss borders, was the place Anderson left his mark. In 2006 he reached 154.06 mph, breaking John Hembel’s record of 153.03 to become the fastest alpine skier in American history.
“It’s a place that I still have a lot of love for,” said Anderson, who retired from competition in 2010 after eight national titles.
It’s one of several achievements Anderson has.
In 2024, he was inducted into the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and the Ski New Mexico and New Mexico Ski Hall of Fame. He is the first Indigenous person to be inducted into each of the three. Anderson is also a member of the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame (2023) and the National Native American Hall of Fame (2025).
On Friday, he’ll receive one more. Another lottery ticket as he likes to call them.
“There’s such an appreciation for everybody who’s picked me up and supported me,” Anderson said. “I’m looking forward to it and hopefully open some eyes of the younger generation that there are no barriers or walls that they can’t break through if they want to.”
David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at [email protected] or via X @DavidGlovach.