Sacha Gros, US Ski team
Sacha Gros of Vail, Colorado has quite the historic ski profile. Sacha was born in Glenwood Springs, just before the Vail Valley had it’s own hospital. He grew up with a love of skiing that evolved from skiing faster than mom to racing and eventually back to seeking powder, though he’ll always be a competitor. These days he enjoys getting deep face shots in East Vail chutes or skiing fast on the killer groomers Vail Mountain has to offer.
First Tracks
Sacha essentially learned to walk on Vail Mountain, and was on skis before his second birthday. His mom convinced the Vail ski school to take him on early and his ski racing career began!
Jane (Gros) says “He could beat me down the mountain by the time he was 5!”
He joined Ski Club Vail at six years old and clocked his podium finish at seven as a young J5, (sister, Dominique took a first place finish as a J5 also at just nine years old). He soon became a household name among the racing community in Vail. In 1991 he joined Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and his then coach, Aldo Radamus and Rob Worrell to pursue his racing dreams. In 1993, Sacha was selected to join the US Ski Team and went on to spend nine years on the team.
Early racing days with Ski Club Vail
The After Life
After retiring from the US Ski Team in 2002, Sacha moved to Alaska. While there he continued his racing career, briefly coaching at Mt. Alyeska (which is where he met, now brother in law, Matt Underhill). He also dominated Arctic Man, a well-known Alaskan race combining snow-machiners and ski racers in the HooDoo Mountain Range (See photo below). He went on to compete in Iron Dog, an endurance and skill based snowmachine race along the Iditarod trail, winning the best rookie title with a 6th place finish.
Racing Arctic Man, Hoo Doo Mountains, Alaska
Sacha returned to Vail in 2006 and now runs Vista Bahn Ski Rentals in Vail Village, alongside his sister Dominique. He sneaks out to East Vail Chutes when he can or to make some turns with his wife Emily, and has been teaching his sons Rémi and Gage to ski.
Highlights:
US Ski Team
- National Championships: 3 first place finishes, 5 podiums
- Nor-Am: 15 podium finishes
- FIS World Cup:
- 5 top 30 finishes
- 1996 First World Cup – Park City, Utah
- 1998 Olympics – Nagano, Japan: 26thin giant slalom
- 1999 FIS ski world championships – Vail Beaver Creek, Colorado: 19th in slalom
- 1999 Mandonna di Campiglio: 16th in slalom
- 2000 Wengen: 10thoverall, 10th in slalom and won second run
- 2001 Schladming: 20th in slalom
- 2001 Kranjska Gora: 25th in slalom
- 2002 Wengen: 20th in slalom
- European Cup – Obereggen, Italy: Top 3 finishes, including a victory
Racing into Vail Village at the World Championships , 1999
Sacha skiing to a GS victory at US Alpine Championships at Sugarloaf , 1997
Post US Ski Team
- Arctic Man: 1st place finishes 2002, 2003; 2006 1st place on the snowmachine
- Iron Dog: 6th place, best rookie
- Mayor’s Cup: 1st place finish, x-country snowmachine race, Valdez, AK and the biggest trophy yet
We look forward to see what’s next on Sacha’s list! What would you like to see him check off?
