New England
 By Heather Burke
In any sport, it’s
important to have role models. Bikers look to Lance Armstrong for that
extra mile. Little leaguers visualize Big Papi when they step up to
the plate.
 Kids
need alpine athletes to aspire to, and park professionals to put on a
pedestal. My brothers had Phil and Steve Mahre posters on their walls,
till they tired of stick chasing racing and turned to cliff jumping
with then wild man Glenn Plake. I was reminded of my parents’
predicament last winter when my own kids watched our ski team star
medal in Olympic partying. It’s tricky finding the right role model,
edgy enough to engage our hip youngsters, but with an estimable ethic
to satisfy parents. Our media, self included, tend to spotlight the most notorious newsmakers – knowing that sensation sells. Perhaps we need to look past the headlines, for better mentors for our young mogul bashers. Here are some obvious snow heroes and maybe some lesser-known but very deserving downhill daredevils your kids might dig. Shaun White made it cool to hug his parents, at the age of 20, when he won his Torino gold. This snowboard superstar makes goofy red hair look cool – which I know from experience, is no small accomplishment. When the Tomato isn’t flying on his snowboard, or winning skateboard competitions, he’s starring in commercials and launching his own snowboard video game. Seth Wescott is another entrepreneurial snowboarder who can win the race with grace. He tours, talks about working to achieve his goals, even built his own house at Sugarloaf and opened a restaurant – this young man from Maine is a mother’s dream of determination, business savvy and boyish charm.  It
was the gold winning attitudes of Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso at
Sugarloaf’s Alpine Championships last March that had the parents
applauding. The U.S. Ski Team winners signed autographs for over three
hours. Lots of kids wanted Bode to Sharpie pen their helmets, but
apparently it was Miller time elsewhere. Tell your kids Ligety
displayed courage and commitment as he continued racing with a broken
finger bone, which occurred during glacier training in Austria. Julia
Mancuso is fast on snow, and fashionable off the slopes - sporting
flowy skirts and tiaras. Your kids can track their
U.S. ski and
snowboard team favorites as they carve up the globe this season.Warren Miller may be a bit to mature to motivate your kids, but Dan and John Egan have starred in 12 ski flicks before producing their own. You can watch Dan’s syndicated show, Wild World of Winter, on TV to find out what these snow loving bros are up to, and where they’re pointing them down. Or you can join them for an XTeam ski clinic in New England, out west or in Chile next August. The Egans have turned their passion into several successful ski ventures, which John refers to as “skibumology.” Not to sound sexist, but growing girls need their own role models – beyond skiing Barbie with her pink plastic SUV and fuzzy fuchsia scarf. Wendy Fisher is a former Olympian and World Extreme skiing champion, but she’s best recognized as the featured female in Matchstick Production films. Fisher coaches ski camps exclusively for girls ages 11-17 at Crested Butte, Colorado. Here’s another healthy heroine, Kit DesLaurier stepped to the top of Everest this fall and into the history books as the first female to summit Everest and ski down. She hiked with her husband Rob, then skied the 5,000’ vertical of 40-50 degree pitches of prime rime. Kit is the reigning World Freeskiing Champion, and now she can add to her remarkable resume “first woman to ski from the summit of the highest peak on each of the seven continents.” Kit also hosts her own camps, called “Turn it Up Clinics” at her home mountain of Grand Targhee, Wyoming.  There
are just a few mountain mentors that might appeal to your
impressionable kids. We need to get our kids to put down the Xbox and
exit to the great outdoors.
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