XC Gold

The XC Gold Team was created and primarily funded by the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF), the XC Gold Team is entering its 15th year of existence in the Wood River Valley. Composed of a group of the nation’s best post-collegiate athletes, the Gold Team trains year round in the mountains of Idaho, training sites across the US and venues around the world. Each athlete has his or her own goals for success on the SuperTour, World Cup and U23 World circuit, and as a team, we push each other every day to universally attain those goals.

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Team Info

The Gold Team offers year-round programming for elite athletes with goals of domestic excellence and international success in the sport of cross country skiing.

Ages: 18+
Head coach: Peter Holmes (view profile)
Enrollment limit: 8
Athlete-to-coach ratio: 8:1

Requirements:
Athletes must have race results indicative of national excellence and demonstrate the desire to attain international success. Interested skiers should contact head coach Peter Holmes (pholmes@svsef.org) for program information and application procedures. Safesport course completion is required for all athletes who are 18 or will turn 18 during the ski season.

Training

Winter Training
The Gold Team is based out of the SVSEF Lake Creek Training Center and utilizes the plethora of trails and training venues the Wood River Valley has to offer. Training plans are developed on an individual basis, with the Gold Team meeting for training 4-8 sessions per week. Gold Team athletes also have access to state-of-the-art strength and recovery facilities.

View Training Facilities

Competition

Gold Team skiers take on a demanding race schedule that includes NorAm/SuperTour competitions, U.S. Senior National Championships, the Boulder Mountain Tour, European Alpen Cup race series, and optional marathon races. The competition season concludes with SuperTour Finals.

2024/2025

SVSEF XC Gold Team

Ketchum, Idaho

Jake Adicoff
Victor, Idaho

Mariah Bredal
Idaho

Sammy Smith
Cooma New South Wales, Australia

Bentley Walker-Broose
Hailey, Idaho

Peter Wolter

Ketchum, Idaho

Jake Adicoff

Age:26

School:Bowdoin

Highlighted Results:Silver Medal Paralympic 10k 2018, 4th place Paralympic Sprint 2018

Goals for Season:3 Individual medals at the 2022 Beijing Paralympics

Favorite place to race:Soldier Hollow or Lake Creek

Favorite place to ski in Sun Valley:Rip and Tear, Galena

Victor, Idaho

Mariah Bredal

Age:26

School/College:University of Utah

Highlighted Results:2x All-American, qualified for Planica 2021 World Cup before cancelled because of Covid.

Goals for Season:Race Canmore and Minneapolis World Cups for distance.

Personal Sponsors:Fischer, Sauce

Favorite place to ski or race:Targhee

Other Interests:Running, going to coffee shops, hanging out with friends :)

Idaho

Sammy Smith

Age:18

School/College:Committed to Stanford for soccer. I go to Boise High in the spring and fall and Sun Valley Community School during the winter.

Highlighted Results:27th place Falun, Sweden World Cup, 30th place Tallinn, Estonia World Cup. World Junior Championships 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, and 11th place finishes.

Goals for Season:Podium at World Juniors and ski on the World Cup Circuit again, hopefully in Minneapolis!

Personal Sponsors:Salomon and Swix

Favorite place to ski or race:My favorite place to ski is Sjusjøen, Norway. My favorite place I’ve ever raced is Falun, Sweden.

Other Interests:I love to play soccer, backcountry ski, alpine ski, run, and pretty much do anything outside.

Cooma New South Wales, Australia

Bentley Walker-Broose

Age:22

School:University of Canberra Australia

Highlighted Results:3x Junior Worlds Competitor & 2x U23 Worlds Competitor for the Australian National Team. 2x Australian Junior National Champion 2019 and 2018 Junior National Distance Champion.

Goals for Season:Competing in the Goms and Minneapolis World Cups. Attaining Top 30 at the U23 World Championships in Planica, Slovenia.

Personal Sponsors:Julbo Australia, Polar Australia, Rhythm Snowsports, KvPlus Australia, Madshus

Favorite place to ski or race:I'd have to say Bruksvallarna in Sweden is pretty high up there but Galena really gives it a run for its money on a good day!

Other Interests:Very avid horror enthusiast, plus my current study of Exercise Sciences is keeping me pretty busy. Some good views and music really puts me in a good place when I just need to take it easy.

Hailey, Idaho

Peter Wolter

Age:25

School:Middlebury College

Highlighted Results:3x NCAA All American, 3rd Overall in SuperTour 2022-23 season, 4th place US Nationals Classic 20k, two World Cup starts.

Goals for Season:Tour de Ski starts and North America World Cups

Personal Sponsors:Fischer, Swix, DECKED, The Feed, EnjoyWinter/Swenor

Favorite place to ski or race:Rikert, Middlebury VT

Other interests:Porsche, long walks on the beach, getting ghosted, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and start up brands.

Cross Country Gold Team, Post-Grad Team, and Summer Training Group Coach

Peter Holmes

Cross Country Gold Team, Post-Grad Team, and Summer Training Group Coach

Peter Holmes

HOMETOWN / WHERE I GREW UP: Tahoe City, California

EDUCATION:

  • University of New Hampshire, B.S. Sport Studies

WHAT YEAR DID YOU START COACHING AT SVSEF?
2021

COACHING CERTIFICATIONS:

  • USSS Cross Country Level 100

SKIING BACKGROUND:

  • University of New Hampshire Ski Team 2014-2018
  • SVSEF XC Gold Team 2018-2022

WHEN I WAS 5 YEARS OLD, I WAS PRETTY SURE I’D BE A CONSTRUCTION WORKER WHEN I GREW UP.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I LEARNED BEFORE HIGH SCHOOL WAS that life is not fair.

HOBBIES AND OTHER INTERESTS THAT FUEL MY SOUL:

  • Mountain biking
  • Sunset walks on the beach

Email:pholmes@svsef.org

Phone:503.721.0684

2023/2024

XC Gold Sponsors

Sponsor Lizzy's fresh coffee logo
Sponsor Podiumwear logo
Sponsor Skitek logo
Sponsor Toko logo
Zenergy logo