Fifteen-year-old Vail, Colorado, native Nick Kirwood truly encompasses what it is to be a jack-of-all-trades skier. Kirwood is part of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV) and found himself in top spots throughout the season in multiple disciplines.

This spring, Kirwood represented the United States as a U16 in the 2019 Whistler Cup in Whistler, Canada, where he finished just outside the top ten in the super-G, eighth in the giant slalom, and ended the series on a high with a third place in slalom.

“It was my last race of the season and I knew that I really didn’t have that much pressure,” He says about his slalom race. “I just had to focus on what I’ve learned this year.”

Although he won’t admit it himself, Kirwood was likely well on his way to a gold medal in the slalom before an untimely mistake led to his third-place finish. …