STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Sun Valley Nordic skier Jake Adicoff once considered hanging up his Nordic skis to pursue a career in computer tech. But he reconsidered and he has been well rewarded for that decision.

He not only has a couple fistfuls of medals from three Paralympics and other competitions,  but, now, he’s been awarded the prestigious Paul Robbins Outstanding Competitor of the Year Award from the North American Snowsports Journalists Association (NASJA),

The award is given to the North American snowsports participant who distinguished themselves in amateur or professional competition during the current ski season. It is named for the late Paul Robbins, who spent 30 years as the primary journalist for the U.S. Ski Team and was a long-time member of NASJA.

Jake Adicoff skis down the Harriman Trail during the 2022 Boulder Mountain Tour.

Adicoff was up against some stiff competition, including Chloe Kim, who won gold medals in halfpipe at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, and Jaelin Kauf, who has 50 World Cup podiums, an Olympic silver medal and three Crystal Globes in dual moguls.

Previous winners include Jimmie Heuga, Billy Kidd, Jean Claude Killy, Tamara McKinney, Bill Johnson, Shaun White, Julia Mancuso, Jesse Diggins and Lindsey Jacobellis. Phil Mahre, Picabo Street, Daron Rahlves, Bode Miller, Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin have won the award multiple times.

“What an honor!” said Adicoff.

Adicoff was nominated by John W. Lundin, a Ketchum historian who has written a handful of books on skiing in Sun Valley, ski jumping and the history of Snoqualmie Pass.

Jake Adicoff learned how to throw pottery at Boulder Mountain Clayworks as part of his Senior Project at Wood River High School.

Adicoff lost part of his sight before he was born when his mother contracted chicken pox during pregnancy. He can’t see out of the center of his eyes—he moves his head back and forth and side to side to get the full picture of the race course while skiing.

He uses a laptop computer with an enlarged screen. He read with a magnifier as he pursued a degree in math and computer science at Bowdoin College in Main. And he’s been known to miss the finish line, once going into the lap lane parallel to the finish line.

But his parents—Sam Adicoff and Sue Conner—have always insisted on him trying everything despite his difficulties seeing. They moved their family to Ketchum from San Jose, Calif., to Sun Valley when Jake was 5 to ensure their youngest son got the personalized attention at school they thought he needed.

They included him in family events like the Baldy Hill Climb and bike riding. And they introduced him to both alpine and Nordic skiing in second grade. Jake spent seven years competing in alpine skiing before focusing on Nordic skiing, eventually winning the 2014 National Paralympics Championship in Nordic skiing.

Jake Adicoff, right, takes part in an Olympic Day celebration organized by the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation.

It was Wood River Ability Program Director Marc Mast who took a young Adicoff to a Paralympics training camp at Soldier Hollow near Park City. A doctor qualified him to compete for a spot on the 2013-14 U.S. Paralympic team. And Adicoff found himself headed for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Since, he has competed in the Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, and Beijing, China.

He’s competed in biathlon, using a special laser rifle connected to headphones that emit a higher pitch as the rifle points closer to the target center. And the 5-foot-9, 165-pound skier has placed in the top 10 among all competitors at the Boulder Mountain Tour.

Jake has always been very dedicated to training, putting in the laps on snow and the time roller skiing, running and lifting necessary to excel, said his father Sam Adicoff.

Jake Adicoff chats with his father Sam Adicoff following the 2022 Boulder Mountain Tour.

Starting at the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea-2018, he started a nice streak of success with a 10K Classical silver medal, noted John W. lundin. In 2022, he upped his game at the Winter Games in Beijing with silver medals in the 20KM Classical, and the 1.5 KM Sprint, culminating in a Gold Medal in the 4x2.5KM Mixed Relay. 

This year, he won two gold medals and a silver at the 2025 FIS Para Cross Country World Championships in Italy. Guided by friends and teammates Peter Wolter and Reid Goble, Jake snagged a gold medal in the 20K mass start and the 10K interval start and a silver in the Mixed Sprint relay. 

Adicoff is the first NASJA disabled skier honored since 1990 when the award went to the entire U.S. Disabled Team.