BY KAREN BOSSICK

The 2025 Audi FIS World Cup Championships featured the world’s best skiers.

But it also served as a platform for up-and-coming skiers to test themselves on the same courses that the big guns race.

Several Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation alum and others on the U.S. Ski Team, got to serve as forerunners on the challenging technical courses before each of the races. And, while they weren’t racing, the course kicked their butt.

Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Communication’s Director Heather Foster interviews Dasha Romanov and Paige DeHart.

“The giant slalom course is a fun course, very turn-y said Isaiah Nelson, who served as a forerunner with River Radamus, Nina O’Brien, Kyle Negomir, AJ Hurt and others. “It’s a lot of work to come down and my lungs hurt.”

Dasha Romanov, a Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation alum who medaled at the U.S. Alpine Championships held at Sun Valley a couple years ago, served as forerunner with such fellow SVSEF alum and current racers as Jack Smith, Ryder Sarchett, Paige DeHart, Ulrich Rossi and Haley Cutler. Paxton Sammis skied the men's slalom with a POV or point of view camera.

She made her World Cup debut in slalom in Levi, Finland, during the 2023-24 season. But she has had to deal with some injuries, including a back injury.

The opportunity to serve as a forerunner for the World Cup Women’s Giant Slalom on Tuesday stoked her appetite for next season.

Berit Campion caught this photo of Swiss skier Alexis Monney tucking it on the Super-G traverse to Upper Greyhawk.

“I'm excited to start training again for next season already,” she said. “This course--the cut through at the top, that was completely new. And inspecting it, I was like, wow, I've never seen this before. But honestly, you know, it was so much fun.”

Romanov said she had fun, new experiences this year with the Europa Cup before she was sidelined by an accident.

“So, it’s definitely been a roller coaster of a year.”

She has been stoked to watch the best in the world. And she was equally stoked to run the course.

Berit Campion took this photo of Italian skier Sofia Goggia getting some coaching before testing Sun Valley’s downhill course, which is the steepest on the World Cup circuit.

“Going first on the course is always great. You know, there's no bumps or anything. It was really, really challenging. This course always is and still always is. But I had so much fun and am really lucky to have the opportunity to run it and just, you know, see it for myself.”

Romanov said she has been blown away by how the Sun Valley community came together to put the World Cup on.

”The crowd is insane. It’s so amazing seeing everybody putting in all of their effort 100 percent every day to help make it the best it can be. And I truly don’t think that the World Cup Finals would be the same anywhere else. I just love the energy here. Everyone loves it. Everyone loves racing here, truly.”

While she’s looking forward to taking a mental and physical break, she is excited to start training again for next year.

Berit Campion got an opportunity to stand in the Super-G start.

As for what she would say to the young ski racers growing up in Sun Valley today?

“Take advantage of skiing on this great hill and learning everything it has to offer.”