Q&A with ski champion John Steel Hagenbuch ’25

On June 28, the United States Collegiate Ski Coaches Association named John Steel Hagenbuch ’25 the Men’s Nordic National Skier of the Year. This past season, Hagenbuch placed 13th at the World Cup, never lost a collegiate race, won the 7.5K freestyle and placed fifth in the men’s 20K classic at the NCAA Championships, winning All-American honors. The Dartmouth sat down with Hagenbuch to discuss his background in the sport, recent successes and what Dartmouth skiing has meant to him.

When did you first get into alpine skiing?

JSH: I started alpine skiing when I was quite young, maybe three or four years old. I didn’t start doing Nordic seriously until fifth grade. Even then, I was still playing soccer, hockey, tennis, alpine skiing and mobile skiing in addition to Nordic skiing. I didn’t start fully specializing in Nordic until my sophomore year of high school.

During your freshman year, you skied for Team USA, not Dartmouth. What was that experience like?

JSH: Frankly, it sucked. Not only did I not fulfill the goals that I wanted to do skiing-wise, but I also wasn’t that balanced. I think the nice thing about skiing for Dartmouth is that not only do you get to take advantage of such a wonderful and rigorous undergraduate experience, but you also get so much activity that is outside of skiing. You can have your cake and eat it too. 

Dartmouth is a symbiotic relationship for me because it is really damn fun. The fun experiences that I get out of Dartmouth academically, socially and athletically really helped me with skiing and provided balance to the hard training in the race schedule.  

This past winter, you won the NCAA championship and never lost a collegiate race. Describe how the season went, on and off the snow. 

JSH: For my collegiate ski season at Dartmouth, it was awesome. It’s super nice to come back to school, see my friends, take interesting classes and enjoy being a Dartmouth student and a normal kid. I’m not just racing full time in the World Cup for the U.S. Ski Team. All in all, it was a great season and I think that the most fun parts were when I was racing for Dartmouth and when I was doing the carnivals with my teammates and my friends. One of my favorite things about skiing are the van rides and eating with my teammates because I enjoy their company, and skiing is an added benefit. 

What has the Dartmouth team and coaching staff meant to you?

JSH: Men’s Nordic head coach Brayton Osgood ’03 and skiing director Cami Thompson are awesome; they are a great duo. I think that being a collegiate ski coach is a unique opportunity, and it requires a unique set of skills. Coach Osgood went to Dartmouth, and he returned to start coaching the team in 2017. It feels like this last year it really started to click and we had a lot of success. I’m sure that’s going to continue for years to come.

You were named the men’s Nordic National Skier of the Year in June. What do you typically do in the off season, both for training and in your freetime?

JSH: The summertime is the most important time for Nordic skiers, with an old adage that says skiers are made in the summer. I took a bit of a break on a kayaking trip on the Salmon River. I also spend a lot of time running, mountain biking and roller skiing, which is objectively the goofiest activity known to man and a lot less fun than skiing on snow. At home in Idaho, I can do backcountry skiing in May, June and sometimes into July, which is good for training with high elevation.

You’re the first Dartmouth athlete to win this award since 2019. How do you feel about it?

JSH: I feel pretty ambivalent about it. If I was in the sport for winning awards, Nordic skiing is the wrong sport; it is not a sport of glory. That’s definitely not why I do it. To me, the allure of Nordic skiing is that it attracts a lot of really great people, and I think that it’s a good lifestyle. To me, the award means nothing. I didn’t even know I had won the award until people were telling me about it.

It’s obviously an honor to win that. I’m incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to race for Dartmouth and then to compete on that stage. But I’m more grateful for the opportunity.

What will you do to train for next year, your second-to-last year of collegiate skiing?

JSH: Because I didn’t compete for Dartmouth my first year,  I have two more years of skiing. I’m really excited for this next year because we are hosting the NCAA Skiing Championships. It is going to be fun for athletes and students alike. I think that the atmosphere in those races is going to be unbelievable, especially if the College and the athletic department really show up with a lot of support around it. 

Going into next year, I’m training hard. But I’m also going to try to enjoy my last full year of Dartmouth in terms of a fall, winter and spring sequence. I hope to ski professionally with the U.S. Ski Team for another 10 years, hopefully through the 2034 Olympics. I don’t care how long or successful my career is. To me, I think probably the NCAA Championship at Dartmouth will always be the most important race of my career. Next year, I can’t wait to see all the smiling faces of friends and fraternity brothers out there in the crowd, and I’m literally going to try to have cardiac arrest.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.