The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“I want to go out there, bust my ass and ski well”
By Than Acuff
After a long road spent traveling the alpine ski racing circuit ultimately settling in to race for Montana State University three years ago, Tanner Perkins punched a spot in the Super G on the World Cup circuit for the 2025/2026 season.
Perkins is a bit of a self-proclaimed “outlier” in the ski racing world. He started racing at Powderhorn outside of Grand Junction and when his family moved to Crested Butte when he was 10, he continued to race for the Crested Butte Mountain Sports Team. His path to where he is now was unconventional to say the least and included living in his van and training with Aspen Valley Ski Club, hanging up the skis to focus on a degree in paramedicine and rescue at the University of Utah and then returning to the race fold to make the Junior World Championships and eventually leading to a partial scholarship to race for Montana State University.
Still, while Perkins was racing for Montana State, he was also on the NorAm Cup circuit racing in Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super G and Downhill at Copper, in Canada, as well as the final race of the series in Sugarloaf, Maine paying a lot of his own way to cover expenses.
“It’s the highest level of racing in North America besides the World Cup races here,” says Perkins. “It added up to 15-20 races total. I’ve got a huge credit card bill, that’s for sure.”
As the season progressed, Perkins found his groove in the speed events, specifically the Super G, and while he maintained his training regimen, he credits a lot of his success this season to the collegiate environment.
“Being in college has helped me loosen up a bit,” says Perkins. “I’ve got a good group of guys, good teammates and a good coach.”
But the season all came to a head in the final race of the NorAm Cup series at Sugarloaf March 10-20 as he was knocking on the door of a top finish in the overall points standings in the Super G, and a first or second place in the overall standings would open the door to compete on the World Cup next season.
“It was game on,” says Perkins. “There were a lot of guys back from the World Cup, so I had to be super-fast to keep my ranking.”
On a course that you could “ice skate on,” Perkins laid down a 16th place finish in the Super G to secure a second-place overall finish on the series standings and earn his spot on the World Cup. He also raced well enough in the other disciplines to finish fifth in the total points overall NorAm Cup standings.
“I have a start at any World Cup in Super G now,” says Perkins.
Perkins will finish off the race season at US Nationals in Vail this weekend but results there will have no bearing on his World Cup opportunity.
“It would certainly be nice to ski super-fast there, but it doesn’t mean anything,” says Perkins.
And while he has a spot on the World Cup scene, he still needs one big announcement to make sure he has the support to compete on the World Cup as the US Ski Team will announce its roster for the 2025/2026 season later this spring.
“I’ve met the criteria to be on the team but I’m an outlier,” says Perkins. “Making the team makes a world of difference for me. If you want to do it right, you need that support. I’m really excited and now’s the time. I want to go out there, bust my ass and ski well. At the end of the day it’s skiing so you have to be fast.”