When UNM ski team members strap on their boots, it isn't just a snowy mountain they have to overcome.
The team consists of 22 members - male and female - who speak seven languages and are from 10 countries.
They train in one of the most southern states of the U.S., which amounts to unpredictable snow conditions and limited practice time on the slopes.
And lurking in the shadow of sports like football and basketball, some Lobo fans don't even know skiing is a UNM sport.
"It's really frustrating when, at the beginning of each semester, I would talk to new classmates, and they would ask, 'Do we really have a ski team?'" junior Nordic team member Polina Ermoshina said. "Some people don't know we have a ski team, and when they do, they ask, 'What are you doing here in New Mexico?'"
All along, the team has been dominating its sport on a national level and putting UNM athletics on the map. In 2004, the ski team became the first and only UNM program to win a national championship. The program has also been NCAA runner-up two times, produced 10 individual national champions and has collected 193 All-American awards.
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And as for those non-snowy mountains they have to overcome, they make that look pretty easy, too.
Ermoshina said the fact that nearly everyone is a foreigner creates a bond among team members.
"It's better for us that everyone is different," she said. "We understand each other because we're all in the same position. It doesn't matter if you're from Norway or Sweden. It feels the same when you feel dead tired and miss home."
Back home, the members were used to practicing skiing on snow nearly every day, but when they came to New Mexico, they had to make an adjustment that turned to their benefit.
Head coach Fredrik Landstedt said some days the snow is great and they can drive a couple hours to a mountain and get a good day's practice in. Other days, it's as dry as the desert can be - they have to adjust.
"We have a long dry-land season," he said. "No team starts skiing until November, and even during season, we do a lot of roller skiing in the foothills, long running workouts and hikes, some biking, and then there is a lot of strength and weight-room training."
Ermoshina said adjusting to the lack of snow was awkward at first but that it worked out to the team's benefit because they don't get burnt out on the slopes.
"We do a lot of different workouts not on the mountain, but then every time it's time to ski, you're excited about it."
The team members seem to be dedicated to another thing at UNM: their academics. The men's and women's teams consistently top all other Lobo squads in team GPA. And in 2008, 11 members of the team earned scholastic recognition from the National Ski Coaches Association. The men's squad tied its best GPA with a 3.75 average, and the women's team has recorded an above-3.0 average every semester since the fall of 1991. Even though English is most of the team
members' second language, they make no excuses for anything less than excellence in the classroom.
Not even their practices and meets, which often lead them away from school for many days at a time, detract from their dedication to academics.
"We don't accept our athletes to have anything below a 3.0 GPA," Landstedt said. "Most years, we're the top, and our goal is to have men and women above a 3.5 team GPA. Our first goal is the highest GPA; our second is winning a national championship."
With only a few meets left until the NCAA Championships and another shot at the national title, Landstedt is optimistic about his team's chances. Of his 10 national qualifiers, four skiers have won meets this year, and those don't include Malin Hemmingsson, who was 2007 NCAA champion, and Ermoshina, who was NCAA runner-up last year.
"Our goal is to be top four so we can bring home a trophy," Landstedt said. "It'll be tough because
everything has to work out. You might have the best team there, but if you're going to win, all events have to go right. The important thing is that you put yourself in a position to have the chance to win. Whatever happens, happens."
Whatever happens this year, with only four seniors on the team, the ski team has the depth of a young team to fall back on for next year. More important, with athletic and grade standards set so high, the team has a tradition of success to fall back on.
"The expectations for this program are very high," Landstedt said. "I think that's what makes the difference is that by having these expectations, we stay on top - both with grades and at the NCAAs."
