Partnership + Winter Event Series with Travis Ganong
Welcome to the team Travis!
We are thrilled to announce a partnership with world-renowned ski race athlete, and Tahoe local, Travis Ganong. This partnership upholds our goal of supporting local athletes and our commitment to providing the best ski and bootfitting services in the Tahoe area. From the casual skier to the elite competitor, everyone deserves to slide on snow with skis and boots that fit them and maximize their day on the mountain.
In addition, this partnership provides an opportunity for us to share our passion for snowsports with the local community. We've collaborated with Travis to host a four-date event series this winter. Several of the planned events will include a live stream on our website allowing you to tune in from anywhere. See details below.
Tune for Speed on Saturday, November 25, 2023, at 6pm
Join world-renowned ski racer Travis Ganong and Start Haus lead tech Brandon Sims for an evening of ski tech and tuning. Hear directly from Ganong on how he wants his ski to be teched for a World Cup race as Sims explains his philosophy for tuning skis for race day based on conditions and the athlete. The event, hosted at Start Haus, is free and open to the public. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be recorded and live-streamed on the Start Haus website. Watch the live stream here!
Ski Bootfitting Q&A on Monday, December 18, 2023, at 6pm
Hear from Olympic ski racer Travis Ganong and Start Haus founder and industry-renowned tech Jim Schaffner as they answer questions on the art of bootfitting. The event, hosted at Start Haus, is free and open to the public. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be recorded and posted on our website after the event.
Ski with Travis After the World Cup on Thursday, February 29, 2023
Join world-renowned ski racer Travis Ganong just a few days after the World Cup. Learn how Travis approaches the course, his takeaways from watching athletes compete, and tips for racing at the World Cup level. Learn more here.
Turn for Speed in March, Date TBD
A clinic for speed! Learn the different techniques for making fast Super-G and downhill turns from world-renowned ski racer Travis Ganong. Hear how Ganong went from ranking 250th to 29th in the world in just half a season by mastering this concept. Watch slow-motion videos of his performances for critique. The event, hosted at Start Haus, is free and open to the public. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be recorded and posted on our website after the event.
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About Travis Ganong
Travis Ganong loves to ski. Born and raised in North Lake Tahoe on the slopes of Palisades Tahoe, he pushed his limits from Mighty Mites all the way onto the international stage as a member of the US Olympic team. As a kid, he pioneered never before skied big-mountain lines across the legendary resort. His versatile skill set as a skier led him to the highest level of competition as a ski racer. Travis competed for the last 18 years as a member of the US Ski Team where he established himself as one of the best Downhill and Super G skiers in the world raking up 2 World Cup DH victories, 6 World Cup podiums (including a 2023 podium finish in the Kitzbuhel DH), a silver medal at the World Championships, a 5th place finish in the 2014 Sochi Olympic DH, and 55 top ten finishes in his 207 international starts. While traveling as a ski racer, Travis always brought his powder skis, and in between competitions explored whichever mountain range he found himself in. He has been featured in ski movies from Warren Miller to Sweetgrass Productions and has graced the cover of publications like Adventure Sports Journal and Ascent Magazine, with many other ski shots published across all media outlets. Big mountain ski adventures have brought him to Svalbard, Alaska, Chile, Argentina, Patagonia, New Zealand, the Alps, across North America, and of course all around his home range of the Sierra Nevada. He lives in Lake Tahoe with his fiancé Marie-Michele Gagnon who also recently retired after a similarly successful career on the Canadian Ski Team.
Travis recently stepped away from competitive ski racing after accomplishing his goals in the sport and is excited to get back to the simple roots of why he fell in love with skiing in the first place, the simple act of climbing up mountains to ski back down as a free skier. At 35 years old, Travis looks forward to this next chapter of his ski career, dedicating his time to free skiing while being an ambassador to the sport and inspiring the next generation of skiers to follow in his footsteps, while encouraging others to engage with the mountains on a simpler level through environmental stewardship of our fragile mountain environments, and life-changing experiences sliding on snow.