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Copper Mountain — Sam Morse’s velocity snowboarding profession intersects with marriage, engineering at Dartmouth, and operating Quick Camp, making him one of the numerous figures on the U.S. males’s velocity workforce. Often known as “Moose,” Morse manages a unprecedented stability between elite efficiency and real-life duties.
It’s loads. However Morse handles it with honesty, dedication, and a deep love for the game that first hooked him on the autumn line at Sugarloaf.
Three Pillars — and a Marriage That Helps Them All
Morse retains his life ordered round what he calls his three pillars: snowboarding, Dartmouth, and Quick Camp—the ski camp he’s deeply pleased with that he runs yearly
“These are my three pillars,” Morse mentioned. “If one thing doesn’t match into these three, it has to return later.”
Marriage is the precedence. Morse and his spouse, Mackenzie, celebrated their second anniversary this yr, and he or she stays his closest day by day assist.
“She watches each race, each single one,” he mentioned. “She needs me to do nicely, however I do know she loves me no matter outcomes. That’s actually necessary.”
Her distant position with the U.S. Olympic Committee permits them to spend almost half the yr collectively, splitting time between Europe within the winter and Hanover every spring.
Engineering at Dartmouth — Slowly, Deliberately
Morse is deep into Dartmouth’s mechanical engineering diploma, roughly 75% full. He attends every spring time period and has 4 phrases remaining.
“It’s actually difficult,” he mentioned. “Kyle Negomir and I simply took a chemistry placement take a look at to get right into a tougher class as a result of the same old one isn’t provided in spring. We handed—barely.”
The schedule calls for that he tempo his diploma, and, like Tommy Ford years in the past, Morse expects he’ll ultimately pause college, then return to complete as soon as ski racing permits.
A Life Between Utah and Maine
Although his official tackle is Park Metropolis, Morse isn’t house.
“I counted the final two years—294 days away one yr, 297 the subsequent,” he mentioned.
Spring usually takes him again to Sugarloaf, the place the steep, unbroken fall line formed the racer he’s right now.
“That unrelenting fall line is precisely what I really feel in World Cup downhill,” Morse mentioned. “You’re always accelerating. That was enormous for me.”
Why the U.S. Pace Races Matter
The 4 early-season U.S. velocity races give him a real edge.
“Getting this many races on house snow, on snow that fits me, is very large,” he mentioned. “Arc-to-arc snowboarding suits me greatest. When it’s a must to break the ski and slide—like at Kitzbühel—that finesse is tougher for me. However linking turns at Beaver Creek or Gardena? I like that.”
Colorado’s dry, high-altitude snow amplifies that benefit.
“In Europe the snow has moisture. It’s sooner. Colorado snow hyperlinks collectively smoother and slips out higher,” he defined. “Beaver Creek stays clear even after a ton of fellows run it. That’s distinctive.”
Copper vs. Beaver Creek Tremendous-G
Copper Mountain’s super-G is much extra forgiving than Beaver Creek.
“Beaver Creek is a higher-level super-G—extra air, harder terrain, and a really intimidating begin,” he mentioned. “Copper is a good entry super-G. The development is true.”
The Olympic Dream That Began in a Minivan
Morse has raced two World Championships however has by no means been named to an Olympic workforce.
“Making the Olympics can be a childhood dream come true,” he mentioned.
He nonetheless remembers the 2002 Salt Lake Video games vividly—though he was too younger to attend. His father and brother drove from Maine to Utah in a minivan, stayed in a Motel 6, and watched the occasions in individual. His brother returned with one unforgettable memento:
“My brother has a photograph of himself carrying Bode Miller’s silver medal from Salt Lake,” Morse mentioned. “It’s framed on our mantle. I grew up that on daily basis.”
That picture nonetheless fuels him.
What Makes a Downhiller
Concern is a part of the job. Morse doesn’t faux in any other case.
“One of many main shared traits is we’re prepared to lean in and embrace the velocity and embrace the concern,” he mentioned. “The concern is there—no denying it. It both destroys you and also you develop into a tech skier, otherwise you feed off it and develop into a downhiller.”
Kitzbühel: The King, the Monster, the Magnet
When requested which course captivates him most, Morse didn’t hesitate.
“Kitzbühel,” he mentioned. “It has that intimidation issue.”
He respects Wengen’s complexity, however Kitzbühel’s psychological depth is unmatched.
“While you’re sitting within the begin watching racers ship it off the Mausefalle, it’s a must to persuade your self that is one way or the other a good suggestion,” he mentioned. “After I land that first bounce and make the subsequent right-footer, I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m good.’ However getting there looks like rolling the cube.”
The beginning ambiance, he mentioned, is one thing each mum or dad, coach, and younger racer ought to expertise.
“You possibly can style it,” he mentioned. “It’s so completely different.”
Wengen: The Puzzle Nonetheless Being Solved
Morse lists Gardena, Beaver Creek, and Kitzbühel as his prime three favorites. However Wengen stays the course he’s nonetheless decoding.
“Wengen is a puzzle,” he mentioned. “Final yr I lastly started to place the items collectively. You nail one part, then mess up one other. It’s arduous to get all of it to suit.”
A Reminder From House
Earlier than this season, Morse had a grounding dialog together with his father.
“He mentioned, ‘There’s going to be Olympic stress, however don’t overlook why we began—since you beloved the fun of racing,’” Morse recalled. “‘If you happen to make the workforce, you make it. If you happen to don’t, you don’t. However don’t lose the enjoyment.’”
It caught. Morse carries that message with him now.
Who Moose Actually Is
Sam “Moose” Morse is compelling not just because he’s a downhiller, however as a result of he speaks overtly about concern, marriage, engineering, and the stress of chasing Olympic choice whereas operating his personal Quick Camp program. He’s grounded, considerate, and prepared to embrace the whole lot that makes elite velocity snowboarding so troublesome—and so lovely.
He’s, in each manner, a racer who nonetheless carries the enjoyment that began all of it on Sugarloaf’s fall line.
