LOUDONVILLE — Justin O’Dell has always been intrigued with the gondola.
Not the flat-bottomed boats in Venice — the kind you have to ride up a mountain in order to ski or snowboard down.
The third grader from Loudonville satisfied his young curiosity in early April when he competed in a National Standard, or NASTAR, ski race competition at Aspen Snowmass Ski Resort in Colorado.
O’Dell, 9, finished second in his age division in the slalom race and won a bronze medal for his performance in the giant slalom race — two disciplines he has honed as a skier on the Possum Run Ski Team at Snow Trails.
He was runner-up in this year’s race series in both slalom and giant slalom, having been the series champion when he was 7 years old. Snow Trails’ race series earns skiers and snowboarders qualification points based on times with handicaps to account for the difference in slopes across the USA. Those points then qualify racers for NASTAR.
Upon reaching NASTAR, skiers are put into one of four divisions, bronze, silver, gold and platinum — the latter being for the fastest racers.
Three kids from Ohio qualified for NASTAR. O’Dell was one of them. He raced in the gold division. The other two were from Columbus and raced in the platinum level, which is known as the “pre-Junior Olympics” level of racing.
O’Dell raced against nine other boys in his age group and division. His performances put him in the top 32 of all ages on his giant slalom time, qualifying him for NASTAR’ Tournament of Champions.
He came up short by 11/100 of a second to the sixth overall racer, a 14-year-old. (The teenager had a handicap of 23, giving O’Dell, who had a handicap of 50, a 5.3 second head start.)
“I got him started when he was still in diapers, just at Snow Trails,” said Ryan O’Dell, his father. “We did the ‘never-ever’ run, you know, the real little one. It was basically just a couple runs down and then going in for some cocoa. Just showing him skiing is fun.”
Ryan O’Dell, a mountain bike and ultra-marathon race director, said his son has had good balance from the beginning. But he also noticed, even at 2 years old, Justin wanted to ride the lift.
“I always told him if he could make a turn and get on the (carpet lift), he could get on the lift,” he said.
It wasn’t long before that happened.
Then Justin O’Dell began daydreaming about riding a gondola. His dad said one day his son made what he called a gondola out of his Legos.
“Yeah that was fun. I remember,” Justin O’Dell said. “I had known nothing about gondolas, I just thought it looked like one.”
His experience in Colorado, which included meeting and getting a photo with five-time world cup champion and two-time USA Olympian Bode Miller, showed the young skier what a life of skiing could mean in the future.
“My goal at some point is to make to the Olympics,” he said. “Junior Olympics if I’m lucky.”
When asked why he wanted to race in the Olympics, the 9-year-old said: “Well, because after nationals, the Olympics is the next step. So when I’m comfortable with nationals, I’ll try to do the Junior Olympics.”
For now, he just likes having fun on the slopes. He said the activity is “good exercise” and “entertaining.”
“And, you go fast,” he said. “You can ride the lift, see the beautiful ski resort. When skiing, you just feel relaxed. That’s what I like about skiing.”
When he’s not skiing, Justin O’Dell is … well, being a 9-year-old at McMullen Elementary School in Loudonville. He plays basketball and rides a mountain bike.
