This week in Soelden, Austria, the top giant slalom skiers are preparing for the first World Cup of their season. Joining them in practice runs is much of the U.S. alpine team, including rookie Annika Hunt. Though she won’t race in Soelden, Hunt is practicing for her World Cup debut next month in Levi, Finland.
Hunt earned her slalom World Cup starts for the season after winning the overall Nor-Am Cup alpine title. The 18 year old has career goals including World Cup podium finishes, Olympic bids and more. She’s following in her parents’ footsteps; her dad, Jesse, was on the U.S. Team decades ago, and her mom, Anne Kari Aas, the University of Utah cross country team.
Hunt was over the moon earning her starts. She narrowly missed out on them in 2024. She feels ready to meet the stages of the World Cup circuit despite her age and inexperience, she said.
“It was very exciting and meant a lot to me,” Hunt said. “I was really confident going into the season. … I learned that I was focusing too much on the outcome.”
Hunt realized she needed to focus more on the process in 2025 to attain the results she desired. She’ll take this mindset forward into her rookie season with the U.S. Team. Hunt said she used to wake up on race day petrified but now is excited each time.
“Looking at it as an opportunity to do my best and see what can happen,” Hunt said. “If you would’ve told me two years ago that I won the overall Nor-Am title last season, I would’ve been like, There’s no way. That’s not me.’ … The biggest takeaway I have from last season is how much can happen in one year and just how much you can grow.”
Hunt said she knows she’s never as far away from her goals as it may seem in the down times. She’s looking forward to skiing free as an underdog this season. Hunt said every race can be used as a learning experience.
“It’s been a goal for a long time,” Hunt said. “I have skied as long as I can remember. … I have an older brother and sister, and we all grew up Nordic and alpine skiing, and all of us chose alpine skiing.”
Hunt credited Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont for much of her development as a skier. Four other Burke alumni are on the alpine team, including the greatest skier ever, Mikaela Shiffrin. Hunt said it’s surreal to be on the U.S. Team with Shiffrin and others, whom she watched or competed alongside as a kid.
“This year feels like a dream come true already, even though I haven’t raced the World Cups yet,” Hunt said. “ I’m really proud of where I am now and happy for my younger self. … The girls were super welcoming.”
Hunt said she would like to follow in Shiffrin’s and alpine great Lindsey Vonn’s paths and ski a bit of all four speed and tech disciplines. She’ll likely have to race giant slalom, super-G and downhill on the Europa Cup circuit, below the World Cup level. Hunt won a super-G and downhill on the Nor-Am circuit last season.
Hunt knows focusing on the process and improving day by day will help her reach her long-term goals. While a World Cup skier, she sees the Milan Olympics as a bit too soon. Hunt will look to make her Games debut in the French Alps in 2030 and continue making progress along the World Cup circuit.
“Expectations just make me more nervous, and I focus too much on the outcome,” Hunt said. “Winning a World Cup has always been a dream goal of mine. But, I don’t think too much about these dream goals. Day to day, I focus more on my process and what I need to do to get 1% better each day.”
She added: “I am so grateful to have grown up in Park City. … Looking back, that’s such an important part of, you know, who I am as a skier because I learned how to really love skiing for skiing before I learned how to love racing.”