Two-time Olympian Luke Bodensteiner relived the excitement he experienced during the 1992 and ’94 Games as he watched hype men with microphones get attendees out of their seats, dancing and chanting, at the Tesero Cross-County Stadium in Italy during Paralympic competitions earlier this month.

But his visit was for business rather than pleasure. He’d come with a mission: to prepare Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, which hosted the cross-country skiing and biathlon competitions during the 2002 Olympics and Paralympics, for the Games’ return to Utah in 2034.

Bodensteiner, who is the general manager of the Midway venue, participated in the International Olympic Committee’s observer program, which allows future organizers a peek at the Games’ behind-the-scenes organization. 

Bodensteiner left for Val di Fiemme, Italy, on March 6 and returned March 12.

It was not his first time visiting the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium, which he frequented for competitions in his 20 years in leadership roles for U.S. Ski & Snowboard. But it was his first time participating in the observer program.

The biggest insights Bodensteiner gained from his conversations with Giovanni Plano, the general manager of Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium, were around accessibility for disabled athletes and spectators.

“I think that was the one area that, in retrospect, they had wished they had done differently. There’s a short gap between the Olympics and the Paralympics, and what they discovered is they hadn’t contemplated well enough the accessibility issues,” he said. “They spent a lot of time in that 10-day gap building ramps and creating accessibility routes and bridges to get people across snow.”

Bodensteiner said Soldier Hollow is accessible for its day-to-day operations, but the Olympics and Paralympics will require additional planning.

“When you put in a lot of temporary facilities and just think through the route, for instance, that an athlete in a wheelchair has to take to get from bus drop off to the snow where they start skiing, that requires a lot of thought, actually,” he said. “They really said, ‘Build the venue for the Paralympics first, and then if there are things that you don’t want or don’t need, you can remove those and put them back for the Paralympics.’”

The Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium fared better in its snowmaking. Increasing the capacity of its snowmaking system was one of several renovations the venue underwent in its $20 million overhaul in the years leading up to the Games.

Bodensteiner said Tesero and Midway have “remarkably similar” climates and face the same snowmaking challenges, particularly in March, when the Paralympics take place. That’s why Soldier Hollow will be doubling the capacity of its snowmaking system over the next five years, a project that is expected to cost nearly $7 million.

The venue is also trying a new snow preservation strategy this year: snow farming. 

“We basically made a pile of snow that’s about 100 yards long and 50 yards wide and 25 feet deep, and we’ve blanketed that with insulation,” Bodensteiner explained.

He expects about 80% of the snow will be preserved until November. If the method, popularized by ski resorts, is successful, the venue will add two or three additional snow farms.

What will help is that the competitions held at Soldier Hollow will likely take place in the morning to accommodate broadcasts in Europe, Bodensteiner explained. He said snow tends to soften after about 11 a.m. on sunny days.

Another challenge Soldier Hollow will face in 2034 is accommodating spectators alongside the trails. Bodensteiner said the International Biathlon Union is encouraging venues to get spectators close to the action during the 2034 Games.

Soldier Hollow accommodated about 20,000 spectators per day in 2002, and Bodensteiner expects 15,000 per day in 2034. Accommodating those crowds on short trails could be tricky for the venue.

“Unlike in 2002, where the longest trail that we used was the 16.7 kilometer trail, there’s much more focus now on shorter laps. And so, the longest trail we actually do in 2034 is 8.3 kilometers,” he explained.

He’s still brainstorming how to accommodate crowds alongside the trails and said the problem will be addressed closer to 2034.

Bodensteiner not only learned how to prepare Soldier Hollow for the Games, but how Wasatch County can welcome them in 2034.

He witnessed how the nearby Italian towns of Predazzo and Cavalese, of a similar population size to Midway, provided a warm welcome to tourists. The Games “didn’t shut down daily life,” but there were plenty of watch parties in the town squares, and businesses had broken out Olympic posters, flags, historic skis and images of Italian skiers. 

“I think that really helped draw people into those towns and into the shops and into the restaurants and kind of keep the party going,” Bodensteiner said. “In Midway and Heber, that was not the case in 2002. It was sort of, drive into town, take a shuttle to the venue, watch the race and then leave for Park City or for Salt Lake.”

Bodensteiner’s hope is that Wasatch County can have a warmer welcome for tourists during the 2034 Games. That’s why he participates in the Heber Valley Community Impact and Legacy Committee, which also consists of representatives from the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, Heber City, Midway and Wasatch County. The group initially formed as a Soldier Hollow advisory committee around six years ago but shifted focus to preparing for the 2034 Games about six months ago. 

“So far, we’ve been identifying the initiatives that the community would like to see it evolve toward in the future. And soon, we’ll start talking about how to use the Olympics to try to activate or even accelerate some of those projects,” Bodensteiner explained.

He provided the Heber Valley bypass and increased parking areas in Heber City as examples.

Executive Director of Heber Valley Tourism Dallin Koecher is also a member of the committee. He participated in the observer program during the Olympics last month and will be presenting his findings to the committee later this month. Bodensteiner will do the same.

Although Bodensteiner learned much from the observer program, the biggest delight of his trip was the performance of the U.S. cross-country skiing team. He thought that bode well for the 2034 Games.

“It’d be phenomenal for us to see the U.S. athletes perform exceptionally. They did in Italy,” he said. “I think that would bring so much to the local spectators who would be visiting here.”

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When four-time Paralympic alpine skier Danelle Umstead talks about the power of sport, she speaks from her lived experience in finding community through isolation and hardship.

“Skiing gave me purpose and independence when I was losing my sight,” said Umstead, who is visually impaired and competed with her husband as her guide across four Paralympic Games. “It gave me community when I felt isolated, and it taught me that sometimes the biggest barriers aren’t the ones on the mountain. They’re the ones in our minds and in society.”

This need for community became the spark for the Sisters in Sports Foundation, which Umstead launched in 2020 to ensure that women and girls with disabilities have a place to belong, thrive and lead. 

For Umstead, skiing represented a space she could turn to when she felt isolated by vision loss. Now, she is giving a platform to a generation of girls with disabilities, aiming to help them find that same sense of belonging and grow into leaders who will lift others in turn.

“We hope that this is a movement. If we start now, by the time 2034 comes, we can really rally the Paralympic side of things and show what we’ve accomplished together here as a community and as Sisters in Sports,” said Umstead. 

On Saturday, the foundation is hosting Bella Notte, a fundraising gala named in the spirit of the 2026 Milano Cortina Games at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley. The evening brings together Olympians, Paralympians and community members for a celebration of sport and resilience, raising funds to sustain and expand Sisters in Sports’ impact. 

With a fundraising goal of $250,000, the event will feature a silent auction, appearances from Olympians including Picabo Street, Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe alongside Sisters in Sports athletes.

Olympian Shannon Bahrke will host the evening, and Bella Notte will give the community a chance to meet the young women whose futures the foundation is helping to shape.

“This is more than just a fundraiser,” said Umstead. “It’s about rallying together as a community and showing these women and girls that they belong.”

Sisters in Sports was born from the gaps Umstead felt in her own support system as an athlete.

“I knew there was something that really needed to change for women in sports, and that is community. Having a community is really important. That’s what sports are all about, right? It teaches you to collaborate and encourage and empower each other, and it wasn’t there for women,” said Umstead.

When Umstead founded Sisters in Sports, she built it around two priorities: mental wellness and storytelling. Through the foundation’s programs, athletes gain access to psychologists and wellness specialists offering one-on-one sessions, group workshops and curriculum designed to strengthen mental health long before an athlete reaches the elite level.

“I thought that was really lacking in sports,” Umstead said. “The only way you’d get that mental health support was if you made the national team. That leaves out quite a bit of people who are trying to either get involved in sport or who live with a disability and want to excel in life. It was really important to me to have a healthy mind just as much as a healthy body.”

Athletes also work with coaches to learn how to tell their stories in a way that feels true to their experience, and prepares them to advocate confidently with coaches, sponsors and employers. 

“We want to help women tell their story in their own authentic way, so they could really hold themselves as a strong disabled woman. And that was really, really important to me,” said Umstead. 

Despite launching during the coronavirus pandemic, Sisters in Sports has now supported more than 50 athletes, funding training, travel and equipment while also fostering a culture of mentorship.

Paralympians, including co-founders Oksana Masters and Kendall Gretsch, lead roundtables on topics from nutrition and social media branding to resilience and leadership. The round tables are about offering advice and connection, but also a way to meet and find community among other women with disabilities, regardless of level or discipline. 

Umstead explained that while she often found herself informally mentoring teammates during her career, what was missing in women’s sports, especially for athletes with disabilities, was a structured, lasting community to lean on. Through roundtables and the foundation’s Big SIS program, where experienced athletes step in as mentors to newer members, Sisters in Sports is working to create a lasting outlet for community and belonging.

“Once you’re a part of sisters in sports, it’s something you stay with forever. We continue to rally for you and your needs and help you in wherever your path is going,” said Umstead. “Once a sister, always a sister. We really want them to know they have a community that they can rely on, and we hope they’ll bring up the next generation of sisters too.”

Guests at Saturday night’s Bella Notte will be able to bid in the public silent auction featuring experiences and items, including local wine tastings, resort stays and U.S. Ski Team merch. 

The silent auction also offers a rare piece of alpine history, featuring Mikaela Shiffrin’s autographed custom helmet from her 2022-23 World Cup season. Shiffrin surpassed Ingemar Stenmark’s all-time World Cup victories record while wearing the helmet, earning the title of the greatest skier of all time. 

The gala will also feature an Olympic-style pin trading, where each guest receives a lanyard and collectible pins to swap throughout the reception. Inspired by traditions from the Games, the activity is designed to spark connections among attendees while nodding toward both Milano Cortina 2026 and the 2034 Games in Utah.

Umstead envisions Sisters in Sports becoming a household name by the Winter Olympics, when the Paralympic Games come to town. The foundation recently strengthened its leadership with new board members Beth Armstrong, Gil Mandelzis and Steve Scruton, joining an existing board that includes Susan Cattozzo and Jeannie Goldstein. 

“By the time 2034 comes around, I would love for Sisters in Sports to be a staple — for it to be a name that everybody knows. And for the movement of the Paralympics, maybe to know that we were a part of it, even if it’s a small part, we all have to give to make it better in our communities and for our athletes.”

Bella Notte begins at 6:30 p.m. with the VIP reception, followed by the general reception at 7:30 p.m. and dinner at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets start at $250 with sponsorship opportunities also available starting at $2,500. Visit tinyurl.com/4j89ypce for details.

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The action may continue in the Park City area even after the close of the 2034 Winter Olympics, which are expected to be awarded to the state this summer.

The group that is seeking the Games recently detailed the list of venues proposed to host the competitions. Park City, as was expected, would play an outsized role in a second Winter Olympics in Utah. Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park are included on the map of competition venues, as was the case during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

But in a significant change from the earlier Winter Olympic era, the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games also wants to hold some of the competitions during the Paralympics in the Park City area. The Paralympics follow the Games by several weeks and are themselves a major event. Most of the attention during the bidding has focused on the Winter Olympics.

The proposed venue map for the Paralympics includes holding para snowboard competitions at the Utah Olympic Park. Other proposed Paralympic competition venues include the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Wasatch County, Snowbasin in northern Utah, the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City and the Maverick Center in West Valley City. The opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympics would be held at Rice-Eccles Stadium, the same location proposed to open and close the Winter Olympics.

There were no Paralympic competitions held in the Park City area in 2002, when upward of 50% of the contests during the Winter Olympics were held in and around the city or in nearby Wasatch County.

If the Utah Olympic Park was to host Paralympic events in the weeks after the close of the Winter Olympics, the competitions would be expected to draw crowds to the community and likely necessitate joint planning between an organizing committee and local leaders even if the numbers would not be expected to match those who arrive for the Games. There would likely be transportation and security matters to be addressed as well as plans to celebrate the Paralympics.

Park City has long been considered a place where disabled winter-sports athletes can thrive. The National Ability Center, a not-for-profit organization, has especially stood out with programs that have nurtured athletes with disabilities. Winter-sports disciplines at the National Ability Center include skiing, snowboarding, Nordic skiing and sled hockey. Meanwhile, the annual National Ability Center-hosted Huntsman Cup on the slopes of Park City Mountain is one of the high-profile events in the area for athletes with disabilities.

The proposed map of venues for the Winter Olympics and the Paralympics would keep the Utah Olympic Park busy throughout the Games period. The Winter Olympic plans put the sliding sports, ski jumping, the ski-jumping portion of the Nordic combined, freestyle skiing and snowboarding at the Snyderville Basin facility.

The International Olympic Committee is expected to award the Games of 2034 to Salt Lake City during meetings in Paris just before the opening of the Summer Olympics in the French capital in July.

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