By Jason Bacaj MANAGING EDITOR
Bode Miller, winningest male Alpine ski racer in U.S. history, is no stranger to great feats in skiing. This time around he played a support role as his 3-year-old identical twins, Aksel and Asher, made their mark in the skiing world as likely the youngest skiers to ever ski 100 or more days in a season.
The accomplishment was instigated by the Gorsuch family, Miller said, whose fraternal twins crossed the 100-ski-day threshold at age 4. Both boys grew up with one of Miller’s daughters. Morgan Beck, Aksel and Asher’s mother and Miller’s wife, got to thinking—maybe their twin boys could serve as a rival, skiing 100 days at an even younger age.
“It was last year that we attempted it first,” Beck said. “We hit [76] days and we all got COVID. So, we paused it for last year knowing that we had this year to try again.”
Aksel and Asher started their season on Nov. 28, had a two-week break for Christmas, then hit day 100 on April 6. Most of the ski days were at Big Sky Resort and the Yellowstone Club— among their favorite runs were Powder Park, Magic Forest, Mr. K and pretty much everything off of the Southern Comfort chairlift.
Reflecting back on the season, Miller said the fact that they’re twins probably helped Aksel and Asher reach the goal at such a young age, serving as a fuel for their competitive athleticism. When one of them wasn’t feeling it, the other one was. Since they don’t like being apart, the other would work through whatever negative feelings he had and ski with his brother.
“I think it cultivates that where they can actually watch the other one and kind of feed off of how they are mentally and what they’re dealing with,” Miller said. “I think it’s actually really beneficial.”
Those intangible benefits gained from taking on such a challenge were what Miller and Beck emphasized from a parenting perspective: Even though it can be hard to get up and start the day with tough, physical activity, the twins could handle it.
“Starting this young sets them up for success in other things in life,” Beck said. “They learn that they can do hard things. Even though it’s uncomfortable, and even though it’s challenging, they can do it.”
“If there’s one thing I can do as a parent it’s to instill that in my kids, like, be tough. Don’t freak out,” Miller said. “And skiing teaches that.”
Aksel and Asher’s skiing also noticeably improved throughout the season, Miller noted. By the 100th day, they had some folks out filming the twins skiing and Aksel—who was the more timid skier the prior season—went ripping off down the slope, dipping into the trees looking for little soft snow stashes here and there, leading Miller to tear down after him. Aksel wouldn’t have stopped otherwise.
Although ski days may be further between with school starting next season, Morgan floated the idea that, just maybe, their little sister, 1-year-old Scarlett, would be next in line to break their record as the youngest to ski 100 or more days.
