No one talks about technicians. Which is curious because they perform the most important job in ski racing aside from actually skiing. Bart Mollin is a technician for American tech skiers AJ Hurt and Nina O’Brien, and Ryan Mooney services Paula Moltzan’s skis. Their squad is steadily gaining in momentum on the World Cup these days. I sat down with both Ryan and Bart (another in-person interview!) and they spilled some secrets, told a few funny stories, discussed being married to your co-worker (Ryan and Paula), and generally scratched every ski racer’s intense itch to know about the somewhat-mystical, oft-overlooked craft of preparing world-class skis. The Skiing History Nugget is about the 1984 Olympics.

Questions, suggestions, and grievances always welcome:  ...