Ice Badgers Nordic Ski Team

The focus is on fun, adventure, skill development, and building confidence through skiing.

Welcome to the Ice Badgers Nordic Ski Team! 

We are a youth ski team based in Missoula, MT.  The season runs January 4th - March 3rd.  We practice at the Pattee Canyon and Lubrecht.  If there is no snow at those places we extend practices to Lolo Pass and Gold Creek ski areas.  We practice 50% classic and 50% skate.

1. Ice Badgers - Mondays/Wednesdays - January 4th - March 3rd - 4:30-6pm

2. Ice Badgers Adults - Mondays/Wednesdays - January 4th - March 3rd - 4:30-6pm

3. Ice Badgers Travel Race Team (IBEX) - November 1st - March 3rd - Follows IMD JNQ schedule - 1-6 days a week

2026–2027 Ice Badgers Programs

1. Ice Badgers Main
Vibe: Slightly aggro, push yourself, have fun, ski fast.

Grades 4–12
Classic practice: Mondays at Lubrecht
Skate practice: Wednesdays at Pattee Canyon
Race entries included: Nordic Dance, Randy Beckner, and Follow Your Heart
Coaches: Anne, Shaun, Abby, Jenny, Atty, Jonathan, and others

2. Ice Badgers Travel (IBEX)
Vibe: Nordic is your main winter sport. You love training, racing, traveling, and being part of a team. This is not a learn to ski team, your skier should have experience in both skate and classic techniques prior to joining Ibex. 

Grades 7–12
Classic and skate practices 3–5 days per week
Racing most weekends, primarily on the Intermountain Division Junior National circuit
Season: November–February
Head Coaches: Mike Lessard and Orion Berryman, Coaches: Ella, Payton, Chris, and Shaun

3. Ice Badgers Adults
Vibe: Relaxed but motivated. Improve your skiing, ski lots of kilometers, and enjoy the community.

Skate practice: Mondays at Lubrecht
Skate practice: Wednesdays at Pattee Canyon
Season: January–February
Race entries included: Nordic Dance, Randy Beckner, and Follow Your Heart
Coaches: Jeff Bookwalter and Ruby Zitzer

PRACTICE CONCEPT:
Practice will always have a group chat and game and snack, followed by getting with your smaller animal groups and working on the skill of the practice or getting after the adventure ski!  We will always end with a chat and coco.  Teams are important, they keep athletes engaged.  We will continue to push the team while working on individual skier development within their smaller groups.  We follow the Ice Badger Curriculum which is a combination of our learned experiences and L100 training.