Sierra Nevada College’s four Swedish skiers look remarkably relaxed given they are thousands of miles from home, balancing collegiate studies with a hard-core ski racing schedule.

Martina Hulten, Caroline Bergstrom, Jessica Bouleau and Malin Ericksson laugh about the same things most college students do. They lament the fact that they have to go to South Lake Tahoe for anything “fun” to do when the quartet gets tired of the Tahoe Biltmore and Rookies Bar and Grill. They joke about living at the library and the fact their coach chose to put them in oversized team jackets this season.

Mostly though, the four look happy, glad to be attending a college and skiing at the same time. They are all standout performers for the SNC ski team, which is gearing up next week for a run at the regional and national United States Collegiate Skiing Association titles.

Collegiate skiing isn’t for those looking for a holiday. There are daily practices, workouts and races that require a high level of focus. Throw in a full class-load and whatever social life can be eked out on top of it for good measure.

“It’s tough sometimes,” Hulten said. “We don’t get the time to go out to other resorts and just free ski. We’re always focusing on racing.”

But the four agreed that they keep each other sane during the ski season, and the fact they are old friends helps.

Bouleau, Bergstrom and Hulten, all juniors, have known each other as far back as when they were eight years old, skiing on the same club team. Ericksson, a freshman, met Bouleau and Bergstrom through a mutual acquaintance earlier this year and instantly clicked.

“When we first came to America it was nice to have teammates who understood you, who spoke the same language. You don’t feel like yourself when you can’t fully express yourself,” Bouleau said.

Hulten agreed.

“It was hard to understand Americans at first, so it was nice to work on homework with someone else from Sweden. It’s like having a family here,” Hulten said.
The family atmosphere extends to their off-the-mountain lives, too. When the girls lived in a house last year with a kitchen, they would sometimes get together to get a taste of home.

“I’d miss the Swedish pancakes, and meatballs, so sometimes we would get together and make that,” Bergstrom said.

All agreed the cuisine they missed the most were the sweets.

“There is no good candy here and the chocolate isn’t very good,” Bouleau said.

“I really miss the taste of things in Sweden, the food just has different ingredients there,” Hulten said.

Tahoe does provide a few improvements though, the girls said.

“I love the sunshine here,” Bouleau said. “In Sweden it is dark and cold a lot; it’s so depressing to go home then. Here you get sunny days and the skiing is a lot better.”

This pseudo-family of four display a healthy dose of sibling rivalry as well. Bergstrom said the four compete with each other, rooting for one another while hoping to outdo the others.

“Of course we compete against each other,” Hulten said. “If you don’t, you’ll ski worse.”

The girls said they feed off each other and root for their teammates to do well so they can improve their skiing.

Ericksson said the skier’s mindset in Sweden tends more toward individual accomplishments, adding the team aspect in American is refreshing.

“Here it’s really fun because we all want to win at nationals,” Ericksson said. “We’re a team, so we can support each other and compete against one another to make ourselves better skiers.”

To a woman, the entire team said they would win a national championship this year at Sunday River Mountain, Maine on March 3.

“We’ll have to ski smart and ski fast,” Bouleau said. “It will be nerve wracking but as long as we all ski well at a high level we’ll win.”