In a small town with rainy winters, with only five kilometers of groomed trail and with few, if any, local races, how unlikely is it that Girdwood is home to a rising national Nordic skiing talent?
Despite the odds, Mia Stiassny, 17, is crushing the field in cross-country skiing—in Anchorage, in Alaska, in the United States, and, recently, even in Europe.
And that her success began in Girdwood—with Mt. Alyeska looming above and the town’s share of medal-winning skiers and snowboarders—is merely a situational happenstance, says Stiassny, who wore a black puffy plastered with sponsors during an interview at a local coffee house…