A lifelong local (seriously, he was born in the old Sun Valley hospital), cross-country skier Peter Wolter has made his hometown his full-time base again as he competes with SVSEF’s XC Gold Team, racing nationally and internationally throughout the year. After graduating from Community School, Peter attended Middlebury College, where he was a two-time All American and Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association’s Rookie of the Year. He graduated Middlebury in 2022 and moved back to the Wood River Valley, joining the SVSEF XC Gold Team, for which he trains about 600–750 hours throughout the year, doing all manner of activities, from cross-country skiing to running, biking, roller skiing in the gym, and bagging peaks. Though he also works part time for Decked, doing digital marketing, Peter still spends about half the year travelling outside the Valley and competing; last year he raced in Minnesota, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Utah. In his two post-collegiate years, Peter has accumulated numerous accolades, including placing third overall in the SuperTour 2022–2023 season, fourth place at the US Nationals Classic 20k, and two World Cup starts. Though Peter admits that he doesn’t have a ton of free time, he is passionate about automotive photography and has grand notions of owning Porsche 911s. He also loves spending time on Zillow, browsing homes not just locally but all over the country. Here is how he would spend his perfect December day.
How does your ideal morning start?
Peter: I would say almost all my days start with granola, yogurt, banana, peanut butter—that’s a staple of the Peter Wolter diet, so we’ll continue to roll with that on the perfect day cuz I love that. But then I’d say getting up relatively early, between 7 and 8, then driving up to Galena Pass. Let’s say it snowed a bunch overnight and it’s a perfect bluebird day, I’m doing some back country ski laps on Galena Pass. I’d go with friends, current XC and former XC skiers and anywhere in between, but a fun group of 4 or 5 people. I think it’s really fun to just do short laps with deep powder and not only is it a really fantastic workout but those mountains are just incredible, especially on a bluebird day. If there’s one thing that tops Nordic skiing, it’s powder skiing.
Where does your day go from there?
Peter: Then me and my friends would go to Galena Lodge for lunch. I would say what to get there would definitely be the Grown Up Grilled Cheese (bacon, Havarti, caramelized onions, smoky tomato aioli, and apples) with french fries and a Don Bar for dessert.
What’s on the docket for the afternoon?
Peter: I think the afternoon could be a short lap on the Nordic skis at Galena with my same group of friends from the morning—go ski a loop in Horse Creek and cut back up and over and do Rip and Tear into Senate Meadows. That’d be an hour or so of skiing. Imagine a perfect day, on a great groomer.
What’s for dinner?
Peter: After wrapping the day, I’d finish with a really fun dinner at Rickshaw with some friends. I’d get the KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) and Chiang Mai Noodles, just because I think it’s perfect to eat that on a cold winter day. It fills you up, it’s warm food, and it’s incredibly tasty.
How does your day end?
Peter: At that point I’d go home, take a hot shower, and watch a movie in bed.
