Steamboat Pilot & Today

Olympian Travis Mayer wasted little time transitioning between the Ivy League and World Cup freestyle events.

Mayer's fall semester at Cornell University in New York ended Dec. 15. By Jan. 18, the 2002 silver medallist and Steamboat Springs resident was back among the top five in the world after finishing fourth at a World Cup moguls event in Lake Placid, N.Y.

"I've trained so little," Mayer said. "I didn't have any expectations with results, but it worked out really well."

Mayer, 21, took some time away from skiing last fall to focus on his economics major, taking 16 hours of classes. He is a sophomore.

"It was definitely a really good change of pace from traveling all the time," Mayer said. "At the same time, it's not that much fun sitting behind a desk."

Mayer wrapped up his fall semester at the Ithaca, N.Y., school and moved back to Steamboat, getting in some great powder skiing during the New Year's holiday.

The freestyle run off Voo Doo was built shortly after Christmas, allowing Mayer to train -- albeit minimally -- before he flew back to New York for his first competition of the season.

Mayer's next event will be the U.S. Freestyle Grand National on Jan. 30 and 31 in Deer Valley, Utah, the site of Mayer's silver medal run in 2002.

"Every time, you go out and try to win," Mayer said. "If I could put down two good runs, I'll be happy. I'm skiing well, much better than I expected."

Mayer also plans to compete in the 2004 U.S. Freestyle Championships to be held March 26-28 at Heavenly in Lake Tahoe.

In the meantime, Mayer said he's taking several classes at Colorado Mountain College, but will take a "pretty sizable break" after the school year to train for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.