Meg and Spenser Gustafson: SSCV siblings pair up for Para Alpine greatness
Sage Gustafson/Courtesy photo
Spenser and Meg Gustafson don’t have a typical brother-sister relationship. The sibling’s skiing partnership requires a slightly deeper connection.
“He’s the best brother you could imagine and an amazing skier,” said Meg Gustafson, a visually-impaired Alpine skier whose guide is her older brother. “I definitely think it brings us closer and we have a little bit of a different way of communicating than some of the other teams.”
“We’ve always been close,” Spenser Gustafson added. “But definitely with this, we’ve learned to trust each other more and communicate better.”
Meg Gustafson competed in all three events — slalom, giant slalom, and downhill — contested at the U16 Rocky Central Championships in Vail March 7-10. The Vail Ski and Snowboard sophomore placed 28th in the slalom and 38th in the GS but was unable to finish the downhill, her first official race with her brother serving as guide. While qualifying for U16 nationals was a goal coming in, the 15-year-old’s primary objective is to make the 2026 Paralympic Games roster.
“As my dad tells me, I always approach every day like I am that paralympian that I want to be,” she said. “So I just go into the mindset that I can do it.”
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The Gustafson’s grew up in Edina, Minnesota. Their dad, Peder, an Edina Hornet alumnus himself, ski raced at Boston College and got all three of his kids started in the sport early. Meg and Spenser started racing for Team Gilboa at Highland Hills in Minneapolis. During the pandemic, they took advantage of the virtual learning option and moved into a family friend’s vacation rental in Vail for the year. Going from 500 kids in his graduating class to 37 was an adjustment for Spenser.
“But overall, I’m glad we came out here,” he said.
“The community was just so amazing. (We) just kind of loved the coaching, the club, everything about Vail,” added Meg Gustafson, who also benefited from training during the day. “Night skiing was really difficult for me (in Minnesota), whereas here in the day, it’s a lot easier for my vision.”
Gustafson was diagnosed at birth with a genetic disorder affecting her eyes’ ligaments. At 12, her retinas became fully detached, requiring six surgeries and a six-week recovery stage wherein she laid face down. Today, she has about 9-degrees of total vision in both eyes and can only wear contact lenses on one side.
“So, I basically only see out of my right eye,” she described.
The tunnel vision hasn’t slowed her down on the slopes, though.
“Meg Gustafson is probably our hardest working athlete in all aspects of the program,” said Ian Dunlop, SSCV U16 head coach. “She competes in the able-bodied SYNC Cup series without a guide. When she’s not here with us at SSCV, she’s probably working on her art through her EYErisart brand, studying for school and spending time with friends and family.”
Gustafson has drawn inspiration from Audrey Crowley, a classmate and fellow SSCV athlete who won a bronze medal in the standing giant slalom at the 2025 FIS Para Alpine World Ski Championships in February. Both are involved with Sisters in Sports, a foundation that strives to “empower and unite women and girls with disabilities.” Founder and CEO, Danelle Umstead, who has a genetic eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa but went on to win three Paralympic Alpine bronze medals with her husband as guide, is Gustafson’s main skiing idol.
“She’s my mentor, so I really look up to her,” Gustafson said.
When she competes in able-bodied events, the ‘golden rule’ ensures Gustafson starts 16th or sooner in every race to minimize variables.
“For me it’s just kind of natural because it’s the vision I’ve always had and I didn’t go through a time where I knew perfect vision before,” she said. “But it’s definitely difficult on low-light days.”
While downhill is the scariest to do solo, GS might be the hardest.
“The panels are coming at you so quickly, so I don’t have as much time to register that,” she said.
But the young skier refuses to make excuses.
“She doesn’t like to make a thing out of her vision and does all activities with mostly no adjustments,” Dunlop said, adding that Gustafson is “humble and kind” as a person and skier. “She pushes us to be better and is an inspiration to those around her.”
While her first official downhill race with her brother came last weekend in Vail, the pair has practiced by forerunning various para races throughout the season as Meg, 15, isn’t old enough this year to compete. They were directed into the para partnership by Erik Peterson, the Competition Center Director at the National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park last winter. Gustafson said Peterson, has “been a great resource in helping us on our para path.”
“We knew nothing about it,” said Spenser Gustafson, who himself came off of competing at U18 nationals in Aspen earlier this month. “Meg’s vision got worse through the years. … I didn’t even know visually-impaired skiing really existed until she told me about it.”
During the races, Spenser Gustafson must remain a maximum of one gate ahead of his sister. The two communicate via bluetooth headsets. He warns her of terrain changes, jumps, unexpected ruts and other specific course dynamics while she tells him to slow down or speed up. Admittedly a bit more of a natural risk-taker, Spenser Gustafson finds himself often reminding his younger sibling to let it fly.
“Some days in training she’ll take two runs without me and two with me, and she’s typically faster with me,” he said. “I help put her on a more aggressive line and encourage her to fight.”
Apparently not every aspect of their relationship is completely atypical — like many brothers and sisters, they exist on opposite ends of the risk spectrum.
“It definitely helps me with my line and in my tuck with my brother basically yelling at me to tuck and encouraging me the whole way down,” Meg Gustafson added with a laugh.
“I do take risks when I ski,” Spenser Gustafson said. “There’s a balance. Working together, we help each other find it.”
