From 2002 to 2034: Soldier Hollow's Evolution as an Olympic Venue
Boulder Nordic & Cycle Sport Staff

By Luke Bodensteiner
A native of Wisconsin, Bodensteiner was an NCAA champion in classic cross-country skiing at the University of Utah while also skiing under the banner of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team. Later, his involvement in the sport led him to become the U.S. Ski Team’s Vice President of Athletics and, later, its Chief of Sport, wherein he oversaw the athletic programs for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team for three Olympic Winter Games, with athletes winning a record of 53 medals across that span.
In addition, Bodensteiner served as a trustee of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. From that vantage point, he helped to establish Utah’s Soldier Hollow Legacy Foundation, which helps keep the one-time Olympic Winter Games cross-country and biathlon venue a world-class training site.
Bodensteiner served as the chairman of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation from 2009-2019 and is currently the Chief of Sports Development for the Legacy Foundation and General Manager of Soldier Hollow. In 2022, he was inducted into the Will and Jean Pickett Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame and is also a member of the University of Utah Crimson Club Hall of Fame.
In June of 2024, Salt Lake City and Utah were selected to host the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with Soldier Hollow identified as the venue for cross-country skiing, biathlon, and Nordic combined. With a unique 10-year timeline to prepare for the Games, Soldier Hollow will continue to evolve and play a major role in the development of skiing and biathlon in the U.S. for the next decade and more.
Constructed for the 2002 Games and in continuous operation since then as a public ski area and events and programming center, Soldier Hollow and other Utah legacy venues like it were crucial in the International Olympic Committee’s decision to award the Games to Utah, a process that prioritized minimizing the construction of new venues and a proven track record of hosting major international competitions.
In the winter, it maintains 26km of ski trails, with World Cup-level grooming daily, to provide skiing conditions of the highest standards. Thanks to the recent addition of 35 automated high-efficiency snowguns to its existing snowmaking system, it offers over 15km of machine-made snow to ensure early opening and a ski season that stretches from November into April. To mitigate the environmental impacts of snowmaking, Soldier Hollow has partnered with its local power company, Heber Light and Power, to ensure that all its electrical power needs throughout the year and across the entire facility come from sustainable sources, and it purchases secondary water from its local irrigation company, the majority of which is re-collected into a neighboring reservoir during the spring runoff. And a recently renovated 4.5km rollerski trail available from May through October rounds out the skiing season in the summer months.
A renovation and expansion of the 2002 competition management building, which was re-opened prior to the BMW International Biathlon Union World Cup in March 2023, has transformed the once utilitarian building into a full-service Nordic center featuring a café and lounge, a rental center, and ski shop providing high-end race-room services, a training center including two rollerskiing treadmills, team rooms for Soldier Hollow’s youth skiing programs, administrative space for competition management, and a stunning event area for large group functions and VIP hospitality during events. Soldier Hollow’s services now extend from retail to hospitality to skiing programs for all levels, from learn-to-ski to elite and masters programming.

Even with all the recent development, there’s still more to come in the ten years leading to the Games. The trail requirements for modern skiing and biathlon races have evolved since 2002, and Soldier Hollow will be developing additional trails and routes to segment the venue into four zones: Biathlon, Cross-Country Red, Cross-Country Blue, and warmup and ski testing. This will allow completely separate trail networks for biathlon and cross-country skating, and classic during the 2034 Games. To support those networks, a further expansion of automated snowmaking will be installed, adding approximately 8km to its existing snowmaking network, along with added pumping capability to ensure that, if necessary, enough snow can be produced within a two-week window to cover the entire Olympic and Paralympic trail system. And over-summer snow storage stockpiles will be added in the coming years to ensure the availability of snow during the Games, improve the environmental sustainability of snow production, and extend the skiing season earlier into the fall in the years preceding the Games.
Programs to engage people in skiing and biathlon will also remain at the forefront of Soldier Hollow’s efforts. Currently, over 500 kids from the local community participate in programs in which they ski at least twice a week during the winter, and a robust masters program
engages adults in active lifestyles and personal improvement. Continued expansion in program participation, including bringing under-represented populations into the sports, will be an increasing focus in the leadup to the Games.
While Soldier Hollow has been highly engaged in events since 2002, hosting a regular cadence of national championships, NCAA, World Cup, Junior World Championship, and regional and local races for both able-bodied and adaptive competitors at the venue, events will gain even further prominence over the coming ten years. Anticipate a more frequent program of World Cup and national-level racing at Soldier Hollow in the coming years.
And finally, Soldier Hollow will host an increasing number of elite athletes who come to Utah to train at high altitude and at the Olympic and Paralympic facilities. Already home to the U.S. Biathlon Association and an altitude training location for some of the world’s top skiers, Soldier Hollow is poised to provide training access for the many national teams who will come to train in Utah to become accustomed to the trails and the local area and to add altitude training to their programs in preparation for the 2034 Games.