AURORA -- Ruthie DeMino was an instant success for the Battle Mountain ski team as a freshman.
After finishing sixth in the giant slalom competition at her first state championships in 2023, and helping the Huskies earn a team title, she was seventh in the slalom in 2024.
Entering her junior campaign, DeMino knew she would face stiff competition from a skier she knows all too well -- little sister Eden.
“Usually for club racing we never got to race each other, because we’re in different age groups,” Ruthie said. “Last year, in high school, was the first time we really raced each other. For cross country, I’ve always raced her and even if we weren’t in the same race, you can always just compare times. We’ve always been competing against each other in that.”
To reach the mountain top and be crowned an individual skiing champion, the older sister had to defeat the freshman up-and-comer in the giant slalom race in the sisters’ favorite sport.
At the Aspen Highlands Thunderbowl track last February, Ruthie beat Eden with a time of 36.4 seconds, just barely in front of the freshman’s time of 36.6 seconds. That was in the first run. In the second run, the veteran sister had a larger winning margin of 37.68 to 38.56. Her total time was 1.08 seconds faster than Eden’s final result, but the sisters secured gold and silver medals.
“It’s just really neat to watch them compete against each other, because they’re both strong skiers,” Battle Mountain Alpine skiing coach Erik Gilbert said. “They both kind of recognize their strengths and weaknesses, and when they’re racing together on a day with a course and a venue that they’re evenly matched, we tend to see a gear come out of them that’s fun. It’s a sibling rivalry, it’s healthy. They both tend to shift that gear and try to find a different level. It depends on the day which one wins over the other.”
In the slalom race the next day, Eden (second place again) was ahead of Ruthie (ninth place).
“The sisters are a really good example of kids who want to pursue high-end athletics and make a commitment to also pursue team sports in a public high school,” Gilbert said, whose girls team was second in Alpine skiing to Aspen last year. “They’re amazing athletes.”
The older sister has her eye on being crowned as the top all-around skier in the state in her final season for the Huskies.
“My main goal is to win the skimeister championship, which is combined Alpine and Nordic skiing, because last year it was really close between me and Eden,” she said. “She’s my biggest competition for it. I also want to defend my state title in GS (giant slalom) and try to win that again.”
Last year, Eden scored the most points at the Alpine state championships and was named Alpine skier of the year, and both sisters were named to the all-state first team by the Colorado High School Ski League. Both DeMinos earned second team all-state honors in Nordic skiing. Eden was seventh in Nordic skate last year, while Ruthie finished 10th as a sophomore in that event.
The DeMinos are among the standouts to watch during CHSAA's skiing state championships, set for Feb. 18 through 21.
Beyond skiing, the sisters have also excelled in cross country and track & field.
As distance runners, they were key components of the powerhouse Huskies program that finished runner-up at the Class 4A state cross country championships each of the past two seasons. The team was also second, with Ruthie DeMino among the top seven runners, in 2022. Battle Mountain girls have now been first or second as a team at state in 10 of the past 11 years.
“I think it’s because Parrish knows how to really peak us at the right time,” Eden DeMino, who was seventh individually as a freshman and fifth as a sophomore, said of Coach Rob Parrish and their cross country success. “Our coaching is pretty good. Everyone on our team are usually multiple sport athletes, so we’re all pretty athletic. Caroline Provencher is really good at lacrosse, Isla (Elton), she’s really good at Nordic (skiing), so I feel like we just all have good backgrounds too.”
Isla Elton was the 2025 state champion in two Nordic skiing races, classic and skate, for Vail Mountain School. She runs cross country for Battle Mountain since Vail Mountain does not have a team.
Gilbert is not only the boys and girls head coach for Alpine skiing but also a Special Education teacher at Battle Mountain. He has seen multiple sports at the school thrive. Fifteen of the 25 team state championships, across all sports, have been won since 2001.
“There’s some amazing role model coaches at the school that have been here for a long time,” he said. “Rob Parrish does cross country and he did track up until last year. The soccer coach (David Cope), for the men’s side, has been here for over 20 years. Those guys set a bar I would say, not just longevity and commitment to the school and to the kids, but how they invest in their coaching. We have a really strong soccer community in the valley and a strong running community in the valley. There’s good guidance.”
The DeMino sisters are the latest talented athletes who have benefited from strong coaching and, of course, their own natural abilities.
They have also been nurtured in an athletic family. Their mother competed in swimming for the University of Wyoming, while their father has quite a background as a ski technician.
“Our dad used to work for the U.S. ski team and the Austrian and Swiss ski teams and he’s helped coach us,” Ruthie said. “It’s always been a part of our lives. We’re a really big skiing family and we all skied together and I guess that’s what got us into ski racing.”
Ruthie and Eden DeMino also tried soccer, figure skating, and lacrosse growing up, but running and skiing became their greatest passions in sports.
Now, they’re off to a promising start to the high school ski season once again. Eden finished second and then first in the initial competitions, while Ruthie was second and third. They were disappointed neither won individually at Copper Mountain, but they’re still looking poised to compete for state championships next month.
As a team, the boys and girls have finished atop the standings, one time each, so far this season.
In the past, Battle Mountain has earned eight team state championships in boys skiing (fourth-most in state history) and seven (third-most) in girls skiing. The most recent one was in 2023 when the oldest DeMino was a bright-eyed freshman.
Gilbert and his girls hope they’ll contend for a team crown in Alpine skiing. Starting last year, the Alpine and Nordic skiing state championships were separated for the first time. The Huskies have the individual firepower in Alpine, as well as the depth, to make a run at it.
Another team, a rival in cross country and skiing, is expected to be a top contender, as well.
“This year, Summit is the biggest one, because a lot of the club racers from Aspen graduated,” Eden DeMino said. “Summit has some strong skiers right now.”
Elle and Thea Armistead, along with Savannah Thomas and Mia Eaton, are all gifted skiers themselves. Thea Armistead was 12th in the giant slalom at last year’s state competition.
“I think a large part of the success of the program is the foundation of skiing skills that the kids come in with,” Gilbert said. “We’ve got some really good youth programs in the valley. Some club athletes decide to go the less intense route in high school, so we do get some kids from that. The kids grow up being good skiers. We have amazing training. That’s in large part because of our partnerships with Vail. The Gold Peak venue we use in the preseason and then in January we transition back to Beaver Creek. Kids get amazing training. We also have a lot of coaches who have a lot of experience.”
It has ended up being a perfect recipe for sustaining one of the most successful programs in Colorado.
Gilbert is in his fifth season with the program and is certainly one of the coaches with a wealth of experience. Before his teaching career began, he was a full-time ski instructor. In college, he was an All-American skier and a member of four national championship teams for the University of Vermont. Back in high school, at one time he was ranked number two in the country among all junior competitors. If that wasn’t enough, the one who taught him how to ski in his hometown of Richmond, Vermont was Barbara Ann Cochran, who won the giant slalom gold medal in the 1972 Olympics.
Gilbert is certainly well-qualified to coach the DeMinos and their teammates. Battle Mountain has had the largest group of skiers of any high school team in the state, even boasting 76 individuals three years ago. Now they limit the team to 50 members.
With so many competitors, they need multiple assistant coaches. Simon Marsh, Greg Gibbons, and Brian Culp are capable coaches for the Alpine team.
“I’ve got three amazing staff that work with me currently,” Gilbert said. “The one that has been part of Battle Mountain the longest is Simon Marsh. He’s been involved in the team for 16 years. Simon is one of the most amazing brains of skiing and racing. He continues to work with the youth programs at Ski Club Vail and his ability to pay attention to detail and brainstorm and focus on fundamentals is really bar none.”
The Alpine boys skiing team features Gabriel Hychalk, their fastest on the slopes, Owen Roach, Levi Hunt, and Teagan Larsen. They hope to unseat defending champion Aspen.