IRON RIVER, Mich. – When many Olympians train, they often head to world-class facilities. Olympic gold medalist Nick Baumgartner heads to his own backyard as he pursues his fifth winter games in Milan in February.
At 44 years old, Baumgartner -- the oldest athlete on Team USA’s snowboard cross team -- is still chasing another Olympic Games from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. His training setup includes no chairlifts, no groomers and no fancy equipment. Instead, it includes grit, experience and a homemade snowboard track carved by him directly surrounding his property just outside Iron River.
On a quiet, snowy street in Bates Township, Baumgartner’s yard doubles as an Olympic training facility.
“All right, it’s time to do Olympic training -- Bates Township edition,” Baumgartner said just before climbing the 9-foot stairs to the top of his track.
His corporate sponsor sits proudly at the end of the track on two propane tanks, next to a shovel and a chainsaw, tools he used to build the track himself.
“I put in 20 to 30 hours building this track at my home,” he said. “And when it’s all done, it’s a heck of a place to train right outside my door.”
Every bump and every turn on the course was carved by Baumgartner, who straps in daily and drops down the track he designed himself.
“I’m sure there’s a few of them that do the same amount of work as me and they’re doing everything that they can, but no one’s outworking me,” said Baumgartner when asked if anyone in the sport outworks him.
Baumgartner is the oldest athlete on the U.S. snowboard cross team -- old enough to be the father of some of the competitors he races against. But he says age has only sharpened his edge.
“The older I get, the more people say, ‘Awe, he’s not a threat this time. He’s not a threat this time,’” Baumgartner said. “Fall asleep on me. See what happens?”
Most mountain athletes slow down in their 30s. Baumgartner won Olympic gold at 40 in Beijing, China at the last Winter Games.
“This thing does not live on the mantle,” he said of his gold medal. “This lives in my pocket, in my backpack or the console of my truck.”
That gold medal from the Beijing Games now helps fund his career through speaking engagements and endorsements, but Baumgartner’s path to the top was far from glamorous.
“It’s funny -- I was working for a concrete company out of Green Bay, Wisconsin,” he said, referring to the start of his snowboarding career.
In the early years, Baumgartner poured concrete to support himself and his son -- back when snowboarding wasn’t even an Olympic sport.
His training doesn’t stop at his backyard course. To build the strength he’ll need for Italy, Baumgartner makes the long drive to Marquette twice per week, where his training looks different but the mindset stays the same.
Inside Advantage Sports Training in Marquette, Baumgartner trains alongside athletes half his age.
“As long as nothing pops, we love it,” he said when asked if he loves to sprint.
His workout consists of sprints, box jumps, and heavy weight training.
He pushes himself -- and the younger athletes around him -- refusing to let age define his limits.
“The last thing I want to do is come around these young kids and look old,” Baumgartner said. “So, I work a little bit harder and then when I can come here, and I can test some of these kids, pushes them as well.”
Baumgartner also cross-trains off the snow -- mountain biking, surfing in freezing Lake Superior, snowboarding Ski Brule and finding ways to turn perceived limitations into an advantage.
After decades in a sport built on speed, Baumgartner has proven that sometimes the longest and most difficult path leads to the highest peak -- and sometimes it starts in your own backyard.
Baumgartner does train on professional courses, but he built his home course to make sure no one is outworking him.
Final Olympic qualifiers take place the weekend starting on January 17th. The U.S. snowboard team will be named by Jan. 18.
WDIV will continue following Baumgartner and his teammate, Jake Vedder of Pinckney.