The Olympics have passed, and while the focus on Russia has made a much more dire turn, in the United States, we can welcome back our medalists and the teams that took them there.

The sacrifice and determination that propels every Olympian towards glory every four years is built upon a foundation of commitment. They must first commit to their prospective disciplines, and there is an underappreciated commitment from those who lead them there. Coaches, chefs, nutritionists— a team of all sorts —is required to go to the Olympics, and Teton Valley can stand in applause for two who helped the American skiers and snowboarders achieve 15 of the 28 medals won in Sochi.

Tanya Alexander

Anyone who has eaten out in the valley should know Tanya Alexander, owner of Forage in Driggs. Her striking blonde hair and eccentric smile are pretty easy to spot through the windows of her restaurant, but for the past few weeks she has been conspicuously absent from the valley, having been commissioned as a team chef for the U.S. Olympic Ski and Snowboard teams in Sochi.

“It was a lot of work, but I knew it would be,” said Alexander. “The beauty is we were just at home when we got there.”

Alexander has been cooking for mountain athletes for almost 20 years, and through a United States Olympic Commission nutrition program, and her sister’s position with them, she was invited to cook for the Men’s Alpine team in New Zealand last August. Her reputation and experience then landed her in Sochi.

“They are one of the best populations to cook for,” said Alexander.

The intense physical exertion allows the athletes to neglect calorie count, for the most part, and the well-rounded, high-in-carbohydrates and protein diets means comfort food, to her. The food she cooks has to feel comfortable to the athletes so while their environment shifts, their diet does not, adding small amounts of consistency to keep them on top of their game. Yet, the food simultaneously has to be flavorful, creative and unique.

“The Russians would say, ‘why does your food taste so good?’ Because,” she sad, “we’re not afraid to not follow the same recipes.”

“Sometimes people get stuck in traditional recipes,” she said. “It’s not what Americans do, sometimes you gotta try [something new].”

Inside what she called her “five star penitentiary” of brand new kitchen appliances and utensils inside the American team’s hotel kitchen, she was quickly recognized for producing the best food of all the Olympic teams, whipping up Asian and Americana dishes en masse, usually feeding more than 100 people at a time.

“They were out for long hours at a time,” she said. What they needed, “was just general fueling up. Not too much in the dessert world.”

Even though, she said, gold medals got cookies.

However, it was her hamburgers that won the Russians over. She noted that Russians love McDonald’s, as the chain’s food served in different parts of the world might be of a higher quality than what we have grown to expect.

“We saw you making something in the kitchen today and it looked something like [McDonald’s],” she said one Russian chef told her.

“Yea, these are real burgers,” she laughed in response.

Even for the differences in culinary experience, it was the similarities that Sochi had to the western world that surprised her most, the European feel, the high fives and the national pride.

“Humans are humans wherever you are, whatever language you speak, and I like to confirm my patriotism,” said Alexander. “We should be proud of our people.”

Being able to step beyond the borders, Alexander said she could really see the positives and strengths of the United States, from Shawn White’s previous accomplishments to the “younger athletes taking the stage.” From the nationalist propaganda to Soviet stereotypes, athlete’s fears and their camaraderie, she was behind the veil and exposed to what the western world only reads about.

“Don’t believe everything you see in the newspaper,” she said.

Jeff Archibald

“I do everything,” said US Olympic SnowboardX coach Jeff Archibald, and he does. From coordinating dryland training and helping athletes tweak their runs, to enlisting up-and-comers as wax techs so they can still travel with the World Cup team, he’s dedicated to the sport.

After coaching through three winter Olympics, he knows the game. He knows where best to set up on the course to relay information about riders and what adjustments they need to make.

“I’m usually watching on a TV if there’s a live feed or on the course, kind of giving the information, like what we need done, like, ‘Nate [Holland] needs to run turn four hot,’” said Archibald.

And, he knows when the team needs to let loose and enjoy the reasons they began snowboarding in the first place.

“We had like three or four days where we just free-rode, that was great for the team,” He said. “Everyone just rode powder for the first three, four days, then kind of scared themselves a bit …”

“You know what it was, the big stuff just had lift access to it. There’s big, scary stuff that have lifts that go right to the top, and if you get hurt, you get hurt, Euro style.”

And, then he knew when it was time to work.

When we get out and ride powder, it … sets a good tone, but as soon as it was business time, everyone switches over real quick.”

The U.S. snowboard cross team brought home one medal, and it was the long shot Alex Deibold who did it for them. Although he did not make the 2010 team for Vancouver, Archibald brought him along to help as a wax tech.

“Our idea was just for him to see what it’s like,” said Archibald.

Over the next four years, he worked his way through the odds, the media and spotlight to the podium.

“He was kind of a dark horse,” said Archibald. “He’s had a few podiums in the past year, but he wasn’t one of the ones everyone was kind of talking about. As a coach, seeing how he was riding going in, I knew he could medal, and to see him do it was pretty spectacular. …How much work that kid put in, and how much effort.”

He smiled reminiscing about the silence that overwhelms athletes as they prepare for their spotlight. He laughed about the hype over Sochi water, and admitted to loving his Burton jacket, free of any sponsor patches save for the uncharacteristically subtle stars and stripes woven into the patchwork that adorns the sleeve.

“You can actually wear it around town,” he said. “I love the jacket.”

However, it was the camaraderie that continues to amaze him. Starting his day eating with an athlete in the morning, and seeing them return that afternoon with a medal, they would be greeted with a round of applause by compatriots and they could still be competitors.

“What was cool about the hotel experience for me, was all the skiers and snowboarders. We’d have a big TV screen going, and you’d be having dinner with a guy, and you’d be watching in the morning, and he’d be on and win a medal from an event that you don’t do, and then, when anyone would come back everyone would just clap for them at dinner,” said Archibald. “So, it was cool just to see when Julia (Mancuso) came back after winning the bronze and everyone gave her a big round of applause and all the skiers cheering for snowboarders … it’s a super good environment.”

He admired the pride that comes from representing your country, calling it a healthy sort of nationalism.

“You can cheer and be proud of your country,” he said. “And you do, but there’s an underlying spirit that everyone’s supporting everybody,” he said. “And yea! You’re damn proud of your country.”

Then, the riders that don’t make it, that bond from being their under the same banner, like when Nate Holland fell in his first round and came back around to help coach Deibold to victory, “Stuff like that is why I do it.”

This article appeared in the Teton Valley News on March 6, 2014.