Whitefish eighth-grader Porter Shehan skinned, climbed and skied his way to a skimo North American title and a national title this season.  

Shehan, 14, took first in the individual U18 race at the International Mountaineering Ski Foundation’s North American Championships at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in Golden, B.C., March 27-29. He also took second in the vertical race.  

The formidable international experience featured gnarly terrain, with steep climbs and technical descents.  

Continental skimo races are held every other year, rotating with the World Championships, and this year’s event lived up to its name: “Steep Dreams.” 

For the third and final event of the competition, Porter partnered with his dad, Joel Shehan. The team utilized true mountaineering skills, using a harness to repel over a cliff amid an 8,000 vertical-foot race.  

The victory has been a long-time coming. Porter was on downhill skis by age 2. When he was about 6 or 7, he turned to his dad and said he needed some skins.  

“’And I said, why?’ Joel recalled. To which Porter had said, “So I can go up the hill like you.” 

Shehan built a competitive base with Glacier Nordic Club for several years, where he got his first taste of the uphill grind.  

His endurance carries over to running, too. Last fall, he traveled to Indiana for the U.S. Track and Field Association's Junior National Cross Country Championships, where he placed 48th out of nearly 500 runners in a 4k race. The course had unexpected snow, giving Porter an advantage. 

This winter season was Porter’s first to focus solely on skimo.  

“I really enjoy the community,” Porter said. “Whether you’re first or last, everybody’s out working super hard, everybody’s doing that icy boot pack or that windy ridge, and you really bond over that. After the race, everyone’s hyped and super kind.”  

The most challenging part of skimo is the whole race, he said.  

“The grind, the mental part, of ‘I have to keep going. I have to keep trying as hard as I can. Just can’t give up.’” 

Porter also claimed victory in the U16 individual race at Wasatch Powderkeg, the U.S. Ski Mountaineering Association’s National Championships, at Solitude Resort near Salt Lake City, Utah on March 4. 

Porter finished the short course with three climbs, a boot pack and nearly 3,000 feet of gain in a time of 1:12.08. 

Going into this year’s nationals race, Porter wasn’t sure what to expect. He’d done the race two other times and hadn’t been quite as competitive, just “sufferfested” it through, he said.  

“But this year I thought I could podium at least,” he said. “Somehow, I ended up on top.”  

Both Porter and Joel competed in three of six participating races across the state as part of the Big Sky Skimo Cup this season, including the Whitefish Whiteout, Great Divide Skimo and Jack-n-Jill at Teton Pass Ski Area.  

Porter placed first in the vertical-only event for the combined series of races.  

He placed fifth in the individual races – still a feat, as he amassed the placing by scoring only two events instead of three, after his last race at Teton Pass was canceled due to dangerous weather.  

SKIMO IN Montana is a far cry from the stair steps featured in the ultra-short skimo race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where the sport made its debut.  

Nonetheless, the Olympic representation is symbolic of a sport that’s grown in leaps and bounds, rooted in places like Whitefish.  

Porter credits his success to training at Whitefish Mountain Resort.  

“Shout out to Big Mountain,” he said. “We go two, three times a week, doing intervals and hikes. I wouldn’t be able to do this without them.” 

Reflecting as both a parent and a spectator, Porter’s mom, Quincy Bennetts, said that while it is an intense and difficult sport, it’s a positive environment for youth.  

“The people involved in this sport from rec league to elite are universally an incredible, kind, and supportive community. What you hear on the sidelines are cowbells ringing, never a coach belittling an athlete or a parent yelling at an official.  

“I have such gratitude for the positive environment young athletes find in skimo, which can be hard to find in youth sports.” 

The family has had recent conversations with parents across the state about what it could look like to start a club in Whitefish.  

“We have a good community that uphills at Big Mountain,” Joel said. “We’ve got our Wednesday Night Race League, and the Whiteout has a good turnout... We’ve got athletes that are successful,” Joel said.  

So with the goal of growing the sport, Joel questioned: “What would it be like to build a team?” 

Editor Kelsey Evans can be reached at 406-862-3505 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at whitefishpilot.com/support.