Remembering Erich Sailer: A pioneer of U.S. ski racing

Erich Sailer, one of the most influential coaches and pioneers in the history of alpine skiing, has passed away at the age of 99. Over more than six decades, he helped shape generations of athletes, from grassroots racers to Olympic and World Cup champions, leaving a lasting legacy on the sport worldwide.

What follows is a reflection on his career and the legacy he leaves behind.

Alan Kildow, one of Sailer’s earliest athletes and the father of Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn, first met him in 1963 as a 10-year-old at Sailer’s pioneering Mt. Hood summer ski camp.

“I had no prior ski racing experience, was equipped with hopelessly dysfunctional bindings, no sunglasses, and—coming from Wisconsin—no idea why anyone would need suntan lotion to go skiing,” Kildow recalled. Sailer noticed him immediately, nicknamed him “skinny,” and offered a few tips to ease his blistered lips and sunburn. When it came time to say goodbye, Kildow broke down in tears. That was the beginning of a 62-year friendship rooted in skiing, coaching, and family.

Kildow returned year after year, following Sailer from Mt. Hood to Red Lodge, Montana, and later from Telemark in Wisconsin and Buck Hill in Minnesota. Under his tutelage, Kildow won championships and eventually coached alongside him for nearly 15 years. He said what set Sailer apart was not just technique, but vision.

Something else made Sailer a pioneer—he brought in Olympic and World Cup champions such as Billy Kidd, Jimmie Heuga, Barbara Ann Cochran, Sarah Schleper, Egon Zimmermann, and Christian Pravda to train with his young campers. “No other coach was doing that,” Kildow said. “His strategy was to instill in kids a sense of what it takes to be a champion.”

No name is more synonymous with Sailer’s influence than Lindsey Vonn, one of the most successful alpine ski racers in history. Vonn grew up training nightly under the Buck Hill lights while Sailer barked encouragement from the timing hut. She is the most successful skier ever in the speed disciplines, but also part of the sport’s most exclusive club—those who have won in every individual World Cup discipline. It shows that truly great multi-discipline skiers could emerge from the ‘Erich Sailer System.’

“He got everyone around him excited and to enjoy the process of learning,” Vonn said. “You couldn’t help but love him, even when he was critical of your skiing, because you knew he was always trying to make you better.”

The best advice she ever received came from Sailer: “Always be true to myself. Never change because I was fast just as I was. I used that for many different applications in life, not just skiing, and he was absolutely right. We are all special in our own way. That is what makes each of us great. He saw the best in his athletes and found a way to draw it out of us. I felt that if Erich believed in me that much, I should believe in myself too.”

She also recalled the foundation of her training—attending Sailer’s Mt. Hood camps at age 7, traveling to Europe with him at 9, and training at Buck Hill after school. “Erich would often sit up in the timing hut and come on the loudspeaker with tips or enthusiastic words of encouragement… along with my time, which told me how fast I was.”

Paula Moltzan, who podiumed at the 2025 World Championships, represents the next chapter of Sailer’s influence.

Adapted from a release courtesy of Ski Racing. To read the full article, click here.