Farli Boden claims US National Telemark Championship again

BENNINGTON, N.H. — Farli Boden was one of those kids born with skis on her feet. It’s a common attribute of most North Idahoans but you would be hard pressed to find anyone that has accomplished what Boden has so far during her telemark skiing career.

About a month ago, Boden, a 2018 SHS grad, won her second U.S. National Telemark Championship in New Hampshire. Boden swept the classic, sprint classic and parallel sprint events, finishing first in all of them. She also won the championship in 2018.

Boden was invited to join the national squad’s development team when she was just 13 years old and has shined in events across North America since.

Boden picked up telemark skiing when she was 5 and starting competing at 10, following in her parents footsteps who both grew up loving the sport. But her parents didn’t pursue the sport on a national scale like Boden has and she’s enjoyed every second of it.

“When I started going to races the community was really awesome,” Boden said, “and they’re super friendly ... I also like the competition because I’ve grown up with sports my whole life.”

In high school, Boden spent one year on the soccer team and three on the cross country team. After graduating, Boden planned on taking a gap year before enrolling at Montana State University so she could just focus on skiing but that plan got derailed.

Boden dislocated her kneecap in August of 2018 and she was frustrated when she learned the injury would require surgery.

“I was very stubborn going into it,” she said. “I didn’t even want surgery but I didn’t really have a choice.”

After several months of physical therapy, Boden was back on the snow in January and before she knew it she was racing for the Schweitzer Alpine Racing School (SARS) in February. Although, Boden wasn’t at 100 percent she wasn’t letting anyone or anything prevent her from skiing that season. However, the injury did keep Boden from competing in the national championship and telemark skiing overall last year but she got through it and now has a second national title to add to her trophy case.

Boden’s preparation for this year’s U.S. National Telemark Championship was much different than years past because she also had to juggle the demands of college. Boden started classes at MSU this past fall and in order to prepare to race this spring she joined an Alpine team in Bozeman. Boden trained with the group four days a week before the skiing season rolled around and she was able to hit the slopes. She also practiced Nordic with the Montana Endurance Academy.

Once the spring semester rolled around, Boden was skiing four days a week and spending two days a week in the gym. She was doing all this on top of going to college and holding down a research job. But somehow she was able to strike a balance.

“Sometimes I tend to take on too much stuff and I’m like, ‘oh shoot,’ but it was fun and I enjoy doing it all,” she said.

The national championship was the only race Boden took part in this season. She was planning on competing in the Junior World Cup in France a week later but four days before she would have left, the race was canceled due to the coronavirus.

Now Boden is back in Sandpoint finishing up her second semester at Montana State virtually. Boden is majoring in architecture and getting a minor in minerals. She said the combo is equivalent to an architectural engineering degree.

Boden has a passion for art and wants to make a difference in the environment and the world and she feels this degree will help her do that.

Boden will be going on exchange to Canada this fall and has her eyes set on taking part in the Junior Telemark World Cup series in Europe next spring.

“I would like some more competition and I’m sure that will happen over in Europe,” she said.

Currently, telemark skiing isn’t in the Olympics but it nearly got added to the 2022 Games in Beijing. If it does get added to the Olympics in the future, Boden would love to have the opportunity to compete for her country.

“If that’s an option that would be awesome but I’m also kind of focusing on World Cups right now just to see how that goes because that is like the next step,” she said.

Boden hasn’t decided if she’ll pursue a full-time career in telemark skiing or work in architecture. For now she wants to finish college and leave her options open.

“I want to continue racing and see how far it will go but I also really enjoy doing other things in life,” she said.