In the first 24 years of his life growing up in Venezuela, Eduardo Arteaga thinks he might have seen snow one time.
By: usbank
“I think I saw it on the peak of a Venezuelan mountain,” he strained, thinking back to growing up in a South American country with an average February temperature of 81 degrees. “But only enough to make maybe, like, one snowball.”
Since immigrating to Minnesota for his education in 2002, you could say that snow has become a big part of his life. The first time he saw it, on the Hamline University campus in St. Paul, it brought tears to his eyes. In the two decades since, he has taken up winter activities in his backyard wonderland that is the historic Theodore Wirth Park.
Later this month, Arteaga will marry his love of snow and his Venezuelan roots. On Feb. 24, he will compete at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2021 as the sole active member of the Venezuela national cross-country ski team.
The competition is the result of an eight-year journey from novice skier to world-class athlete. The first time a neighbor invited him to go cross-country skiing, he was skeptical, having already preferred a snowboard to skis on the slopes. But after clipping into skate skis on the ground, he recalled with a smile, “I was gliding.”