Kimball native “Monster” Mike Schultz has referred to Powder Ridge in Kimball as a part of his story, learning how to ski there as a fifth-grader, and having continued to train there as a Paralympic snowboarder since 2014, according to his Facebook page.
He continued to stay busy and write his story on the slopes, the international ones that is, this season. He earned three podium finishes – two silver and one bronze – out of five World Cup events, securing top-five finishes in all of them.
“Coming into this season, my goals were to keep improving and focus on the progression toward the next Paralympic Games in Italy in March 2026,” Schultz said via email. “We’re over half-way into the season and have had some great performances so far, which I’m really excited about.”
Back on Nov. 28 and 29, 2024, Schultz competed in the 2024-25 FIS Para Snowboard World Cup in Landgraaf, Netherlands. There, he competed in his first Banked -Slalom races of his 2024-25 season. He finished fourth in round one, and didn’t finish in round two.
“Can’t say I’m excited about my finish results and some of the challenges that came up that were out of my control,” Schultz said in a Nov. 29 Facebook post, “but I know I have the speed to battle with these fast dudes. Looking forward to our next event in Finland, and hungry to keep charging.”
On Jan. 24, 2025, Schultz’ publicist, Katie Moses Swope, notified the Tri-County News that Schultz was in Europe continuing to compete on the Para Snowboard World Cup Circuit. He had just earned a silver and bronze in two days between Finland and Switzerland.
Schultz posted on Jan. 23, following his silver-winning performance in the Switzerland World Cup Boardercross, “Weather was a factor and forced us to use the time trial run for our final positions. It would have been great to line up with a full gate and race head-to-head, but today’s finals were canceled due to rain and fog.”
“Yesterday, I was able to qualify second,” he continued, “which ended up being my final result. Kind of anticlimactic, but still feels good to have a podium finish against all these crazy-fast dudes!”
He then earned a third-place finish on day two of the Switzerland World Cup Boardercross. He posted about it on Jan. 25.
“That’s a wrap in Switzerland! Such an exciting and intense day of competition. So pumped to bring home another podium finish against this crew. Tight, fast, and technical racing all day. Proud of my team and staff for the powerful finishes at this stop.”
He added how he looked forward to returning there, calling it a “fun” experience and referring to it as a “beautiful place.”
Notably, on Jan. 24, he reposted a story Forbes wrote about him, one he said captured part of his story and athletic and business career. Written by Michelle -Bruton, this story is titled, “Snowboarder Mike Schultz’s Prosthetics Give Him – And His Competitors – An Edge.”
In his publicist’s Jan. 24 correspondence, she highlighted how Schultz was on to Austria.
On Feb. 7, Schultz posted on Facebook that he had just finished his four-week European trip the prior weekend. In his final performance in Austria, he earned a -silver medal.
“I couldn’t be more proud and excited about my final performance in Austria! It was a -challenging/rough Banked -Slalom course,” Schultz said in the Feb. 7 Facebook post, “and I was able to step up my game and land on the second step of the podium! -SILVER MEDAL after extremely close racing!”
Throughout his competitions, he experienced many adventures across Finland, Switzerland, and Austria this year.
“(We) were met with every type of conditions throughout,” Schultz said via email, “rain and ice in the Arctic Circle, sub-zero temps, and feet of snowfall which makes for some challenging race conditions.”
Back home, he visited his daughter Lauren’s fifth-grade class last week at Kimball Elementary School, doing a question-and–answer session after the class read his book, “Driven to Ride.”
Schultz caps his season with a World Cup event in Steamboat Springs, Colo., next week, and the World Championships in -British Columbia, Canada, in early March.
“I’ve got some great momentum,” Schultz said via email, “and (I’m) looking forward to finishing the season strong.”
To learn more about “-Monster” Mike Schultz, visit his -Facebook page (www.facebook.com/monstermikeschultz) or his website (monstermikeschultz.com).
As a member of the Team USA snowboard team, the 2026 -Paralymics in Milano -Cortina, Italy, will be Schultz’s third Paralympic appearance.