Spenser Gustafson

Quick Facts

• Specialty: Para Alpine Skiing (AS4, Vision Impaired Classification) — Sighted Guide for Meg Gustafson

• His father, Peder, ski raced at Boston College
• Nominated alongside Meg Gustafson to the U.S. Paralympic Team for the Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026

Biographical Information

Born and raised in Edina, Minnesota, Spenser Gustafson grew up in a ski racing family where his father Peder introduced all three of his children to the sport early. Spenser Gustafson is the sighted guide for his younger sister, U.S. Para alpine skier Meg Gustafson. The siblings started racing for Team Gilboa at Highland Hills in Minneapolis, developing their skills on the slopes of the Midwest.

As an accomplished alpine skier in his own right, Spenser competed at U18 nationals in Aspen in March 2025, demonstrating the technical prowess and racing instincts that would later prove invaluable in his role as a guide. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, they moved to a family friend’s vacation rental in Colorado, and trained at Ski & Snowboard Club Vail. The family fell in love with the community, coaching and everything about Vail, eventually making Edwards, Colorado, their permanent home.

The journey toward becoming his sister's guide began when Meg's visual condition worsened over the years. The siblings were directed toward the Para partnership by Erik Peterson, the Competition Center Director at the National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park. Peterson became a valuable resource in helping them navigate their para path, and during the 2024-25 season, Spenser and Meg practiced by forerunning various para races as Meg wasn't yet old enough to officially compete in Para events. Their first official race together came at the U16 Rocky Central Championships in Vail in March 2025, where Meg competed in slalom, giant slalom, and downhill with Spenser serving as her guide.

As a guide, Spenser must balance his own aggressive skiing style with the safety requirements of guiding a visually impaired athlete down the mountain at high speeds. The role demands that Spenser ski ahead of Meg, communicating gate positions, terrain changes and snow conditions through a carefully developed system of verbal cues. For Meg, who has tunnel vision limited to about 9 degrees and can only see clearly from her right eye, Spenser's voice and skiing line become essential navigation tools, particularly on low-light days when her vision is most compromised.

In pursuit of Meg's Paralympic dream, Spenser made the selfless decision to put his own individual alpine racing ambitions on hold during his senior year of high school. In February 2026, their hard work and commitment paid off when both siblings were nominated to represent Team USA at the Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. At just 18 years old, Spenser became one of the youngest guides on the U.S. Paralympic team.