How to raise a Fraser Valley Olympian
Nancy Howden shares what it was like raising Olympian Reece Howden, from his first days on skis to saying goodbye before the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
In 2010, Nancy Howden had a prophecy. Vancouver had transformed itself into a world-welcoming stage for the Winter Olympics and Nancy and her young sons Reece and Jesse watched as Team Canada’s alpine skiers narrowly missed out on medals in their home country.
âI said to Reece and Jesse: âReece, youâre going to be in the 2022 Olympics. And Jesse, youâre going to be in the 2026 Olympics,ââ Howden said. âAnd I had no doubt that they would.â
The first part has now come true.
Reece Howden, now 23, is competing in this yearâs Winter Olympics as part of Canadaâs alpine ski team. Although he has competed in the 2016 Youth Olympics and became a North American champion during the 2017-2018 season, this will be the Cultus Lake-raised skierâs first Olympic games. He left for Beijing on Feb. 8 with the rest of Team Canada, and will be competing in menâs ski cross on Feb. 17.
Ski cross made its first Olympic debut in 2010âthe same year Nancy had her prophecy about her sons. A combination of alpine racing and freestyle skiing, athletes head down the hill in groups of four to six with an aim of finishing first. But they must also navigate jumps, turns, and other obstacles on their way to the finish line.

Despite his motherâs prediction, younger brother Jesse wonât be heading to the 2026 Olympics; he switched to free ride, an extreme skiing competition that isnât an Olympic sport, although he has competed at the world level.
Supporting their kids in their chosen ski competitions hasnât always been easyâand not just during the years of driving up to mountains in the Interior from their home in the valley. The Howden parents have also spent many nights staying up until three in the morning watching their boysâ World Cup races taking place halfway across the world.
âItâs just so draining on you, because youâre so amped up,â Nancy said. âYou canât even fall back asleep when itâs over, because youâre so wound up and excited for him.
âBut the Olympics is different,â she continued, âEven though itâs the same people and the same races⌠itâs the big show.â
Nancy is no stranger to international competition herself. In the â80s, she played on Canadaâs national rugby teamâalthough she quit due to financial constraints during the one year the Canadian team played during the Olympics as a demonstration sport.
But for the Howden family unit, it was always about skiing. Both Nancy and her husband were ski instructors, and before the kids were born, they would cross the border to spend the weekend at Mt. Baker, sleeping in the back of their Land Cruiser. It was only natural that as soon as Reece and Jesse turned two, they would be propped up on two skis and sent down the bunny hill.

âThey loved it immediately,â Nancy said. The family would spend weekends skiing throughout the boysâ childhoodâeven when the weather seemed too challenging for the young boys.
Nancy remembered a time at Hemlock Valley in the early 2000s, when the family had taken the hour-long trip up the mountain to ski. Snow began dumping on the mountain, making the powder perfect for the Howden parents. But Nancy worried it was too much for the boys. She suggested they take them to the daycare on site. Three-year-old Jesse was whimpering and wanting to go in. Five-year-old Reece was not.
âReece was like, âNo way, Iâm loving this and Iâm staying out. Iâm not going to daycare,ââ Nancy remembered. âFrom that moment on, we knew we created our own monster.â
Over the next two decades, the Howdens supported their boysâ burgeoning ski careers, commuting to Apex Mountain Ski Resort in Penticton every weekend during winter. From late in elementary school onwards, Reece and Jesse missed every Friday of school to ski as part of the Apex team. (Nancy remembers only two teachers having an issue with Reece leavingâthe rest gave him homework to complete while he was gone.)
It was a big commitment for the boys, and for the family. But, Nancy said, it was fun.
âWe had two families: we had our life at Apex, and then we had our life at home with our friends here,â she said. Now, those two families will be coming together to support Reece during his Olympic debut.
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Because of the pandemic, only residents from mainland China are allowed to attend the Olympics. The rules were heartbreaking for Nancy, who had hoped to attend her sonâs first Olympic games. Instead, she saw Reece off in Golden, where he and the rest of the alpine ski team were isolating.
âWe said our goodbyesâunfortunately no hugs, just to make sure we didnât give him any germsâand said our last words of wisdom,â she recalled. ââGet lots of sleep. Hydrate. Ski like you can ski.â What else? How proud we were and we justââ
She paused, then said with tears in her voice: âIâm getting emotional. Just a sec.â
âItâs totally different than when he left to go to a World Cup. We didnât get upset at all,â she continued. âWe said to him, âYouâve already won by just qualifying to go to the Olympics.â Then we said goodbye. And he was off.â
Although Nancy and her husband moved from Cultus Lake to the Shuswap in 2019, they have returned to Chilliwack to watch Reeceâs Olympic competition. They also brought their sonâs truckâa pickup covered in images of him skiingâto his sponsor, Chilliwack Ford, to be on display.

On Thursday, they will gather at a pub with family, Reeceâs school friends, his sponsors, and others to watch Reece take to the hill. There, wearing his Team Canada colours with ski poles in hand, heâll race against competitors from around the world. Heâll crouch low over his skis, building up speed before banking around turns and soaring over jumps.
If Reece wins a medal, his family will watch him step onto the podium to celebrate Canada on the world stage. And if he doesnât? Well, thereâs still more skiing for the Howden family to do.
âI sure as heck didnât think theyâd be better than me when they were 12-years-old, thatâs for sure,â Nancy said about her sons. âBut itâs so entertaining to ski with them⌠theyâre just so goofy when they ski [for fun].â
âIâm so glad that I can still ski with them, that I have the ability to still ski the runs they ski. Itâs super awesome.â
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