Doctors vital to keeping Olympic skiers on the slopes

Lake Tahoe doctors are credited with being the founders and backbone of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard medical program. To this day they remain integral to the health of these elite competitors.

Next month athletes from around the world will compete in the Milano Cortina (Italy) Winter Olympics. While no doctors from Tahoe will be at the Games, they are at preseason camps/training, World Cup races, and other competitions.

“Typically, a Barton physician will serve a one-week rotation at a team event each season. Some may extend for two weeks, though this depends on their clinical schedules,” Chris Proctor, director of Business Development and Community Benefit for Barton Health i South Lake Tahoe, said. “Additional opportunities exist to support off-season training camps in the southern hemisphere, Europe or events closer to home, such as at Mammoth Mountain.”

This season Jeffrey Orr, Will McClain and Caleb Davis are the Tahoe docs in the pool of medical professionals assisting the team, along with athletic trainer Jeremy Vanderhurst.

Orr is the son of the legendary Terry Orr, who retired from medicine in 2019. The senior Orr was the head team physician for the men’s U.S. Alpine Ski Team from 1999-2014. He was at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics. He also served on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Medical Committee for nearly two decades.

He has worked on several Tahoe area athletes, including repairing the right anterior cruciate ligament of Olympian Marco Sullivan of Truckee.

“When (Dr. Terry Orr) talks, you listen,” said Daron Rahlves, the most accomplished U.S. downhill racer, said years ago. “He has seen me throughout my career about 10 times; he’s also taken care of my family and friends.” Rahlves’ home resort was Sugar Bowl.

Local surgeon and former ski team doc Kyle Swanson is credited with repairing multiple bones on professional snowboarder Joanna “PNut” Dzierzawski. First it was shoulder surgery, and in 2024 it was an ACL repair.

“Remarkably, after two major surgeries within 16 months, she is back on the mountain pursuing her favorite activities,” Barton posted on its website in 2024.

South Shore’s Piper Arnold, a current member of the U.S. team, is another patient of Barton docs’.

The late Paul “Papa” Fry with Bob Oden of Aspen were the two doctors who created formal medical care for the U.S. Ski Team in 1960 when the Olympics were at what was Squaw Valley.

Three years after Richard Steadman became an orthopedic surgeon at Barton Memorial Hospital in 1970 he began his relationship with the national team. He did so by volunteering at an Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in 1973 at what was known at Heavenly Valley.

Experience, certification, onboard training and recommendation from physicians already in the U.S. medical pool are the criteria to be part of the team’s medical entourage. Head team physicians for each discipline attend the Olympics.

“Physicians serve as the primary on-site medical resource for U.S. athletes as well as on-course coverage during training, course inspections, and competitions to ensure the immediate medical care and safety of athletes,” Proctor said. “They are equipped and authorized to provide on-site evaluation, emergency stabilization, and approved medications. When additional care is needed, the physician will facilitate the athlete’s treatment at a nearby hospital and if necessary, will assist with returning the athlete home for definitive care. Some athletes later choose to continue their care with a U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team medical provider, including those from Barton.”

Note: A version of this story first ran in the Tahoe Mountain News.