Farmingdale native Nathan Pare competes in an International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Snowboard Cross World Cup event March 1 in Erzurum, Türkiye. Pare is currently in Engadin, Switzerland, competing in the FIS world championships. Enes Cıgdem photo

Nathan Pare wasn’t where he wanted to be this time a year ago, but as he looks at some of Europe’s grandest scenery, he is exactly where he wants to be now.

Pare, a Farmingdale native, spent last week in Schruns, Austria, where he competed in the most recent International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Snowboard Cross World Cup races. He’s now in Engadin, Switzerland, where the world championships are in full swing.

“There’s not a sight that isn’t worth taking a picture (of),” Pare said. “It’s really surreal. … When you actually get the call (to the Team USA roster), it’s super exciting. This is like the big leagues, and you’re finally there.”

Pare is there a year after a broken jaw halted his seemingly unstoppable momentum. Team USA is the next big step for the lifelong Mainer, who is looking to cement his status among the best in world Snowboard Cross ahead of next year’s Winter Olympics in Italy.

Pare said he was in the best shape of his life in early 2024. Everything was “clicking on the board” for the Carrabassett Valley Academy snowboarder, who would go on to be named the FIS Snowboard Cross Rookie of the Year.

A moment during a training run last March, though, changed everything. Pare broke his jaw on a 10-foot fall in the fog, rendering him unable to compete in FIS World Juniors in the Republic of Georgia. With his jaw wired shut, he was forced to eat through a syringe and lost significant muscle mass and weight.

“It probably took me a month to put the weight back in, and the next six months to put additional strength on,” Pare said. “It was a tough period, but it was also kind of fuel to fire coming into this year. I went into the gym, put on an additional 25 pounds, and I came back out firing.”

Nathan Pare competes in an FIS World Cup event earlier this month in Gaudari, Republic of Georgia. Pare hopes to compete in next year’s Winter Olympics in Italy. FIS photo/Miha Matavz

He certainly has, earning top-10 finishes in three of his seven individual World Cup events in 2025. He’s currently the 13th-ranked Snowboard Cross racer — and the top American — in World Cup points and is 27th in FIS points, which would also be top among Americans heading into next year.

Team USA coach Rob Fagan said it was at the North American tour at Gore Mountain (North Creek, New York) and Maine’s own Sunday River last February that Pare first truly stood out. Then, after Pare’s success on the World Cup tour earlier this year, Fagan knew he needed him at worlds.

Pare’s athletic ability and coachability, Fagan said, have been crucial to his Team USA success. What’s impressed Fagan even more, though, is the way Pare’s mind breaks down the course in a manner that lets him use his athleticism and skill set to the fullest advantage.

“He’s pretty much what you want on the team,” Fagan said. “Whatever the features are going to require, he’s just able to see that before he really gets into the track. Because he has such a good vision of what needs to be done, we’re just working on those little details to get rid of those milliseconds or half-seconds.”

After attending Hall-Dale Middle School, Pare skied at Gould Academy in Bethel before heading to CVA for a post-graduate program. Freddy McCarthy, who coaches the Snowboard Cross team at CVA, said he knew instantly that he was coaching an athlete with unlimited potential.

“He’s got the pace, he’s got the quickness, and he’s got the instinct to move around people in a Snowboard Cross course, which does not come easy,” McCarthy said. “Snowboard Cross is all about timing, and his timing is incredible. When you pull all of it together, you’ve got one of the best Snowboard Cross racers in the world.”

Pare finished 27th in Thursday’s Day 1 world championship qualifying run in Engadin, and booked a place in Friday’s championship round with his second run of the afternoon. It was part of a big day for Team USA, which saw all four of its competitors (Pare, Cody Winters, Jake Vedder and Nick Baumgartner) qualify.

Bethel’s Tyler Hamel, also on the USA Snowboard Cross team, is not competing this year due to injury.

To qualify for the Olympics in Snowboard Cross, athletes must earn 100 points in the FIS standings and a top-30 finish at either a FIS World Cup event or the world championships. Not every athlete who reaches said criteria will be allotted a spot, but with three top-10 finishes already and 405 FIS points, Pare’s odds are good.

“That’s what you always dream of,” said Pare, who does construction in the offseason to finance his journey. “I’m super excited about it, but I’m also not trying to think about it too much. For now, I’m just trying to stay on my same course and path.”