Max Schopfer and Allison Gutierrez share more than a spot on Colfax High School’s alpine ski team.

For both seniors, skiing is life.

The two 18-year-olds have been hitting the slopes since before they could tie their shoes.

That experience has helped anchor their school’s 3-year-old ski team. And if last year is any indication, Schopfer and Gutierrez could also help the Falcons take home a win at next week’s California Nevada Interscholastic Ski and Snowboard Federation championships in Mount Shasta, where they’ll join five other Colfax skiers.

In 2009, Schopfer’s slalom gold and Gutierrez’s fifth- and seventh-place finishes earned the boys and girls teams seventh and fourth place, respectively.

“We’ve had more people than ever on the team this year,” Gutierrez said. “(And) more people have qualified so we have a better chance of making it to the top as a team.”

For hardcore athletes like these two, skiing is not just a sport.

“It’s a lifestyle,” Gutierrez said.

Never mind the make-up work after missing school for a race, the long drive up to Alpine Meadows or Boreal on weekends or the time taken away from Gutierrez’s other sport, track.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Gutierrez said. “It’s always nice being up the hill. It’s like a break from reality.”

Gutierrez first strapped on skis with her family at age 5. She’s a longtime Auburn Ski Club member and a competitor with Far West, a division of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.

Over the years, she’s developed her own style, said Colfax High School ski coach Jeff Scott.

“Allison is super consistent," said Scott. “She’s learned to keep her emotions in check. She understands what she has to do to qualify and to run a good race.”

Gutierrez credits a pre-race routine that leaves her cool and collected, even under pressure.

“If you don’t think about it, you don’t get nervous,” Gutierrez said. “I’m always excited and happy, talking to people and goofing around right before I go.”

Once she hits the course, it’s another story.

Gutierrez gets serious, visualizing a smooth, solid run and a fast finish. The alternative — hiking up the hill after a fall — just isn’t that appealing.

When her mind does wander on the course, though, it’s to her artwork.

She’ll likely major in art, design or fashion at Sierra College this fall.

“I love to draw and sometimes I’ll get ideas when I’m out skiing,” Gutierrez said. “I’ll bring a notebook and a pencil when we go up the hill.”

Skiing might pay for those courses; Gutierrez is considering becoming an instructor.

Max Schopfer began skiing at age 3.

Shortly after, a day that could have ended in disaster ended up predicting the young athlete’s future.

“I had these things called wedgies that connected to the front of my skis (to slow me down) and they broke when I was going straight downhill,” Schopfer said. “I was 4 or 5. My dad was skiing behind me and I was scared, but at the same time, it just felt natural. I think that’s what gave me the need for speed.”

Schopfer hasn’t slowed down since and the former Junior Olympian is headed to Shasta fresh off a first-place finish in February’s Central Division II finale.

“I’ve never seen him give less than 110 percent,” Scott said. “He’s just skiing all the time.”

Like Gutierrez, he wouldn’t know what to do otherwise.

“In order to stay good, you have to put a lot of time into going up on weekends and training,” Schopfer said. “(But) school almost seems easier with skiing because skiing clears my head. It makes everything else make more sense. I can be myself on skis. I can express myself.”

Schopfer said he’s best known for “crazy recoveries,” in which he bounces back from mistakes or distractions early on — not an easy feat for most athletes. It’s an ability he’s achieved by forcing his mind to go blank.

“In ski racing, it’s critical not to let things distract you,” Schopfer said. “Something can go wrong right out of the gate and if your mind is lingering on that, it can throw you off. You have to let things go.”

Though fiercely competitive — Schopfer is aiming for an individual first place next week — he’s also quick to sing the praises of a young Colfax team coming into its own.

“We got some kids who didn’t even know how to buckle their boots, but now they’re into it and training really hard,” Schopfer said. “It’s nice to see their progress.”

Schopfer plans to continue watching the team grow — even after he’s no longer a part of it — by attending Sierra, where he can continue to compete locally.

“I hope to watch the races next year,” he said. “I’m proud of this program.”

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Who’s headed to Mt. Shasta?

Max Schopfer and Allison Gutierrez aren’t the only Colfax High skiers headed to the California Nevada Interscholastic Ski and Snowboard Federation championships. Also skiing for the Falcons are senior Ross Thomson, sophomore Nicola Lorang and juniors Dylan Laidlaw, Drew Anderson and Nicole Bajka.