Aleksi Valavuori, a Finnish television personality, created a GoFundMe campaign that enabled Solano to travel to Lahti, Finland to compete in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017. Never having seen snow before, Solano made his debut in the 10-kilometer classical qualifying race for non-skiing nations, exiting the race after completing 3.5 kilometres in over 39 minutes. The following day, Solano competed in the qualification event for the freestyle sprint, skating in classic boots and finishing the 1.6 kilometer course in just over 13 minutes.