Last Sunday morning, I was one of 8166 skiers to line up in the village of Maloja for the 52nd Engadin Ski Marathon in Switzerland. After two years of cancellations and postponements, I was finally at the starting gate! I was excited to begin making my way down the trail, across frozen lakes, and through several picturesque towns to the finish line, 43km away at the other end of one of the most scenic mountain valleys in the world. The sheer number of skiers gathered in one place was incredible to see. Thousands of people from dozens of countries had made their way to this tiny village in the ..read more

My first visit to YMCA of the Rockies - Snow Mountain Ranch was three years ago on a quick weekend trip to Colorado to take advantage of early season snow. As I drove over the Berthoud Pass for the first time and descended into the valley toward Winter Park, I was immediately taken in by the snow -- pine trees laden with sparkling snow, mountains capped with snow surrounding the valley on all sides, and the hills blanketed in billowing drifts of SNOW. I found the skiing to be amazing as well, and I’ve wanted to return ever since. Thus, when considering our options for our annual post-Christmas ..read more

My first visit to YMCA of the Rockies - Snow Mountain Ranch was three years ago on a quick weekend trip to Colorado to take advantage of early season snow. As I drove over the Berthoud Pass for the first time and descended into the valley toward Winter Park, I was immediately taken in by the snow -- pine trees laden with sparkling snow, mountains capped with snow surrounding the valley on all sides, and the hills blanketed in billowing drifts of SNOW. I found the skiing to be amazing as well, and I’ve wanted to return ever since. Thus, when considering our options for our annual post-Christmas ..read more

While we're (hopefully) nearing the end of the roller ski season, I thought I'd share my experiences with the models I've used for the past seven years in case someone is trying to decide on a great holiday gift for a skier. Pursuit Fork Flex Skate Roller Skis ($259.99) Material: Aluminum Wheels: Speed 2 Slow 105mm Purchased: 2016 at rollerskishop.com I use my rollerskis for summer training along the Central Lakes Trail between Alexandria and Fergus Falls, MN, which is a wide asphalt trail built on an old railroad bed. Parts of the trail are in decent shape, but many sections are rough, crack ..read more

It’s a tough time to be a skier in the upper Midwest -- to know the snow will be here soon but not to know exactly when. I’m trying to make the best of this time between the seasons by putting a few kilometers on my roller skis and clearing my ski trails. The snow is bound to come, but I’m a bit concerned that its now Thanksgiving weekend and there’s still no storm on the horizon. With an average of 45 inches of snow each year, we’re already near the border of the skiable country. As the climate changes, the boundary with the snowless plains seems to move ever closer. This isn’t the Alps or Sc ..read more

The first time I heard of fluoro wax was at a MN high school meet circa 1997. It was my second year on the team, and I made the trip to Giants Ridge as part of a young relay squad. We were there to gain some experience and to support our older teammates competing in the individual events. The evening before the race, all the young kids from around the state were skiing around the base of the hill and talking with excitement about the next day. Amidst all the commotion, I noticed a quiet group of more serious skiers had formed a circle around a wax bench, and I wandered over to see what it was ..read more

After arriving in West Yellowstone earlier this winter, my first stop was the Rendezvous trail system just outside of town in the Gallatin National Forest. I was the second skier out in the morning, and I enjoyed a nice ski along the Rendezvous Loop, Doug's Doodle, and Deja View. I could easily spend several days skiing on the Rendezvous trails without complaint, but on this trip, I decided to venture out and see what skiing was like on other trails in the area. What I found were beautiful skier-tracked trails wandering into quiet valleys of Yellowstone National Park and classic-groomed tracks ..read more

There aren’t many places in the world where you can ski with a herd of elk at sunrise or glide carefully past resting bison, and there are even fewer trails that pass near boiling hot springs. As far as I know, Yellowstone National Park is the only place with this unique combination of geology and wildlife, and cross-country skiing is a great way to experience the park during winter. Wildlife sightings are common throughout all seasons at Yellowstone, but there are advantages to visiting in winter when animals are easier to spot against the white backdrop and crowds of people are mostly absent ..read more

It’s been a windy autumn out here on the edge of the prairie. And by "windy", I mean wind that comes out of Canada, gains speed across the flat and treeless Dakotas, and hits my little town of Ashby with its full force. On a recent rollerski down the Central Lakes Trail, a gust struck me so hard that it brought me to a complete stop, as though I was suddenly facing a steep incline. I've had other experiences that have taught me to be careful with the wind as I ski on the Trail, but the most painful was a 50km roundtrip ski to Fergus Falls and back. It was a beautiful day with a light headwind ..read more

After leaving the Rendezvous Ski Race in West Yellowstone, my family and I drove south to Jackson Hole. The road through Yellowstone is only open to approved and tracked vehicles in winter, which meant that we had to take the two-hour drive into Idaho, through the Teton Pass, and back up to the town of Jackson. Although this roundabout way bypasses Yellowstone itself, we still saw moose and had great views of the iconic Tetons for most of the drive. We stayed overnight in the resort town of Jackson, bustling with skiers fresh off the slopes. The next morning, we continued up the valley, past ..read more