I Love Loppet

It’s one of my favorite weekends in Minneapolis. Lakes become luminary-lined parks, roads become trails, and skis are everywhere. It’s the City of Lakes Loppet. The 2013 Loppet was my first taste of winter culture in Minneapolis. The company I worked for was a sponsor and I had the opportunity to get involved. It didn’t take long before I was hooked. I attended the 2014 … Continue reading I Love Loppet

Get Uncomfortable

At a certain point, I lost count of the times something didn’t go right. Navigating three feet of powder on a mountain side with cross-country skis strapped to numb feet seven miles from the nearest road; losing footing while trying to cross a river in waist-deep, snowmelt raging water; finishing your last water bottle in 104F heat 17 miles from the car on a bike. You … Continue reading Get Uncomfortable

Still #FindingWinter

It has been nearly three months since the good folks at Mountain Hardwear sent me a package of goods and a booklet welcoming me to their #FindingWinter athlete ambassador team. Winter was looking like a certainty when I opened that package. Ski trips were being booked. I had every intention of spending more time outdoors than indoors this winter. Then everything went wrong. Pneumonia sidelined … Continue reading Still #FindingWinter

#FindingWinter with Mountain Hardwear

It wasn’t more than a week ago in Minneapolis that I could walk outside in an unbuttoned without a chill. I could bike home from work without gloves, crack a window and night and hear the crunch of leaves underfoot. Things are different now. Winter coats are required, sidewalks need to be shoveled and that crunch underfoot is ice and snow. Winter is here. I’m … Continue reading #FindingWinter with Mountain Hardwear

Backcountry Cross-Country Skiing: Your New Winter Plans.

You could stick to the groomed trails–play it safe and easy by riding the tracks of many before you. Or you could cut your own trail. It isn’t easy, but the sweat you trade for the experience you’re rewarded with pays off. Minneapolis offers many miles of groomed trails and inner-ring suburbs offer many more. These groomed trails are top-notch. Some are just wide enough … Continue reading Backcountry Cross-Country Skiing: Your New Winter Plans.

“No Turning Back” As Rad As Expected

If you get a chance to view a Warren Miller film in a theater, do it. I don’t care if you have other plans. Your new plans involve Warren Miller. It’s like going to a concert, but this concert has skiing and snowboarding, a fun crowd, prizes and travels the world. It was a night of fun and mountain wanderlust. But first, the pre-party. Thanks … Continue reading “No Turning Back” As Rad As Expected