Allen Taylor: Washed-up has-been/Skimo enthusiast
Photo by Matthew Bunker, Crystal Mountain Skimo Race
I attended the University of Vermont and if I had spent as much time studying as I did skiing, I would probably have gotten really good grades. I skied with a group of guys who idolized the big mountain ski movement we also were basking in the golden age of the Teton Gravity Research forums. Big mountain skis and all metal race bindings abounded, Thankfully I was "hefty" enough at that age to throw big skis around. Many days were spent jumping off of cliffs and trying not to take a knee to the face in the flat Vermont landings. I also started to explore ski mountaineering in the Green and White Mountains. The ski mountaineering habit took hold in 2008 and all but gauranteed that I would never be a normal person who does normal things.
Fat to Flat at Stowe Circa 2008 (being a big mountain freeskier was just never going to pay the bills)
After college, at the urging of my best friend Sam, I moved to the Pacific Northwest. Mount Shuksan and Baker were the next great training ground. After a nasty breakup I read Training for the New Alpinism and decided to try and get my act together. In addition to steep skiing I was starting to discover light skimo racing gear and the nascent PNW skimo race scene. I lost a bunch of weight and started running, even discovering the inverse relationship between drinking and enjoying skinning.
Early Ski Mountaineering, Huntington Ravine Circa 2009, Look at all that packed powder!
Back when the field was much slower and I was one of three people on race gear I managed to win a few local skimo races, not by training effectively, but rather by trying really, really hard. Now that actual athletes, ones who engage in this thing called "training," show up to our races I'm screwed. I'm still trying really, really hard... but now it's to stay in the top ten. So what does one do when the real athletes discover one's niche sport? Find an even more niche sport!
Type 1 fun is timeless
I'm sure the euros have a name for what I like to do, but it's basically a conglomeration of skimo racing, ski traversing, and ski mountaineering. I still indulge those already niche sports on their own, but when one puts all of them together it's truly niche, in the PNW at least.
This blog is my attempt to give something back to the community I love. Lowell Skoog's Alpenglow.org and Sky Sjue's skisickness.com were big inspirations for this site (along with many others). I hope you find this into helpful and inspiring.
This blog is my attempt to give something back to the community I love. Lowell Skoog's Alpenglow.org and Sky Sjue's skisickness.com were big inspirations for this site (along with many others). I hope you find this into helpful and inspiring.