New Beginnings with Youth Mentorship

This week, we have a guest post from Torin Koos, our favorite cross-country skiier! Read on to hear about his latest adventures, from mentoring high school students (who modeled Torin’s Olympic duds in the classroom) to running mountainside in Switzerland. Just as my summer schooling and Canada training camp came to an end, the first days of hopping in Mr. Peck’s classroom and a little running with the Kodiaks of Cascade commenced. Probably few things are better for a high schooler than overnighting with your teammates. I joined the Kodiaks for their first annual team training camp along the shores of Lake Wenatchee. A family opened up their turn-of-the-century homestead for the team to call home. It was a sweet location, with fireroads and dirt trails around to run on, the lake nearby to cool off and relax besides. The Continue reading

Aspire and Expire

This latest article from our cross-country skiing friend Torin Koos provides some powerful insight into how a recent avalanche tragedy in the heart of pear country has affected the skiing community, particularly Torin himself. Thanks to Torin for sharing this heartfelt story. The news came when I was in the hamlet of Sjusjoen, in the hills above Lillehammer, Norway: Three Dead in Stevens Pass Avalanche *** Why the appeal of affixing clinging skins, clicking into rear-heal releasing bindings and heading into the backcountry? My ITA mentor Greg Peck says this gets back to the soul of sport. And the way he says it, you know it’s true. Some of the last words of Daniel Zimmerman, the closest person to me I’ve lost to winter’s fury said to me was, “We got to get up in the mountains together again (pointing Continue reading