Luke Nelson Interview

Below is a recent interview with Restwise and La Sportiva sponsored athlete, Luke Nelson.

At the North American Ski Mountaineering (”Skimo”, to the initiated) National Championships held in Jackson Hole in early January, conditions were epic, with near-whiteouts in gale force winds meeting racers at the top of the legendary Corbett’s Couloir. Restwise athlete Luke Nelson gutted it out to a fantastic 2nd place, confirming his fast-growing reputation as the young gun to watch, and earning his first invitation to the World Championships. Between recovering from that effort and prepping for World’s, we had a chance to catch up with this rising star.

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Bozeman Race Data

Last week's Bridger Bowl skimo race in Bozeman marked my second event using my Suunto heart rate monitor.

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Bozeman Bridger Bowl Race Report

That felt better. Who knows why? With the new Suunto computer on board, my training is evolving significantly so it's impossible to know what made the difference. Hell, it's only two races. I could have just had a good day yesterday or a bad one at the Jackson race. No way to tell. I need more time and data to make any sense of it. On it goes…

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Reader Comment Follow-up

Following my Analysis Paralysis piece after the Jackson skimo race, there were a couple of comments from readers which, I think, warrant further discussion. Interestingly, each comment represents differing sides to an argument regarding pacing during these events. Of course, my treatment of these differing points of view will ultimately lead to me disagreeing with one. I mean no offense in doing so and since commenters are mostly anonymous here, there should be no real harm done.

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Light and Fast - Bindings

Plum Race 145For speed touring, binding options are quickly growing in number. Although the "fat and baggie" thing is all the rage here in the U.S., Europeans have been focused on simply covering ground in the mountains forever. In fact, many established ski companies on the other side of the pond don't make any skis that most free skiers would consider fat enough. Ninety five millimeters underfoot is about as big a ski as you can go with many of them. But for touring and racing in the mountains, the Euros have you covered.

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