Only few years ago, I remember Michelle crossing the finish line at Canadian Skimo Nationals a long time behind the fastest women and being somewhat terrified whenever a race course featured more technical descents. Since then she has made lots of progress. Her passion for our sport fueled her focus on learning and steadily improving to become one of the top Canadian women.
In this interview, we will find out about her road to skimo and how exactly she keeps improving every year.
Q: Michelle, which sports or activities were you participating in on regular basis before zooming in on skimo racing? And did you compete before skimo?
This is a question I get asked all the time. It’s quite interesting because I grew up hating phys ed class and what I learned from school was that I am not an athlete – I don’t belong in sports. From that, I can tell you that skimo was my introduction to competitive sports. I dabbled a bit in hiking, rock climbing and ice climbing. Once I finished university I bought a backcountry setup and a season pass at Sunshine Ski Village to learn how to ski. My first race was my third day on touring gear!
Q: What skills did you have to learn when coming to skimo and what aspects of the sport were the most intimidating?
Well, obviously I had to learn to ski, both uphill and down. As you know, the downhill component has been the most intimidating part of racing for me. It still continues to be an area that I need to improve upon, but each year I get a little better.
One big lesson I have learnt from skimo is knowing my body – listening and responding to it. I have learned how to pay attention to my heart rate and my muscles and have discovered not only how to pace myself but also how to push my limits beyond what I thought possible. It is so exciting for me to attempt new personal bests.
Q: Are you learning and progressing mostly on your own or do you have a coach or group of friends that help you out?
My learning and progression has been a mixed bag of frustration and help from peers. I do not have a coach and before the SkinTrack’s Manual for Ski Mountaineering Racing I found it super hard to obtain any information on how to train for skimo.
I based my training models after cycling books. I feel lucky to have had you, Stano, as a support in watching me and giving me feedback. My teammate Travis has also given me tidbits of information during our training sessions.
But I would be lying if I didn’t disclose that I have had a lot of challenging days. Being at the back of the pack it is hard to observe skimo technique and race strategies when the only athletes are ahead of you and out of sight. I certainly learnt a lot through trial and error and failure.
Q: Now, as more a mature athlete, what do you find the most rewarding about our sport? What keeps you attracted?
Oh my gosh! I believe skimo is one of the most rewarding sports for too many reasons to state.
I imagine, just as athletes are attracted to triathlons, I too am fascinated with the multi-faceted components of gear, technique, cardio, endurance, and the outdoors. To be successful in skimo you have to excel in not only in downhill skiing, but also in fitness and mastery of your gear.
One other aspect that sets skimo apart from other endurance sports is the sacred experience of pushing your physical and mental boundaries in some of the most stunning landscapes. There’s a feeling of art as your skis carve lines on the mountain canvas, even if for only a moment in time.
Q: In recent years, you competed at World Skimo Championships. What was your experience like?
World Skimo Championships was a plethora of emotions. Given that it was my big goal, I had originally thought I would simply be satisfied to just “be” at world champs. However, once I arrived I wanted to do my absolute best and represent my country well. I wasn’t intimidated, but I was overwhelmed.
The competition is a massive step-up from North America and at times I felt like the underdog in Disney movies. My ending though didn’t come with a cheezy trophy finish. World Championships taught me a lot about racing and has given me new goals and new levels to grow towards.
Q: Let’s talk about training now. With summer in full swing, how does your training look like? Which sports or activities do you do? How much do you train? Do you race as well?
Recently, summer has been a challenge for me to get in quality training. I’ve been guiding backpacking trips, which gives me time outdoors with a backpack but the pace is often slow. I try to fit in mountain running and interval training whenever I can.
This summer I’ve registered for a few running races in the 50-60km range. I believe the races will help me to achieve new levels for endurance and hopefully help me maintain speed.
I also continue to love rock climbing. The focus has shifted a bit more towards mountaineering. I believe this is good cross training for skimo with the vertical miles as well as the endurance and mental training. If I can spend 10-15 hours on a rock with limited food and water I should be able to get through a 2-3 hour race.
Q: Then during winter are you able to get on skis for majority of your training or are you mixing in other sports?
In the winter, I focus mainly on skis and the strength training in the gym. On work days, the gym provides me the opportunity to build strength and power. I’m lucky enough to work in the mountains and can often get in a few ski days during the week as well as a good session with my team mates on the weekend.
Q: You are a vegetarian. What is your most favourite dinner meal during big training weeks? And what do you eat during long training sessions?
I love food! I enjoy eating many meals as long as they are fresh and full of spices and whole foods. As much as I love to eat, I view food as my fuel and look for food that is filled with nutrition.
My meals cycle and change with the season and my mood. Often I enjoy Chic pea curry with spinach or falafel loaded with greens and hummus. Lately, I am on a cold noodle bowl kick adding as many yummy vegetables to spring rolls and rice vermicelli. I do have a sweet tooth and I enjoy making a lot of yummy desserts as well.
Q: How do you balance work, training and life? How does your typical day look like?
Don’t know how to answer this question right now 🙂
I have to say that at times it is really hard. The past two years my employment has been erratic and not reliable. Sometimes I’ve worked 2 jobs and 12 hours a day totaling 60 hours/week, at other times I might have a 30 hour work week.
Q: Just like I asked Kylee Toth in her interview, I want to ask this wide ranging question: You have been involved in our sport as an athlete, ambassador and with the Canadian Skimo organization for a couple of years now. Based on your experience and point of view, what do you think can be done to attract more women into our sport? Why should they try it?
More women should try it because skimo is an incredibly empowering sport. Skimo cultivates abilities, confidence, and an improvement mentality that translates to all areas of life. I have formed some of the best friendships through skimo. I view my teammates and training partners as my second family. Once fall arrives I can’t wait to spend more time with my skimo “family.”
I think more support will attract women to the sport. It’s a big initial financial investment. I also perceive that women are intimated. I know I speak for Kylee as well that we would both like to see more mentorship opportunities.
Q: And one more question – If you could do a big backcountry ski trip, where would it be and why?
I would love to ski in South America one day. It seems so wild with its high peaks and big lines. Also the combination of culture and skiing appeals to me.
Archives for July 2016
Interview with Kylee Toth Ohler: 2016 Canadian and North American skimo champion
Besides being the current Canadian Skimo Champion and the North American Skimo Sprint Champion, Kylee Toth Ohler is a mother of two and one of the nicest and most smiling people you can meet.
I have known Kylee for about seven years and have seen her race skimo before her two boys and to return after – stronger and faster than ever before. And because of that, I would like to introduce her to you.
Photos credit: All taken by Kylee’s brother Kent Toth.
Q: Kylee, you were a very fast short track speed skater way before you started racing skimo. How did your training and life look like back then? What speed skating accomplishments are you most proud of?
I started short track speed skating at age 5 and raced until I was 22 so for 17 years. I started in a high performance program at the national training centre at age 13. We trained six days a week often twice a day – weights, road biking, running, dry land and skating of course! I have always loved training and the comroderie with teammates and really enjoyed that time in my life.
I am most proud of my result at the Junior Worlds in Korea when I was 18-years old, I came 5th in the world in the 500m and 8th overall.
Q: What habits, skills or knowledge from speed skating are translating for you well into skimo? And what did you have to unlearn?
I think what is translating well is having a huge base from years of training, a love the discipline of training and knowing how to push myself.
What I had to unlearn was my outlook on training, I always believed more training was always better. When I skated I would add volume to my programs, go hard all the time because I thought that equated with success. I have had to rewire my thinking to training smart, respecting programs, heart rates and my own body.
Q: What skills did you have to learn when coming to skimo? Were you skiing or ski touring a lot before or not?
I started down hill skiing at 18 months so I definitely knew how to to ski. But, if you can believe it the very first time I tried ski touring gear was in a race, Mountain Storm at Fernie! I put it on, got a quick lesson from Steve Sellers and away I went. It was a punishing and hard experience but I liked the challenge and movement and so got into more races and more backcountry skiing.
Q: What do you find the most rewarding about our sport?
I think we have one of the best sports in the world. To be able to run up mountains in the winter and the summer and call it “training” is amazing!
Q: Since returning to racing after giving birth to your two sons you have made great improvements. How are you able to do that because you are obviously juggling lots of commitments?
Yes, it isn’t always easy but you choose where you spend your time. Exercising to me is a priority, it helps me be a better wife and mother because it gives me energy both mentally and physically. I go to a gym that has childcare, I have a supportive extended family, I teach exercise class and whenever I have personal time I spend it training. Some people read books, scrapbook, cook, shop, woodwork I choose to train 🙂
Q: Which sports do you most incorporate into your training in the summer? And do you race in the summer as well or only have fun through training in the mountains?
I run, mountain bike, do body weight bootcamp style workouts, scramble and hike. I follow a training program which Eric Carter from Ridgeline Athletics (and SkinTrack) helps me with. I do a few running races of various lengths from 10km in road to 50km on trail. For me the focus is always on enjoyment and having fun because I find that very fulfilling, energizing and motivating.
Q: How does your typical training week look like in the winter, about 4-5 weeks from a major race? How many hours and how much rest?
Surprisingly I am only on snow one to two times per week because I don’t live directly in the mountains. I try to get one longer day in at lower intensity and one day of intervals in. The rest of the time is running and strength training. I usually work out 6 days a week and have one day off. I really try to make my workouts matter because non-snow days I usually just have one hour of childcare. I always aim for quality over quantity.
Q: Could you elaborate on your diet. Do you have any self-imposed restrictions such as being vegetarian, paleo, or do you eat everything? What do you eat during long training sessions?
No, I eat everything and enjoy food. I try to home cook almost all my food and moderation is important to me. I want to model healthy eating for my boys and to me that is not restrictive eating. During long training I eat whatever I feel like, mostly carbohydrates but I also try to have some protein and fat, homemade protein bars, fig newtons, chews, sometimes chocolate bars 😉
Q: Let’s switch gears now a bit, I want to ask a wide ranging question. For couple of years now, you are involved in the sport as an athlete, race organizer, ambassador and with the Canadian Skimo organization as well. What do you think can be done to attract more women into our sport? Why should they try it? And how it would be different depending on age?
I really feel sports grow from the grass roots level, getting juniors involved, starting clubs, team comroderie and coaching. I think some young people are turned off because it seems dangerous. But, skimo is a sport, it is not the same as backcountry skiing and youngsters can train for it without ever entering Avalanche terrain. So I think better education about what the sport involves would be a good starting point.
Women should absolutely try it, it is an amazing way to stay in shape and see amazing places. I think some barriers to entry are cost of gear, places to train inbounds, being intimidated by either the uphill or downhill component and fear. I think it would be very empowering for women to complete either a recreational or elite course – it’s not about winning, the greatest victory is stepping out of your comfort zone and onto the start line regardless of the outcome.
Q: What would be your advice for those women that would like to try skimo racing and are coming from different sports?
If you have a good base of fitness and can ski downhill give it a try! My first race was the first time I had ski touring gear on and it was a bit of disaster. It’s okay if you aren’t as proficient at it as you were at your former sport, you have to start somewhere. Be brave, do your best and that’s all you can ask of yourself.
Q: One more question, if you could do a big backcountry ski trip, where would it be and why?
That’s a fun question 🙂
I think I would ski tour in New Zealand. I have been to New Zealand and it is a beautiful country that I would love to explore more. The people are friendly, you can camp, mountain bike, surf and ski who wouldn’t want to go 🙂
2016 Mount Marathon race: Interview with 2nd Place Nick Elson
Last year on July 4th, La Sportiva athlete Nick Elson (living in Squamish, BC) lined up alongside multi-year winner Erik Strabel (AK), Salomon athlete Rickey Gates (CO), and the man who needs no introduction, Kilian Jornet (ESP). Much debate ensued over weather a non-Alaskan with little course experience could possibly compare to the Alaska hard-man with his intimate mountain knowledge. It seemed that the Alaskans underestimated Kilian, who ran home to a new course record. Meanwhile, the Canadian snuck across the line in 5th position with little fanfare – the announcers didn’t even mention Nick’s name.
The 2016 race rundown
Fast-forward to July 4th, 2016 and the race is wide open. Kilian opts not to return and no clear favourites emerge. Strabel and Gates aren’t quite showing the form they’d had in successful years and newcomers, David Norris and Scott Patterson (nordic skiers from APU) promise to be quick.
A spotlight is shone on the event when Salomon releases their Salomon Running TV episode focusing on the 2015 event.
Meanwhile, Nick has come off a successful season of ski mountaineering, competing both domestically and internationally on the World Cup and finishing the season as the Canadian National Champion and leader of the national ranking list. Spring rolled around and he increased his running after finishing his first year of law school. Nick capped off his pre-MMR training block by showing a glimpse of his form, comfortably winning the Canadian National Mountain Running Championships in Squamish, BC.
Race day arrives and David and Scott set a hard pace off the line with Nick and Ricky right on their heels. Because the race has no defined course aside from the start, top of the mountain, and finish, several decision points exist. At the end of the road, the APU skiers veer left to ‘the Cliffs’, a steep rocky section, while Nick and Rickey veer right to ‘the Roots’. Completely separated, the two groups can’t see each other and both probably worry that the other is moving faster. The trails come back together and emerge on the upper flanks of the mountain with the skiers ahead and Nick and Ricky trailing. David is looking strong and has a serious gap over Scott, with Nick not far behind. On the upper mountain, racers paddle up loose rocky scree, alternating between running and a power-hike with hands on their knees.
Passing the turn-around point at the summit, each racer takes a slightly different tack to descend the first portion, a large snowfield, remnant from the winter. All of the contenders end up in a nearly out of control butt-slide, jumping up at the last second before plowing into rocks at the bottom. From here it takes just minutes to descend the scree, a creek-bed portion of the mountain called ‘the Gut’ and then ‘the Cliffs’ and a short sprint down the road to the finish line. David holds his lead with a strong finish and a new course record. Nick passes Scott shortly after the snowfield and finishes second (with the third fastest time in history!) while Erik Strabel makes a come from behind attack on the descent to finish third.
For more insight into the race, we asked Nick a few questions. His answers are about as understated as they get. Also, for our American readers, bum is polite Canadian for butt.
The Interview
How was the pace off the line?
Nick: Because the race is so short and intense, everyone including myself seems to be pretty nervous and jumpy off the line. However, after the initial excitement, we settled into a pretty reasonable pace and I was able to cruise along behind Rickey and enjoy all the cheering as we ran to the base of the mountain.
Why did you choose to follow Ricky up the roots vs going with the David & Scott and do you wish you had chosen to go with them in hindsight?
Nick: I don’t think there’s much difference between the roots and the cliff – in fact I still think the roots are slightly more direct if you don’t mind using your hands a bit more. However, I think David and Scott really hammered once they hit the base of the mountain so they had a gap on us by the two routes met up. I followed Ricky because he’s a really strong climber and I hoped he’d have a strong race and I’d be able to hang on behind him. I do wonder whether I might have been able to climb a bit faster had I tried to go with Scott and David, but I think there’s also a good chance I would have blown up.
Where and how did you pass Scott?
Nick: I passed Scott just before where the descent route crosses the climbing route. I actually passed him by taking a better and more direct trail, but he was descending pretty carefully as I think he had some ankle issues. He had 15 starts on the FIS XC skiing world cup last year so I think his priority was probably not to jeopardize his ski season.
Did you intend to butt-slide the snow? Got any scars?
Nick: Yeah, we checked out the snow before the race. It would have been better style to boot ski it, but bum sliding seemed faster and less tiring. The snow dropped off pretty steeply right before turning to scree so I had to dig in my heels and my fingers pretty hard to slow down. I got some road rash on my bum and my palms were numb and tingling for a few hours after the race.
How important do you think course and previous race experience is?
Nick: I think it’s definitely helpful to know the course – certainly it would be a mistake to run it without spending some time figuring out the best way to go in each section. However, I don’t think the minute details matter as much as some people think. I think the experience from last year helped me, but mostly to understand the unique demands of the race and how to best prepare for it.
How was your keg stand?
Nick: I was lame and passed out by 3am before the keg stands really got going. However, for some reason some of the guys decided to bring the keg inside the house. The next morning a hungover Rickey Gates was apologetically scrubbing footprints off the ceiling.
How did you prepare leading into the race?
Nick: After the ski season I took a pretty unstructured approach to training for a while. However, in the two months leading up to the race, I tried to make sure that I had a bit of a plan for getting in consistent hard workouts. I also spent a couple weeks in Canmore a month before the race which turned out to be a great place to train with lots of steep terrain right above town. After last year, I realized that running the downhill well would require a bit more specific preparation so I actually did some downhill intervals which was a first for me.
What was your favourite workout?
Nick: I didn’t race much this spring or early summer and since most of my workouts are time-based and uphill, it was hard to get a concrete sense of where my fitness was and so I decided to do a time-trial up the first peak of the Chief (a 500m climb near Nick’s house) a month and a half out. I wasn’t too well rested but I managed to run a solid time for me (17:42) which was a good confidence boost. It’s not something I would do very often, but it gave me an idea of what I needed to work on in the lead up to the race.
Will you be back to try for a win?
Nick: It’s a pretty awesome race and I feel like I still have some room for improvement so I’d like to go back. I’ve got a guaranteed spot for next year which is a valuable commodity – the top bid in the auction this year was $4500!
What’s next?
Nick: The plan for the next little while is to focus on some more technical objectives in the mountains. I also plan to run an ultra or two later in the year.
Keep your eye on Nick, easily the best mountain runner in Canada.
Congratulations Nick and we can’t wait to see you on top of the podium next year!
2016 full race videos
Men’s race:
Women’s race: