by Kristina | Jan 13, 2018 | Mt. Rainier, Skiing, Turns All Year
Photo by Christy Pelland.Ahh November. For those of us who do Turns All Year, it marks the beginning of the glorious season where snow is abundant and chairlifts are spinning. You can go as easy on yourself, or as hard, as you want.The past few years, November turns...
by Kristina | Jan 6, 2018 | Advice, Life
I have a thing for even numbers. Even though I was born on the 13th day in the 5th month of the year, I was born in 1984. For whatever reason I seem to do better, and find more happiness, in ‘even’ years.In 2010 I lost a bunch of weight, discovered my love...
by Kristina | Dec 31, 2017 | Life
At the end of December, it’s fun to reflect on memories that made us smile and consider what things we’d like to leave behind as we enter a New Year. A lot of things made me smile in 2017. Small pieces of gear like a down skirt and a pee funnel. A pair of...
by Kristina | Dec 7, 2017 | Mountaineering, Publications
One step at a time. It can be slow, and often painful, but you can always take one more step. That’s how you climb mountains, and that’s how you recover from addiction. Nik Jensen knows the trials and tribulations of both. I don’t remember meeting Nik, suffice to say...
by Kristina | Nov 30, 2017 | Backcountry, Life, Mt. Rainier, Skiing
“Are you okay?” I look up from my backpack to see two men cresting the hill around 7,400 ft. I’m alone on the southeast flank of Mt. Rainier, where Pebble Creek kisses the tip of the Muir Snowfield. I’ve been in this spot 40+ times in recent years, and today I’m...
by Kristina | Nov 23, 2017 | The Mountaineers
To celebrate Thanksgiving this year, The Mountaineers sends a message of thanks to its community. As the communications director, I’m primarily responsible for crafting and distributing this message. Every year I feel moved by the way it comes out...
by Kristina | Nov 16, 2017 | Advice, Skiing
I knew I was in over my head. My thighs were on fire and my glutes were screaming at me with equal fervor, but I wasn’t going to quit now. I’d paid for the cabin, rented the gear, and driven five hours in a blinding snowstorm to try something new. Little did I know I...
by Kristina | Nov 9, 2017 | Mt. Rainier, Skiing, Turns All Year, Tutu
#TeamTutu: Reporting for duty!It was the type of day that was so fun you spent its entirety with your face gaping open.I’ve been skiing at least one day a month for the last 71 months, and this trip was my only chance for turns in October. My...
by Kristina | Oct 26, 2017 | Advice, Lists, Travel
I’ve been having a week, and it’s only Wednesday. Maybe it’s the change in weather, maybe it’s the dread I’m feeling at having to avoid pounds of Halloween candy in the next few weeks (a task at which, no doubt, I will fail), or maybe...
by Kristina | Oct 15, 2017 | Camping, Lists
My parents had a VW Bus when I was a kid, and some of my earliest memories involve camping in that van. My dad would pack everything up, my mom would load me and my twin sisters into the back, and we’d drive down a dirt road for what felt like forever until...
