I consider myself very lucky. I’ve found a job that I love, and one of the things it’s afforded me is the ability to write “professionally”. Not only do I publish blogs for work on a pretty regular basis, I also get to write for our Mountaineer magazine, which comes out every-other-month. I get giddy every time a new magazine comes out with one of my articles, and I anxiously await my next opportunity to write another feature.
I’ve also worked myself into this little “outdoor niche” where – for some reason – people see me as an outdoor expert, at least when it comes to skiing (in a tutu). Recently I was contacted by a few reporters who featured me in stories in the Everett Herald and Seattle Weekly. Speaking as an “expert” on things like skiing year round, I had no idea if the reporters would use my words or if they thought I sounded like a complete idiot. They could exclude me from the article or, worse yet, “out” me as an idiot for everyone to see….
The beauty of being interviewed, though, is that you have no idea what the article will say or when it will come out. It has this surprise factor which is unmatched. So you can imagine my excitement when I walked into work last week to hear from 3 colleagues that they liked my Seattle Weekly feature. Wait…what??? I didn’t even know that had come out! The print version even had a (terribly grainy) photo of me in it! It’s a long article but well worth reading, or you can hop to the last five paragraphs to see quotes from me:
Chin up, ski lovers: It’s not all bad. Winters like these present opportunities, too. “Skiing was almost nonexistent this year in the front country,” says Matthew Palubinskas, mountaineer and longtime member of the Snoqualmie Pass ski patrol. But even though May conditions in 2015 were like mid-August’s conditions in previous years, “In the backcountry, I was out all year.”As was backcountry zealot Kristina Ciari—she has been backcountry skiing in Washington every single month for the past 47 months (often in a tutu). Her goal, she says, “is to get to 100,” but really, “I’ll do it until I don’t love it anymore.”
I was equally stoked for the article from the Everett Herald. When the opening lines are “Kristina Ciari does things in style,” you know it’s going to be good! Seriously though, I was super excited to see this story in print, and honored to be included in the ranks of other great backcountry enthusiasts who I personally admire.
Kristina Ciari does things in style. When she climbed Mount Rainier in 2013, she saved herself the effort of hoofing it back down the mountain. Instead, she stepped into her skis and bombed down the tallest volcano in Washington state. While wearing a pink tutu.
Ciari, the membership and marketing director for The Mountaineers, has been skiing since she was 3. When she isn’t at work, her enthusiasm for skiing keeps her looking for snow all year.
She’s not alone. Ciari, along with other ski enthusiasts, keeps track of her trips on Turns All Year, a website devoted to backcountry skiing and snowboarding.
