Cross-Training for Skiing, Channeling Healthy Aggression, and Women-Centered Spaces Outdoors

I recently sat down with Jen Gurecki of Coalition Snow for a juicy chat (hah!) on the Juicy Bits podcast for an episode we called Wisdom & Wellness. We covered so much ground, from learning to ski as an adult, to aging gracefully, to cross-training for winter sports, and lots more.

Jen is a winter superfan and the CEO of Coalition Snow. Over at Coalition Snow, they sell winter sports gear and other merch, plus lead group outdoor trips. Jen and her team have created a fantastic niche in the skiing and snowboarding community, and I’m happy to have an ongoing relationship with them. Jen has even joined us for Ski Babes workouts!

One of the topics we loved most is unpacking the norm and pressure in skier culture for skiers to go as hard as possible and constantly push themselves physically. We poked at why we don’t subscribe to that mentality, and the importance of joy and mental...

Embracing Inclusivity in Business & Community

Hello! This post is part of a series about our team values at Mind & Mountain and the ways that we practice those values within our programs and behind the scenes. 

What does it take to build a business and a community that lives the values of inclusivity and equity? At Mind & Mountain, we’ve been on a journey to do just that. Whether you participate in Mind & Mountain’s programs or you’re a business owner looking for ideas, we want to provide transparency on our approach and our learnings (so far!) about implementing equitable business practices.

We want to point out that we are eternal students on this path. Equity and liberation aren't a box to check off once, but a practice in which we will always have growth potential and room for improvement. We’ve developed our current processes for transparency and accountability with the help of leaders in this field (primarily Black women)...

Tuning up our bodies & minds for the season

Winter is here and many of us are spending as much time as we can playing in the snow and the mountains! As we move through this winter season, let’s talk about how to tune up our bodies and minds for the season, too. Taking good care of yourself isn’t just something to practice in everyday life. We can bring self-care into the mountains too.

Taking time for cross-training both before and during the season can make your days on the mountain so much more enjoyable! Training helps us prevent injuries, keep up with our friends, and have more fun outside. But it can be hard to know how to adequately prepare for winter sports - especially for the backcountry. In this post, we’ll walk you through some simple exercises and mindset tips to practice.

We hope you use these moves and concepts to build your mind & body strength for this winter season! 

Training for Strong Winter Bodies

Let’s start with some simple...

Self Care for the Winter Season

Taking good care of your body and mind is important in both everyday life and our outdoor lifestyles. Self care is an especially important concept for winter, when sometimes our mood and energy level can drop. So what does that look like? Here are four tools for wilderness lovers to practice self care this winter.

Tool #1: Using Titration to Grow without Overwhelm

Titration is one of our most important nervous system concepts here at Mind & Mountain. It’s originally a term from chemistry, but when applied to the nervous system it means adding challenge slowly, in small, and manageable doses. Picture adding liquid one drop at a time into a beaker: that’s titration.

Like a chemical reaction overheating or bubbling over, doing too much too fast can flood our nervous systems. When our brain gets flooded, it literally changes how it functions: the rational part of our brains shut down while our fear and survival zones kick into high...

Why exercise at home for stronger ski days?

Winter is here and it’s time to hit the slopes! As we get our winter gear out, it’s important to think about how to tune up our minds & bodies for the season, too.

One of the best things you can do to stay strong and injury free this winter is to prep with a little strength training. Doing some exercises at home, even in small doses, is a really effective way of staying healthy on your skis. Nothing ruins ski season like being sidelined with an injury!

On top of that, practicing functional movements at home can build the muscle memory to help your technique come together early in the season. By building your endurance and practicing healthy movement patterns in pre-season, you can jump start your season and ski strong all winter long.

Three strength moves for backcountry skiers

We’re going to take you through three moves we love for building strength for ski season. Each of these movements imitates an action that we...

Getting Started with Nordic Skating

Whether breezing across an alpine lake or soaring down a frozen slough, Nordic skating is a rewarding way to experience both beauty and playfulness outside.

Nordic skating is awesome because it can be more accessible and simple compared to many winter sports. The equipment you need to get started is not too expensive, and it takes less practice to learn the movement patterns. You won’t have to spend years trying to master the basics. You can be gliding around having fun on the ice in no time!

Finding conditions for fun and safe Nordic skating takes some planning and some luck. In Alaska, skating is often an early winter activity, when temperatures drop below freezing so ice can form, but the snow hasn’t yet arrived. Midwinter skating can be fun too – some cities maintain a plowed lake rink area for skating after the snow, and sometimes skaters get lucky after a warm melt spell or a big windstorm that clears the ice of snow. In...

Budget-friendly Tips on Getting Out There for Less

If you’ve ever walked into a ski shop, you’ve probably been floored by the cost of winter gear. Things don’t get any better when looking at lift tickets for your local slopes. And all that sticker shock can be really overwhelming.

Finances are a huge obstacle for so many folks, and nowhere is that more true than in winter sports! This form of gatekeeping creates an exclusive culture that we’re trying to break down. We want everyone to have access to winter sports, no matter their budget, and without the fear of getting shut out by high price tags.

The good news is that you don’t have to blow your budget to get out there. We’ve compiled a list of tips from outdoor recreation enthusiasts (across many platforms) to make winter sports more affordable. And we added a few from our own experiences too. 

Let’s dive right in! Here’s our best money-saving tips for getting...

Happy Autumn Everyone! 

I recently had a last minute chance to sit down with Martha Rosenstein of Alaska Public Media and the Outdoor Explorer Podcast to have a discussion about transitioning from Summer to Winter. This is a big transition across the hemisphere - and feels a little extra dramatic up here in Alaska where you can blink and fall is already over! We discussed some different ways that can make the transition feel less drastic and more sustainable, you can see the list of topics below! 

Closing out the episode, Martha chats for a bit with Heather Caldwell -  a psychotherapist that practices in both Alaska and Colorado. Heather shares some more perspective on how to make a seasonal transition, you can check out more about Heather and her practice here. 

Topics covered include: 

• Sarah
  • Transitioning from summer to winter - how can we do it in a more mindful way? (3:18)
  • Leaning into plan B and recognizing the energy that takes. (5:29)
  • Cues...

Greetings!

Wow, I just had the chance to sit down with Kaitlyn Kasso and had a really fun time! Kaitlyn is an awesome photographer that helps women develop their personal brands. You can follow what she's up to on Instagram @kaitlyncassocreations. She also runs the Inspired by HERstory Podcast: Getting Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable.

We talked in detail about my first time in the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic, both of our experiences with imposter syndrome, and what it's like to be a beginner in the outdoors. I really think there is a bit of something for everyone in this episode! 

Topics covered include: 

• The story of my first Wilderness Classic: 5:50
• How my business came to be: 19:38
• When to confront challenges and when to back down: 22:40
• Workout Perfectionism & Imposter Syndrome: 26:10
• Building confidence when you're new outdoors (or at anything): 33:10
• Building a capacity for failure: 38:12
• Advice on how to deal with Imposter Syndrome: 42:43
• ...

One year of Sistering Support

In April of 2021 SMH Training officially marked the one year anniversary of our Sistering Support program!

In honor of that milestone, I wanted to share some information about how it’s gone, who we’ve helped, and why financial support and equity pricing are an important part of our business model.

First things first – what is Sistering Support?

"Sistering" is a construction term in which a post that's holding up too much weight is supported by additional posts on either side. This metaphor conveys what we're after: helping take some of the weight off those who are carrying a lot right now. Especially for BIPOC, queer, disabled, bigger bodies, and others who are underrepresented in the outdoor world.

Ideally, finances wouldn't keep anyone from health, movement, or outdoor time. And if we’re going to realize our goal of a more diverse outdoor recreation community – we have to work to make the opportunities to thrive in...