Memories of the First Ski of the Season

Playing games on skis in Seefeld, Austria

Skiable snow by Thanksgiving is a good start to winter in my book. It’s exciting to see the World Cup season kick off in Ruka next weekend, plus the West Yellowstone Ski Festival and Craftsbury Thanksgiving Camp next week. For me, the season starts in Leutasch this weekend, a village in the 245 km Seefeld trail network.

The first day on snow brings back so many memories of past years, both of excellent early-season snow where you could ski down Main Street in West Yellowstone and low-snow years, where driving was required to reach snow higher on the plateau. The year we had enough snow to ski down Main Street was the same year Jessie Diggins joined the CXC Team and we skied some solid classic intervals in fresh powder with Caitlin (Compton) Gregg.

Garrott skiing on the streets of West Yellowstone, November 2010

Garrott, Caitlin and Jessie breaking trail in Yellowstone (2010)

After “retiring” from my ski racing career in 2011, I moved to Vermont, where I worked for VBT Bicycling Vacations, developing their bike trips in the Alps. Eager to still spend time on snow, I organized an annual Thanksgiving Camp in Craftsbury, Vermont for the Mansfield Nordic Club – a camp that still runs today! Those camps were perhaps the earliest versions of a Lumi trip, enjoying a Thanksgiving feast with all the Mansfield junior skiers and their parents in Craftsbury.

Garrott and the Mansfield Nordic Club Juniors in Crafstbury (2012)

Reconnecting with friends is always one of my favorite aspects about the first time on snow in the fall. Small loops on artificial snow are a perfect way to ski with lots of people and catch up after 6 months away from friends in the ski community.

For this winter, I just scraped the travel wax off my classic skis that Lumi trip leaders applied after the Fossavatn Ski Marathon in Iceland last April (thank you Elisabeth and Lilli!). I’m looking forward to waxing up on Saturday morning for Seefeld’s Opening Weekend – snow in the forecast means we may even be on natural snow too!

Garrott on one of his last skis of the year last spring in Iceland

With the World Cup season starting in Ruka this weekend, I’m already looking forward to cheering on my favorite skiers in person at the 2025 Nordic World Championships in Trondheim. Next Wednesday, November 25 is the last day we are accepting bookings on the 2025 Trondheim World Championships Trip!! Reach out TODAY to secure your spot. In 2023, one of the highlights for me was seeing Jessie earn the first ever individual World Championship Gold for the US!

ENTER THE TRIP GIVEAWAY DRAWING

There is still have time to sign up for the Worldloppet x Lumi 2025 France Transju’ Trip Giveaway. Sign-up soon! The raffle closes December 12.

There is still limited space available on a couple of other 2025 Lumi trips. If you’d like to join a trip this winter, reach out today to receive a trip itinerary and to sign up!

See you on the trail,
Garrott Kuzzy
garrott@lumiexperiences.com