SPECIAL INVITE: Road to the 2026 Winter Olympics

Lumi Experiences founder Garrott Kuzzy skiing in the 4 × 10 km relay in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics

Back in 2006, as I was finishing my last semester of college, I decided that rather than going to work in an office after graduation, I wanted to pursue a ski racing career with the goal of competing in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. It was the inaugural year of the CXC Team, a post-collegiate ski team based in Hayward, WI, which focused on growing the sport of cross country skiing in the Midwest through ski racing. Thanks to sponsors like the American Birkebeiner and a team of volunteers who helped house and feed our small team of 6 athletes, I moved to Hayward to pursue my Olympic dream.

I knew that earning a spot on the US Olympic Team would not come overnight. I set a series of goals to achieve in the four years leading up to the 2010 Olympics: competing on the Europa Cup circuit in 2007, the World Cup in 2008 and the World Championships in 2009. If I could achieve those goals, I was confident that I could make the team and ski in the 2010 Olympics. There were plenty of “thrill of victory and agony of defeat” moments in those four years, but in the end, I achieved each of those goals along the final steps of the journey to becoming an Olympian.

Lumi Experiences trip leader, 2x Olympian and Birkie Champion Holly Brooks leads a group of Lumi guests at the Holmenkollen World Cup in Oslo, Norway

In launching Lumi’s first Olympic trips to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games, I feel a similar arc to the journey. The first Lumi Experiences cross country ski vacation ran in 2018 to the Seefeld World Cup, where guests cheered on Jessie Diggins and Sophie Caldwell to back-to-back World Cup victories on one weekend, just weeks before Jessie and Kikkan Randall teamed up to win Gold at the 2018 Olympics in Korea. Including that first Lumi trip, we have run several World Cup trips annually, plus trips to World Championships in Seefeld 2019, Planica in 2023 and an upcoming trip to the 2025 Trondheim World Championships. Now we are ready for the Olympic Games in Trentino, Italy!

Lumi guests discovering the trails surrounded by Dolomite spires in Passo Lavazé above Cavalese

Lumi has been building relationships and running trips to Cavalese, the gateway village to the Olympic cross country skiing events, for the Marcialonga Ski Marathon since 2019. We have 10 trip leaders who have led trips to Cavalese over the past 5 years and who know the village even better than I do. The village of Cavalese in the Val di Fiemmer valley is an ideal venue for a Lumi Olympic Experience. 

We'd like to extend a special invite to you for our upcoming
Lumi 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Trips

Please visit the link to learn more, express interest and even reserve your spot by Friday, January 31!

Even if an Olympic trip isn't on your list, fill out the form on the Olympic page for a special thank you discount and first access to non-Olympic trips in 2026 too.

I hope you’ll join Lumi for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Olympics and look forward to following up with more 2026 trip details to everyone who fills out the form in the special link above.

See you on the trail!
Garrott
garrott@lumiexperiences.com

Jessie celebrating her Gold Medal at the 2023 World Championships