Besides being the current Canadian Skimo Champion and the North American Skimo Sprint Champion, Kylee Toth Ohler is a mother of two and one of the nicest and most smiling people you can meet.
I have known Kylee for about seven years and have seen her race skimo before her two boys and to return after – stronger and faster than ever before. And because of that, I would like to introduce her to you.
Photos credit: All taken by Kylee’s brother Kent Toth.
Q: Kylee, you were a very fast short track speed skater way before you started racing skimo. How did your training and life look like back then? What speed skating accomplishments are you most proud of?
I started short track speed skating at age 5 and raced until I was 22 so for 17 years. I started in a high performance program at the national training centre at age 13. We trained six days a week often twice a day – weights, road biking, running, dry land and skating of course! I have always loved training and the comroderie with teammates and really enjoyed that time in my life.
I am most proud of my result at the Junior Worlds in Korea when I was 18-years old, I came 5th in the world in the 500m and 8th overall.
Q: What habits, skills or knowledge from speed skating are translating for you well into skimo? And what did you have to unlearn?
I think what is translating well is having a huge base from years of training, a love the discipline of training and knowing how to push myself.
What I had to unlearn was my outlook on training, I always believed more training was always better. When I skated I would add volume to my programs, go hard all the time because I thought that equated with success. I have had to rewire my thinking to training smart, respecting programs, heart rates and my own body.
Q: What skills did you have to learn when coming to skimo? Were you skiing or ski touring a lot before or not?
I started down hill skiing at 18 months so I definitely knew how to to ski. But, if you can believe it the very first time I tried ski touring gear was in a race, Mountain Storm at Fernie! I put it on, got a quick lesson from Steve Sellers and away I went. It was a punishing and hard experience but I liked the challenge and movement and so got into more races and more backcountry skiing.
Q: What do you find the most rewarding about our sport?
I think we have one of the best sports in the world. To be able to run up mountains in the winter and the summer and call it “training” is amazing!
Q: Since returning to racing after giving birth to your two sons you have made great improvements. How are you able to do that because you are obviously juggling lots of commitments?
Yes, it isn’t always easy but you choose where you spend your time. Exercising to me is a priority, it helps me be a better wife and mother because it gives me energy both mentally and physically. I go to a gym that has childcare, I have a supportive extended family, I teach exercise class and whenever I have personal time I spend it training. Some people read books, scrapbook, cook, shop, woodwork I choose to train 🙂
Q: Which sports do you most incorporate into your training in the summer? And do you race in the summer as well or only have fun through training in the mountains?
I run, mountain bike, do body weight bootcamp style workouts, scramble and hike. I follow a training program which Eric Carter from Ridgeline Athletics (and SkinTrack) helps me with. I do a few running races of various lengths from 10km in road to 50km on trail. For me the focus is always on enjoyment and having fun because I find that very fulfilling, energizing and motivating.
Q: How does your typical training week look like in the winter, about 4-5 weeks from a major race? How many hours and how much rest?
Surprisingly I am only on snow one to two times per week because I don’t live directly in the mountains. I try to get one longer day in at lower intensity and one day of intervals in. The rest of the time is running and strength training. I usually work out 6 days a week and have one day off. I really try to make my workouts matter because non-snow days I usually just have one hour of childcare. I always aim for quality over quantity.
Q: Could you elaborate on your diet. Do you have any self-imposed restrictions such as being vegetarian, paleo, or do you eat everything? What do you eat during long training sessions?
No, I eat everything and enjoy food. I try to home cook almost all my food and moderation is important to me. I want to model healthy eating for my boys and to me that is not restrictive eating. During long training I eat whatever I feel like, mostly carbohydrates but I also try to have some protein and fat, homemade protein bars, fig newtons, chews, sometimes chocolate bars 😉
Q: Let’s switch gears now a bit, I want to ask a wide ranging question. For couple of years now, you are involved in the sport as an athlete, race organizer, ambassador and with the Canadian Skimo organization as well. What do you think can be done to attract more women into our sport? Why should they try it? And how it would be different depending on age?
I really feel sports grow from the grass roots level, getting juniors involved, starting clubs, team comroderie and coaching. I think some young people are turned off because it seems dangerous. But, skimo is a sport, it is not the same as backcountry skiing and youngsters can train for it without ever entering Avalanche terrain. So I think better education about what the sport involves would be a good starting point.
Women should absolutely try it, it is an amazing way to stay in shape and see amazing places. I think some barriers to entry are cost of gear, places to train inbounds, being intimidated by either the uphill or downhill component and fear. I think it would be very empowering for women to complete either a recreational or elite course – it’s not about winning, the greatest victory is stepping out of your comfort zone and onto the start line regardless of the outcome.
Q: What would be your advice for those women that would like to try skimo racing and are coming from different sports?
If you have a good base of fitness and can ski downhill give it a try! My first race was the first time I had ski touring gear on and it was a bit of disaster. It’s okay if you aren’t as proficient at it as you were at your former sport, you have to start somewhere. Be brave, do your best and that’s all you can ask of yourself.
Q: One more question, if you could do a big backcountry ski trip, where would it be and why?
That’s a fun question 🙂
I think I would ski tour in New Zealand. I have been to New Zealand and it is a beautiful country that I would love to explore more. The people are friendly, you can camp, mountain bike, surf and ski who wouldn’t want to go 🙂
Canadian Skimo Championships
Report from 2015 Canadian Skimo Champs: Kylee Ohler and Nick Elson take titles, German Philipp Schädler strikes again!
The BUFF Canadian Ski Mountaineering Championships took place last Saturday at Kicking Horse Resort as part of the 7th edition of Dogtooth Dash skimo race. The race was founded in 2009 by Ian Gale and Eric & I took over two years ago, as race directors, to continue the most popular Canadian skimo race going after Ian retired from organizing.
Beyond that, the race would have not happened without the generosity of Kicking Horse Resort, Buff Canada, Live Out There, and other smaller sponsors.
Special guest:
We were privileged to have Alexandre Pellicier, 2008 Skimo World Champion, to come and inspect our race preparations on behalf of ISMF over the three days. He turned out to be a great person and despite jet-lag helped tremendously to make the race a success. He left us with many great tips and suggestions of how we can take Dogtooth Dash into a world cup level in the years to come.
On top of that, Alex did a fantastic job during a 45 min Q & A session at the awards party where he answered many questions in great detail. Thank you Alex and we all hope to see you back soon!
Photo gallery:
How it all went down
» Full results Dogtooth Dash 2015 RESULTS
Due to lots of new snow we had to change the Elite (long) course to be two laps of the Enduro (short) course, but the beauty of KHMR terrain is that technical ascents and descents were still prominent.
Total vertical for the Elite course came to 1570 m over four climbs and four descents – including two steep bootpacks and two big descents – and half that for Enduro racers.
Elite:
As the race begins unusually on top of the mountain we had athletes run one lap around the Eagle’s Eye restaurant to spread them apart before the descent. First transition was chaotic as always, with 50+ people putting their skins on, but the top dogs already emerged out of it first – Philipp Schädler (GER) was leading Nick Elson, with Ben Parsons, Mike Foote (both USA) and couple of Canadian team members following behind.
During the first ascent, Phillip and Nick started to pull away while Kylee Ohler was creating a small gap on two ladies behind her. Blue skies and skinning on the ridge made many racers to look around as if they were on a powder ski tour deep in the mountains.
On the second climb, which was the longer one (little more than 500 m), Nick was leading Philipp into the bootpack transition but the positions switched as Nick struggled to hook skis to his pack. By this point, they had about 3 min gap on Ben Parsons who was being followed by Mike Foote further one minute behind. Kylee was extending her lead slowly on Michelle Roberts and Michela Adrian (USA) but they were all within about 2 min!
The ladies battle was as equally exciting, however, more for 2nd and 3rd as Kylee pulled away on the last climb for a respectable win, thus, becoming the 2015 Canadian Skimo Champion. I don’t exactly know how it went down between Michela (2nd) and Michelle (3rd) on that last climb but at the end they were separated only by 9 seconds! Martha Burley came in couple of minutes behind them but still delivering a big performance given the fact she was out whole last winter due to sever knee injury.
Enduro:
Athletes on the Enduro course (one lap with two climbs) all appeared to have great time while pushing their limits! That was our aim when Eric and I designed this shorter course two years ago – to give participants a taste of real skimo racing instead of defaulting to a more challenging “cross country ski race”.
The women’s category was won by Jennifer Parsons, followed by Caroline Reid who is just recovering from a knee injury, and Karina Benavides. The men’s prize went to Joe Magajna in front of Pascal Hinni, and only 16-years old Riley Wolever!
Junior race:
With that overall 3rd place on the Enduro course, Riley Wolever became the 2015 Canadian Junior Skimo Champion with Kevin Hinni taking 2nd only 1 min behind, and Riley’s brother Brinton Wolever taking 3rd. All three guys are becoming regulars on the Candian skimo circuit and it will be very exciting to watch them progress in the years to come!
16 women and 6 under 20!
Something I really noticed while refreshing the skin tracks and cheering on was that we had more women and junior racers participating than I ever saw in Canada before! This is even more impressive since Melanie Bernier and Katarina Kuba were already in Europe preparing for the World Championships.
Overall, it is an exciting sign that skimo racing in Canada is finally growing beyond the unshaven, hardy men that dominated the scene few years ago… and maybe that’s what attracted the ladies to the sport 🙂
Coming up this weekend: Two amazing courses at the 2014 BUFF Canadian SkiMo Champs
One of the best things about skimo racing is that anyone can line up with the top athletes in their very first race.
Another one is that if you want lots of fun and challenge but are hesitant about going the full Elite course then you can get your moneys/legs/skis/skins worth on the Enduro course.
Race courses for the Dogtooth Dash
In case you haven’t heard it yet:
On March 21-23, the Dogtooth Dash event at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort will host the 2014 BUFF Canadian Ski Mountaineering Championships.
Why does the Dogtooth Dash get to host the Championships? Because of the awesome terrain and challenging courses!
Friday’s vertical race
Doing the vertical race is not mandatory but since it’s a standard discipline on the skimo racing World Cup circuit, we have decided to bring it to Canada as well.
Dogtooth’s vertical will be an 800m, single-climb event – from the KHMR base to the Heaven’s Door Yurt – and gives anyone a chance to try skimo racing in a very safe manner (without having to race downhill!).
Saturday’s 2 individual race courses
If Friday’s event will be the appetizer then Saturday’s race will be the main course… with the night party being the dinner 😉
The shorter, Enduro course is uniquely designed in a way that you still get to summit a peak despite racing a smaller version of the Dogtooth Dash!
The first downhill on a groomer is a great warm up for the black diamond run off the summit ridge of Blue Heaven. This comes early in the race so your legs will still be fresh to take it on.
The whole Enduro course features about 780m of climbing spread over two climbs and one boot-pack up a narrow chute (end the end of 2nd climb).
As you can see on the map below, the race starts with a descent from the Eagle’s Eye restaurant at 2330m, followed by a 285m climb (about 30-40min) which brings you to the top of Blue Heaven. The long, beautiful descent first takes you down Whitewall and continues down the valley for a total of 625m of great skiing! The second and last climb features a nice boot-pack (yellow line) that brings you back to the finish at Eagle’s Eye (510m climb – about 1h to 1.5h).
Click image for a big map:
In total, it features around 1600m of climbing (usually around 2.5-3.5h) and you will get to summit 3 peaks, boot over 3 ridges, and travel through 4 distinct bowls!
Register Now
If you are up for the challenge or just want to have loads of fun make sure to register online to save $10 and so we can get your race package ready for you (Clif bars, a buff and more): http://secure.eventsonline.ca/events/dogtooth_dash/
For $90 (or $97 if doing the vertical as well) you will get an entry into the Saturday’s individual race, Saturday’s dinner and party, and lift tickets for Saturday & Sunday! Now, that is a best deal any skimo race ever offered.
You can also win a free entry into the Dogtooth Dash by showing us how much you really want it:
http://www.skintrack.com/contests-giveaways/free-entry-dogtooth-dash-2014/
Thank You our volunteers
There will be almost 20 volunteers out on the course during the Saturday’s race and others helping to set everything up during the days leading up to the Dogtooth Dash.
To everyone, on behalf of all racers, we want to say BIG Thank You for continuously supporting skimo racing, thus, keeping this sport alive in this great outdoor country.
Thank You,
Stano, Eric & KHMR crew
2013 Dogtooth Dash: The Goretex North American Continental Skimo Champs, Mar 16-17
Stakes at the 2013 Dogtooth Dash will be high. After partnering with a major sponsor this year’s individual race will become The Goretex 2013 Continental Ski Mountaineering Championships!
The Dogtooth will be traditionally organized and hosted by the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort near Golden, BC.
If you have never skied at the KHMR then use this chance to race over its amazing terrain and ride the lifts with your friends after.
For only $65.00 you get 2 days of racing, including full day lift tickets!
The Saturday’s individual race will also be the official Canadian Ski Mountaineering Championships, then have fun racing a friendly skimo relay on Sunday.
Quick Facts
» Register NOW for $65 for 2 days or racing and skiing.
» Event website – http://goldenskimo.wordpress.com/dogtooth-dash/
Saturday:
NA and Canadian bragging rights will be awarded on Saturday for competitors racing the Elite course.
- Race courses: Rec (2000 ft of vertical gain), Enduro (4000 ft), Elite (6000 ft)
- Elite course features: real steep skiing, technical skinning, and multiple bootpacks
- Categories: Men, Women, Juniors, Heavy Metal, Split Board, Poker Run
Sunday:
- Teams of 2, 3 or 4 go head to head on a technical yet fun course.
- One lap takes about 10-15min to complete.
- All based out of the Heavens Door Yurt, mid-mountain.
- Spectator friendly course with BBQ, beer gardens and DJ.
Steve Sellers interview: Skimo racing is the ultimate skiing challenge!
The world of ski mountaineering racing is full of unique characters, and arguably the Canadian and the American skimo scenes are responsible for bringing the most flavour in recent years. This translates to the national teams as well which makes the North Americans’ Euro racing trips very enjoyable.
But there is one character that I feel I neglected with my interviews for way too long. He is a die-heart competitor to whom age seems to only provide with more speed, in fact, he is on the Canadian National Ski Mountaineering Team.
Steve is a father of two and a pastor in Canmore, Alberta. At the age of 51 he just recently captured bronze at the Canadian skimo nationals!
Personally, I am very happy to had the experience to witness him to give a true 120% in our teams race at the 2011 Worlds. It was inspirational to be part of it – one can always improve.
» Check out Steve’s blog – Ski Training Central
About training, longevity and racing passion with Steve Sellers:
Q: Steve, what do you find the most beautiful and the most challenging about skimo racing?
Skimo racing is the ultimate skiing challenge! You have to have the motor of an xc skier and the athletic ability of a downhill racer. With my xc background the obvious weak link for me are the downhills (as you Stano probably painfully became aware of in our teams race in Claut, Italy!). [Stano’s note: I remember very vividly :)]
To rectify this I go to Norquay ski area in Banff at least once per week with my lightweight race gear and hammer the double blacks off the North American chair. I time myself and try to improve every run.
It’s the challenge of getting better that keeps me motivated in this great sport.
Q: When did you start skimo racing? And for how long have you been backcountry skiing?
In 2007. That year my focus was on fulfilling a dream of cross-country (xc) ski racing the famous 90km long Vasaloppett in Sweden. Just prior to leaving I jumped in the ski mountaineering race at Sunshine. On the heavy gear I wasn’t too fast, but I was easily hooked. I just felt it would be the sport for me.
Later that year, I found myself in Vancouver for a conference the same week as the North Face Whistler skimo race and decided to do it. Everything seemed to go wrong and it was a total disaster, but deep down I felt like I could do this sport. I decided then and there to go back the next year and prove to myself I could do skimo racing. I finished 4th or 5th and knocked a couple of hours off my time.
Q: What is your racing background – which sports, for how long?
I started xc ski racing in high school. Living in Minnesota at the time there wasn’t very much downhill or backcountry skiing to be had so I totally poured myself into xc.
I really loved it. I even got to represent the US in a world cup in 1985.
My main focus each year though was the US Birkebeiner. I competed in the elite wave from 1980 to 2010.
Q: You also race Ironmans and shorter triathlons in the summer. When do you switch from winter to summer training and then back again?
After 20 years of roller skiing and running in the summer, among other dry land training, I figured it was time for a change.
For a long time I had on my Bucket List: “competing in an Ironman”. It seemed like the clock was ticking, so I thought I’d better go for it. I did half-Ironman and Olympic triathlons for 4 years, then finally got into the big one, Ironman Canada.
Interestingly, my ski results got better. I think it was the extra endurance base hours I was putting in, plus the new knowledge I’d gleaned from training and competing at a whole new level.
I’ve since found that for my best winter results competing in this totally different sport really works. But it also works the other way around. Two years ago I placed 3rd in my age group in the Calgary Half Ironman and qualified for the world age group championships. I was kind of surprised since due to our usual long ski season and a trip to Europe I’d really only tri-trained a month or so.
However, on the ride home as I shared these thoughts with my wife she mentioned, “that skimo racing is pretty tough, that’s probably why you did so well.”
After an Ironman you’ve gotta take about 3 weeks off. The first one you don’t even want to train. The second one you can’t even if you want to, then the third you can start easing into activity.
I take about 4 weeks of easy training after the skimo season too. I’m still skiing 6 days a week (the skiing’s too good to sit around!), but absolutely no intensity.
During the year you have to build in rest days. If I train 3 weeks uninterrupted (hard to do with a job and family though), then my body makes me take that 4th week easy.
Q: What do you think is the secret to your longevity in competition sports? How can someone copy you?
The heart’s gotta be in it. You’ve also gotta be in it for the right reasons.
Sport was never designed to be a place to get your self-esteem needs met. If you’re just competing because you have to prove to yourself and others you’re a worthy person, then you’re just chasing after air.
When you’re secure in yourself as a person, at peace with your Creator and have family and friends that love you and support you, then you can be at peace to pursue your passions.
Q: You are always keen to compete. What keeps you motivated?
I’d say the key for me is improvement. If there’s the possibility to get better then I find that a fun challenge to take on.
After last year’s Canadian Nationals at Kicking Horse ski area, I identified 6 areas I felt I could get faster in (transitions, downhills, uphill fitness, kick-turns, boot-packing and skin speed). I also estimated how much time I could realistically gain from each.
From there I started working on each individual area. I’m still doing it. I’ve got a cool summer ski sprint course I grass-ski on to work on transitions, boot-packs, kick-turns and uphill sprint speed.
Q: You have two daughters, Anna and Kjirsti. Are they competing in sports too? Does ski mountaineering potentially interests them?
Anna did her first skimo race last year as part of our team relay at the Vert 180. She also had 2 biathlon and 2 xc ski races that weekend. It was hard for her to choose which ones to do. She’d do all of them if we’d let her.
My other daughter cries when she has to go downhill skiing with the family but she’s a pretty good skier anyway. Like her older sister she’s involved in the Canmore Nordic ski club.
With kids you gotta let them find their own path. We give them the opportunities but I want them to show some initiative on their own to pursue what their heart leads them to.
Q: You represented Canada at the 2011 World Ski Mountaineering Championships. How did you find the experience?
Simply put…amazing! I don’t think there is a greater privilege in sport than to represent your country, especially at the highest level.
During the warm up before our teams race I started feeling the nerves coming on and thinking “how in over my head I was”. Then I began to contemplate how truly blessed I was just to be there, representing Canada, my country.
This realization just filled my heart with joy. Joy is such an energizer in so many ways. I think too that my walk with God brings joy and energy to these moments.
Q: Do you have plans to race at the 2013 World Championships? Or what is going to be your biggest goal for this winter?
I’ll admit I was a little embarrassed being the “grandfather” of the 2011 championships; however, I seemed to make a bit of a jump in performance last year. As long as I’m improving I may as well throw ‘er down with the big boys and see what I can do!
Q: With so much experience in competition sports, what would you advise to ambitious skimo racers in North America?
One thing I absolutely love about our Canadian skimo team is that we work together. Having a “win-win” philosophy benefits everyone.
The sport is so young in both the US and Canada and we have so much to learn. We might as well help one another as much as possible. That way we’ll all get faster sooner!
Canadian Ski Mountaineering Racing Championships – Golden, BC
Over the weekend Golden’s Kicking Horse Mountain Resort hosted the Canadian Ski Mountaineering National Championships for a fourth time.
Saturday saw the championship race over the 6000 ft course while most of the participants battled on the Enduro’s 4000 ft route. On Sunday, in a cozy atmosphere, elite racers helped the new guys with some skills tips and both raced on a short but a very technical course relay style.
- great overall turnout despite missing some regular racers
- 14 racers were women
- and, the previous champions are king and queen once again
How it happened
This video captures the atmosphere, write up below provides more details. Enjoy.
43 people took part in racing on Saturday. This number could have been more than 50 if schedule conflicts or illness didn’t take out a couple of regular participants. Large groups came from Calgary and Valemount, and challenging the size of the home crowd. Overall, it is a good sign of things to come because we saw lots of new faces.
In men’s elite category Reiner Thoni captured his 4th straight national title with a commanding performance. He completed the 6000 ft course in 1h 49min and shaved over 10min from his last year’s winning time! The podium was rounded by Andrew McNab and Steve Sellers.
Three new names – Erich Peitzsch, Eric Carter, Nick Elson – and mixed with Peter Knight gave a good chase to the top three and only at late stages of the race Steve Sellers secured his 3rd place.
Women’s elite race went down less dramatically but with great performances from all. Third national title went to Melanie Bernier who is Canada’s most committed racer and is progressing dramatically every year. Her long time challenger, Julie Matteau, came in second with Billie Velisek taking third. It is also notable that Michelle Roberts was the 4th woman completing the whole challenging 6000 ft course and once gaining more experience she should become a force because 3.5h on such a course would put to shame a majority of strong ski touring men.
The 4000 ft Enduro course saw the biggest field and couple of great battles:
Igor Bernas won the men’s category ahead of Dominic Unterberger who is only a junior. Third place was decided after a fierce sprint to the finish line by two local ski patrolers – Brad Lorrimar and Ken Macdiarmi. Fifth overall was the second in junior’s category, Martin Carnogursky, who was still leading Dominic after 3/4 of the race.
The women’s category top spot went to only a junior racer Katarina Kuba who lead with a good gap in front of the other women – Amber Steed, Sheena Johnson and Jana Skerlak.
Enduro course was also completed by four splitboarders where top honors went to Nigel Fisher and Nicole Walker.
Full results
» Saturday’s event – Canadian Ski Mountaineering Championships
» Sunday’s relay event