Continuing our hunt to find out what G3 athletes pursue when the snow is gone, we tracked down G3's ski-mo racer Melanie Bernier with our 6 question hit list. True to her winter pursuits, Melanie isn't letting any moss grow under her feet...
My best trip/mission this winter was...Oh, so many to choose from…I think I will have to go with our month long winter camping trip in Wyomming and Colorado. Even if the snow level was low, we had the chance to discover some new terrain, traverse from Teton Pass to Jackson Hole, attempt to climb the Grand Teton and ski mo race in Wyoming, Idaho and Colorado. What a month full of adventure… and all of that from the comfort of our camper.
After a mind blowing trip, the first thing I do is …Sit down for a minute and be grateful for the experience… then shortly after, think about what the next trip or adventure could be. There’s a lifetime long checklist of things to ski so the good news is that I am not about to run out of ideas!
Winter's dead. Summer for me is all about...Mountain biking! I love it so much I think because it is similar to backcountry skiing in a lot of ways. It brings you to connect with nature and makes you push your limits all at once. It allows you to travel to very special places and makes you enjoy life with friends, with fellow racers or by yourself. When descending, the feeling of freedom and the rush of speed are pretty close to the feeling of carving turns on snow. That’s the best thing I have found to keep my mind and body occupy during the hot summer months! Trail running is also on the top list. I love when the Alpine gets free of snow and the long trails are blooming with alpine flowers. You can just go for hours feeding from beautiful views and changing landscape.
If I’m feeling unmotivated, I usually…Either make a plan to go somewhere on a trip or look-up a race I would like to do. Then I grab my bike or skis depending on the season and I go play in the forest for a few hours. That usually gets me right back on track!
When the snow comes back, I'm already planning...Planning on getting a lot of backcountry ski volume early in the season in order to be as ready as I can be for a season of skiing in Europe. I am planning on following as much as possible of the World Cup Circuit for ski Mountaineering, Race in the World Champs in February and enter some of the long classic Euro races in March and April. It’s going to be such an amazing season again! So much to look forward to!
The G3 gear I’m most eager to get my hands on...Oh, that’s a hard question but I will have to go in the skis department! It’s funny how two planks make me this excited even as an adult. What a feeling it is to try new skis for the first time! I really fell in love with the Infidels last winter, as they are amazingly fun to ski in pretty much every condition. Their size, shape and weight are just perfect for the type of skiing we are doing around here! I also really enjoyed skiing the Saints towards the end of the season. A bit lighter and smaller, the ski is stable, easy to turn and really fun in powder with now early rise camber…I think it may just be the perfect type of ski for the Euro trip! Who knows!
Happy summer to all the Ski Bums out there!
