Why do you ski cross-country?

by Mia Allen

I don't ever remember not skiing. I guess it's in my blood. My father grew up in a small village in the Laurentians north of Montreal. A man in his town made skis so everyone skiied. He skied to school, raced as a boy in the Laurentians and in college (Nordic, jumping, downhill, slalom, GS.); we have a picture of his father and sisters all skiing in long skirts- probably around 1915.
I feel very connected to my father when I ski especially in the woods on ungroomed trails. He used to tell me when I was racing that when it got really tough to look around and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. My family skied together every weekend. My dad cut the trails on our land. On a Friday night my mom and dad would load us all up in the car and we'd drive about an hour to our log cabin in the town where he grew up - alpine ski on Saturday and Nordic ski on Sunday. My father would enter us in Nordic races at the local ski club of which he was president. I love to tell my kids about the equipment we had: old wooden skis that were cut down to fit us, leather work boots, metal bindings with a leather strap and of course bamboo poles. Yes, I 'm that old! I did go on to race in college in the Pacific Northwest and met my husband when I came to Ripton to live while working as a ski instructor at Blueberry Hill in Goshen. I am still in Ripton and we ski out our front door. Our kids ski and race. It's in their blood too. Skiing has been very good to me.

This winter Mia Allen is helping coach the Middlebury Union High School JV team and the North Branch School Nordic Team. She also enjoys skiing with her family and competing in Masters races.