Over the course of my career as a cross-country skier, I have had the privilege of traveling all around the world. I have trained and raced in numerous European countries, as well as a ton of different states in the USA. I have been to some truly incredible places, and also some truly unimpressive places (*cough* Romania *cough*). Throughout all of these adventures, one thing has remained constant: Minnesota is my favorite place to live and train.

Though the United States is just one nation, it can feel like an entirely different country depending on what part of it you are in. Each region of the US has its own unique way of life and people seem to share a common sense of identity. I feel that Americans tend to have a lot of pride in which state or region they come from. While this phenomenon is not uniquely American, I do think that it is especially noticeable here in the US relative to other countries. 

As a US skier, regional pride is especially evident at Junior National competitions where young skiers race wearing the colors of their respective regions and compete against one another for the “Alaska Cup,” which is awarded to the strongest overall regional team every year. I spent several years racing for the Midwest Junior National Team and I am therefore no stranger to the phrase, “Midwest is Best.” 

Yet, what is it about the midwest — Minnesota in particular — that caused our regional team to embrace the phrase with such conviction? After a long-winded introduction, I present today’s blog topic: 7 Reasons I Love Minnesota.

1. We have the most amazing nordic skiing community.

This is something that I could easily write an entire blog about by itself. Put simply, I think that Minnesota has more nordic enthusiasts than any other state. Our high school racing circuit is incredibly well populated and the MN State Meet is a huge spectator event every year. We have some of the most amazing citizen races, like the City of Lakes Loppet, Mora Vasaloppet, and many others. We also have the Birkie and the Noquemanon just a few hours of driving away. I feel the love every single day from my community and I have met all sorts of awesome people who recognize me when I am skiing at the local trails by my house. It’s almost hard to describe it in words, but the atmosphere in the Midwest is really unlike anywhere else!

2. There are so many places to train within a short drive.

My girlfriend and I live in the very southwestern part of Minneapolis on the border of a suburb called St. Louis Park. Our apartment is super centrally located and we have nearly endless training options within a very short drive of our house — or straight out the door — in both the summer and the winter. I can easily do a 3+ hour rollerski, run, bike, or whatever I want in the summer on trails just outside our place. Driving 10-20 minutes gives me access to an even greater variety of options depending on whether I want more hilly or flat terrain. I love it because it allows me to minimize the time I spend in a car every day and minimizes stress. I also don’t get bored when I get to train in so many different locations.

3. Minneapolis is a perfectly sized city.

Having grown up here, I have become super accustomed to the perks of living in a city environment. Living among so many amazing restaurants, museums, shopping, parks, and many more attractions makes me super happy. I am not the type of guy that likes to just live in the woods and do nothing but eat, sleep, and train. I love that Minneapolis allows me to pursue skiing at the highest level while still having some semblance of a normal life! We also have professional sports teams like the Vikings and Timberwolves here and as a huge Wolves fan I love to go to games when I get the chance!

4. We have a bunch of world-class, specialty ski shops nearby.

Living 10-15 minutes from a bunch of incredibly high quality ski stores is something that I really took for granted growing up here. Equipment is a huge part of nordic skiing and I love knowing that I am super well taken care of between all of the stores in the Twin Cities. All within a 25 minute or less drive from my place are Pioneer Midwest, Finnsisu, Gear West, and Hoigaards. Not to mention all of the amazing shops right next-door in Wisconsin like Out There, New Moon, and many others. These shops never fail to have me covered if I have any equipment needs (I usually have many). 

5. We have some of the best snowmaking in the world.

In today’s climate where snow and cold weather are increasingly elusive, snowmaking has gone from a convenience to a necessity. Living so close to so many manmade snow loops allows me to reliably get on snow in the early season, as well as late into the spring. Between Theodore Wirth, Hyland, Elm Creek, and the Birkie Trailhead, I have so many awesome options for skiing on world-class snow loops as early as November. This is another thing I definitely took for granted growing up in MN. There’s not many things worse than rollerskiing in December…

6. Living so close to a major U.S. Airport makes traveling easy.

As a professional skier, I travel a lot. In the summer and fall I am frequently traveling around the US for training camps. Just this season I have traveled to Bozeman, Park City, Canmore, Europe, Sun Valley, Lake Placid, and Craftsbury. Starting and finishing all of these trips from the Minneapolis airport has made life so much easier. Flights are significantly cheaper than they would be from a smaller regional airport, and saving money is very important as a US skier. Travel times are also usually very short with nonstop flights to tons of US and European cities. Lastly, the MSP airport has never failed to deliver my ski bag to my final destination, something that I know is certainly not a luxury enjoyed by all US skiers. I am certainly grateful I live just 20 minutes away from this airport.

7. The weather makes you tough.

90% of the time the weather in Minneapolis is absolutely perfect. It was sunny almost every single day this summer and we have had an amazing winter with tons of natural snow. However, it definitely can get cold as hell in the Winter and hot/humid as hell in the Summer — but I actually think it makes you super tough. Even though perfect weather is lovely, it is definitely not the norm when I am ski racing. This year alone I have done races in freezing rain, blizzards, or subzero temperatures. I feel like I am able to maintain a really good attitude in all sorts of weather conditions because I experience it all here in Minnesota! As for the humidity in the summer, did you know that training when it’s humid actually provides a similar boost in fitness to training at altitude? Over the years, I have had some of my most successful seasons after spending a lot of time training in the humidity. Here is a study that found that five weeks of heat training increased hemoglobin mass in elite cyclists. Not bad!

There you have it. I really like Minneapolis. Many of the people reading this probably aren’t from here and I am sure you love where you live too! One of my favorite parts of being a Pro Skier is that I get to see so many different places, all of which have their own set of people who love living there. There are a lot of pretty amazing places in the world and I just want to make sure people know that Minneapolis is definitely one of them. Thank you for reading!