What is a Mountain Athlete?

Endurance, strength, speed, power, balance, agility/coordination - most sports require excellence in only a few of these elements.  A Mountain Athlete must demonstrate a high level of competence in all these areas.  

PHOTO VAST:: vastaction.com

Think about a snowboarder (or skier) riding through variable terrain (moguls, then a few quick hits in the park).  The boarder needs endurance to make fun and aggressive runs consistently all day long - needs strength to control the board, drive through variable snow, handle the forces of turns, moguls, kickers - uses power/speed to make quick adjustments to terrain/direction and pop off kickers/onto rails - all while maintaining balance and showing high levels of agility/coordination (and style!).  If our rider is deficient in even just one of these elements, the run(s) won't come off very well.

If endurance is lacking, they'll only be able to do one run (or half a run) before needing a break or becoming sloppy with technique.  If strength is low, our rider won't be able to handle advanced terrain or the forces of high-end riding (especially carving and the halfpipe).  No power or quickness?  You can forget about any 'gap to' rails or moguls and trees.  Absolutely nothing can be accomplished without a certain level of balance, agility and coordination.  

That's what makes a Mountain Athlete so unique.  It's not just endurance, skill or strength.  You have to prepare all your body's energy systems equally well and be able to combine the appropriate abilities and skills to match varying terrain conditions.  So whether you're a snowboarder, cross-country or downhill mountain biker, alpine skier, trail runner or telemark skier, kayaker or rock climber - What's holding you back from experiencing your inner Mountain Athlete?