Ski Mountaineering and Pregnancy with Janelle Smiley: Stories From the Skintrack Episode 4

Today’s guest is Janelle Smiley, five time national ski mountaineering champion, endurance mountain runner, mom and an intuitive mindset coach. She completed the first ski descent of Huandoy East, a 6000 m peak in Peru, she ski toured across the entire Alps Range in 36 days, and has climbed the 48 classic climbs of North America. On this episode, we discuss how she got into mountaineering and backcountry skiing, skimo racing, avlanache safety, the Alps Traverse, team dynamics, gear, and being the only woman on the skintrack. We transition into talking about her pregnancy and birth experience and training as a new mom. She shares tips about getting into the mountains with children for new or existing parents. Janelle has been a longtime inspiration of mine and I was so excited to spend this time learning from her.

This is Stories from the Skintrack, a special series on the show to help you learn about avalanche and mountain safety through the personal experiences of special guests. We will be talking about close calls and fatalities, tips and tricks on getting into backcountry skiing and splitboarding, climate change, inclusion, mentorship and much more.

Stories from the Skintrack is brought to you in partnership/collaboration with Backcountry.com. The first item ever sold on Backcountry.com was an avalanche beacon out of a garage in Park City, UT way back in 1996. For over 20 years, Backcountry has been dedicated to gearing up folks for safe & unforgettable experiences on the skintrack. Whether you are thinking about getting into backcountry skiing this year, or just need to make sure you are adequately prepared with the right gear, the Backcountry Gearheads are amazing resources that can help you find exactly what you need. And be sure to also check out your local avalanche forecast center for additional education & information…. gear + knowledge = safety and fun for all! Thanks for listening today & stay tuned for the next episode of Stories from the Skintrack.

Check out their gear guide:

https://www.backcountry.com/sc/winter-gear-guide

Be sure to follow Janelle on social media at: https://www.instagram.com/janelle.smiley/?hl=en

Check out Mark and Janelle's online avalanche course: https://www.mtnsense.com/

Check out Janelle's Mindset Coaching: https://www.janellesmiley.com/mentor

Special thanks to Avery Sandack for his help with the audio on today’s episode, to my partner Rob Lea for being extra quiet while recording and to Jonah Cuddy for the beautiful intro and outro music. If you liked today’s episode, please rate, review and share it with a friend. Until next time.