When Cam Smith graduated high school in 2014, he had little or no mountain experience. But fast forward a few years, and Cam is now an accomplished trail runner, mountain biker, a member of the U.S. ski mountaineering team, a repeat winner of the Grand Traverse Mountain Run from Crested Butte to Aspen, and a repeat winner of the Grand Traverse Triple Crown.

All of that is extremely impressive, perhaps especially since Cam grew up in Rockford, Illinois, which isn’t exactly an incubator of high alpine achievement.

So I sat down with Cam in BLISTER HQ to talk about his journey, his goals, his relation to running and skiing and mountain biking, his work as a coach and as a guide at the Adaptive Center here in Crested Butte, and more.

TOPICS & TIMES:

• Racing the Grand Traverse (2:45)
• Growing up in Rockford, Illinois (7:38)
• Getting into ski mountaineering & racing (10:57)
• Overcoming an overly competitive mindset (21:35)
• Who do you look up to? (25:55)
• Short & long term race goals (28:30)
• Cam’s “intuitive” training process (31:23)
• How Cam avoids burnout (34:12)
• Being on the US Skimo team (39:34)
• Working with the CB Adaptive Center (41:42)
• The coolest thing Cam’s ever done (48:36)

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