SKIMO GOLD

Cam Smith is heading to Europe for the Olympics—and before he goes, we’re digging into the mental side of performance with one of the best in the game: Dr. Pete Kadushin (“Dr. K”), Manager of Learning & Development for the Chicago Blackhawks and longtime mental performance coach for athletes and leaders.

This conversation is part of our Olympic Dispatch coverage, but the tools go way beyond skimo. Dr. K breaks down three practical foundations for building an “Olympic mindset” in sport, business, parenting, and relationships:

• Ask the question: How do I want it to go? (performance outcomes and feeling-based outcomes)
• Train presence + embodiment: staying in the only place performance can happen—the present moment
• Be your own best coach: upgrading your inner dialogue so it helps, not hijacks

Cam shares a powerful story from the Solitude mixed relay—how he and Anna stayed locked into joy, connection, and execution even when they were behind the goal in real time. We also talk visualization, expectations vs. curiosity, why “winning” can’t be the only fuel, and how meditation becomes a real performance tool when the stakes are high.

If you’ve ever felt your mind sprinting ahead—calculating, panicking, or trying to control the uncontrollable—this episode will help you bring it back to what matters: showing up fully and racing (or living) your best.

Let’s go!

Special thanks to TrainingPeaks, DYNAFIT, POMOCA, REVANTA Creatine by NEURORESERVE (use code SKIMOGOLD), and CAMP for sponsoring Skimo Gold's Olympic Dispatch! 

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Thanks to our sponsor CAMP

Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

Learn more about Travis Macy and Cam Smith 

Follow along with Skimo Gold and the Travis Macy Show 

Skimo Gold is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

Today on Skimo Gold's Olympic Dispatch, Travis Macy sits down with Spanish skimo star Oriol Cardona, one of the fastest and most consistent athletes in the world in the sprint and mixed relay disciplines and now an Olympic qualifier.

Oriol shares his journey from growing up in Banyoles, Catalonia, to moving into the Pyrenees to fully commit to ski mountaineering. We talk about his early background in cross country running, the influence of athletes like Kilian Jornet, and how Spain’s strong youth development system helped shape his path to the World Cup and World Championships podiums.

The conversation dives into the intensity of Olympic qualification, including the pressure and emotion behind securing Spain’s mixed relay spot with teammate Ana Alonso Rodríguez, and what it means to represent skimo in its first-ever Olympic appearance. Oriol also gives an update on Ana’s recovery after her cycling accident and shares how Team Spain is navigating competition, depth, and camaraderie within one of the strongest national programs in the sport.

We also get nerdy about gear from Dynafit’s new sprint-focused packs and skis to how tiny innovations in transitions can decide races at the Olympic level — plus what it feels like to carry the responsibility of introducing skimo to a global audience through the Games.

If you want an inside look at Olympic-level skimo, athlete development in Europe, and what it takes to compete when every second matters, this episode is for you.

Special thanks to TrainingPeaks, DYNAFIT, POMOCA, REVANTA Creatine by NEURORESERVE (use code SKIMOGOLD), and CAMP for sponsoring Skimo Gold's Olympic Dispatch!

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Thanks to our sponsor CAMP

Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

Learn more about Travis Macy and Cam Smith 

Follow along with Skimo Gold and the Travis Macy Show 

Skimo Gold is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

In this Olympic Dispatch episode of Skimo Gold, Travis Macy sits down with Max Valverde—skimo’s ultimate hype man, content creator, and now an NBC Olympic ski mountaineering commentator.

Max shares the full arc: from building a startup that scaled to hundreds of employees (and eventually selling to Booking.com), to moving to Park City, discovering skimo, and launching his “dad bod goes pro” experiment—training like an athlete with the time and freedom to go all-in. Along the way, he realized his biggest impact wasn’t chasing the single Olympic spot… it was bringing the sport to more people.

You’ll hear why Max believes the skimo sprint is the perfect Olympic gateway (and not “ski dancing”), what makes transitions so brutally technical when you’re completely redlined, and how he thinks about storytelling—whether it’s a one-minute reel or a live broadcast for millions. Max also takes us behind the curtain on how NBC prep works, from athlete research to course strategy to learning every kit color and movement pattern so he can call the action in real time.

If you’re curious about skimo’s Olympic moment—and what it will take to make this sport stick—this one’s for you.

Let’s go!

Special thanks to TrainingPeaks, DYNAFIT, POMOCA, REVANTA Creatine by NEURORESERVE, and CAMP for sponsoring Skimo Gold's Olympic Dispatch!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Thanks to our sponsor CAMP

Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

Learn more about Travis Macy and Cam Smith 

Follow along with Skimo Gold and the Travis Macy Show 

Skimo Gold is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

As part of the Skimo Gold Olympic Dispatch series, Travis Macy sits down with one of the true legends of ski mountaineering: Matteo Eydallin.

Matteo has spent decades at the very top of skimo—winning iconic team races like Pierra Menta, Mezzalama, and Patrouille des Glaciers—yet his approach to training and racing couldn’t be more grounded. Instead of rigid programs and obsession with metrics, Matteo shares how he’s built longevity by listening to his body, training by feel, and staying connected to the joy of being in the mountains.

In this conversation, we cover:

• How Matteo has stayed competitive for 20+ years in elite skimo
• Why training by feel (not forcing the work) has helped extend his career
• His serious crash and neck injury at Pierra Menta, the surgeries that followed, and the long road back
• How confidence changes after head and neck injuries—and how to rebuild it
• Why team racing creates deeper fulfillment than individual results
• How climbing and cycling support his mental and emotional health
• The evolution of skimo from grassroots mountain culture to Olympic sport
• What Matteo worries we’re losing as skimo professionalizes—and how we might protect the soul of the sport

This episode is an honest reflection on longevity, resilience, recovery, and preserving the spirit of ski mountaineering as the sport steps onto the Olympic stage. Whether you race World Cups, love big mountain team events, or just care about the future of skimo culture, Matteo’s perspective offers rare depth and wisdom.

Special thanks to TrainingPeaks, DYNAFIT, POMOCA, REVANTA Creatine by NEURORESERVE, and CAMP for sponsoring Skimo Gold's Olympic Dispatch!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Thanks to our sponsor CAMP

Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

Learn more about Travis Macy and Cam Smith 

Follow along with Skimo Gold and the Travis Macy Show 

Skimo Gold is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

On this episode of Skimo Gold, Travis Macy sits down with Italian World Cup standout Giulia Murada for a wide-ranging conversation about growing up in the Italian Alps, the deep cultural roots of ski mountaineering in Valtellina, and what it means to race toward the Olympics in her own backyard.

Giulia shares what it was like to grow up watching her dad compete in skimo, how she joined the Italian national team as a teenager, and how her perspective on the sport has evolved as skimo moves onto the Olympic stage. We talk about her shift from long-distance racing to Olympic-format sprint and mixed relay events, what it’s taken to retool her training, and how developing faster starts and a sprinter’s mindset has changed her racing at the highest level.

The conversation also dives into racing on the World Cup circuit in places like Andorra, Courchevel, and Utah, the challenges of altitude and travel, the emotional side of Olympic qualification on a deep Italian team, and the unique dynamic of being coached by her father. Giulia opens up about confidence, fairness in selection, growth mindset, and what it feels like to prepare for the biggest moment of her career with family, friends, and her home ski club right there on the slopes.

If you’re curious about the future of Olympic ski mountaineering, what it takes to transition from endurance racing to explosive sprint performance, and what skimo culture looks like at its roots in Italy, this is a must-listen.

Let's go!

Special thanks to TrainingPeaks, DYNAFIT, POMOCA, REVANTA Creatine by NEURORESERVE (use code SKIMOGOLD), and CAMP for sponsoring Skimo Gold's Olympic Dispatch!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Thanks to our sponsor CAMP

Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

Learn more about Travis Macy and Cam Smith 

Follow along with Skimo Gold and the Travis Macy Show 

Skimo Gold is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

What is skimo…and why on earth are these people skiing uphill instead of taking the lift?

Today we're kicking off Skimo Gold's Olympic Dispatch with Travis Macy and Andrew Vontz (host of Choose the Hard Way and co-host of Beyond the Peloton) for a rapid-fire, beginner-friendly breakdown of ski mountaineering—built for the skimo-curious and anyone watching the sport hit the Olympic stage.

Travis unpacks the two Olympic disciplines—the Sprint and the Mixed Relay—and explains what makes them so brutally fun: head-to-head racing, steep climbs, sketchy descents on skinny race skis, and the make-or-break details of transitions. You’ll learn what’s actually happening in the zones (skinning, bootpacking, skiing downhill), why transitions become pure muscle memory when you’re “tasting blood,” and how the best athletes can “tighten the screws” until mistakes start showing up.

They also get into the bigger question skimo fans love to argue about: Is the Olympic format “real” skimo? Travis shares the case for the short, explosive events and the long, high-consequence mountaineering-style races—plus why the Olympics might be the perfect gateway for new fans to discover the full spectrum of the sport.

If you’ve ever watched a clip of a double skin rip and thought, “what did I just see?” — this one’s for you. Let’s go!

Special thanks to TrainingPeaks, DYNAFIT, POMOCA, REVANTA Creatine by NEURORESERVE (use code SKIMOGOLD), and CAMP for sponsoring Skimo Gold's Olympic Dispatch!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Thanks to our sponsor CAMP

Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

Learn more about Travis Macy and Cam Smith 

Follow along with Skimo Gold and the Travis Macy Show 

Skimo Gold is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

Two major World Cup weekends. One deep dive into what actually mattered.

On this episode of Skimo Gold, Travis Macy is joined by longtime ski mountaineering commentator Catie Friend to break down the Andorra Vertical World Cup and the Boí Taüll Sprint and Mixed Relay. Together, they analyze the results, the racing dynamics, and the small moments that decided big outcomes—especially in the sprints and mixed relay, where transitions, downhill skiing, and tactical positioning made all the difference.

They discuss dominant performances, rising athletes, Team USA’s progress, and what these races reveal as the Olympic window gets closer. From technical course features and changing snow conditions to confidence-building wins and costly split-second mistakes, this episode offers an insider’s look at how elite skimo racing actually unfolds.

If you want more than just results—and care about how races are won and lost—this is your World Cup recap.

Big thanks to CAMP for supporting Skimo Gold, and to DYNAFIT and POMOCA for powering the Olympic Dispatch series.

Let’s go!

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Thanks to our sponsor CAMP

Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

Learn more about Travis Macy and Cam Smith 

Follow along with Skimo Gold and the Travis Macy Show 

Skimo Gold is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

This week on Skimo Gold, we're diving deep into one of the most ambitious and soulful ski mountaineering races in North America: the Kulshan Randonnée.

Think European-style grand course racing—but fully untamed. Glaciers, rope work, teams of three, real consequence, and an active volcano (Mount Baker) as the backdrop. Kulshan isn’t about groomers or convenience. It’s about wild mountain skiing, partnership, craft, and respect for the landscape.

Co-host, Travis Macy is joined by race organizers Chris and Emily to unpack how Kulshan Randonée came to life, why team-based skimo racing matters, and how this event honors the long-form roots of the sport while carving out something uniquely American. We talk Olympic skimo vs. soul skimo, public lands, community, training for technical terrain, and what it really means to race with your teammates instead of just next to them.

If you’ve ever wondered whether modern skimo can coexist with adventure, tradition, and wild places—this conversation is for you. Whether you’re eyeing the short course, the full 22-mile epic, or just dreaming of bigger mountain days, Kulshan Randonnée represents what’s possible when speed meets stewardship.

Learn more about the race: snowgoatskimo.com

Let’s go!

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Thanks to our sponsor CAMP

Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

Learn more about Travis Macy and Cam Smith 

Follow along with Skimo Gold and the Travis Macy Show 

Skimo Gold is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

Getting into skimo can feel overwhelming — the gear, the races, the rules, the learning curve. So where do you actually start?

On this episode of Skimo Gold, Travis Macy sits down with Mark Koob, race director, coach, educator, and the driving force behind Rocky Mountain Skimo, to break it all down. Mark shares his path from Idaho snowboarder to Colorado skimo lifer, what it really takes to organize and grow races, and how the sport is evolving in the U.S.

They talk through beginner-friendly entry points, what races to consider, gear expectations, and the behind-the-scenes challenges of building accessible, community-driven events. You’ll also hear how youth participation, the National Cup Series, and Olympic recognition are shaping skimo’s future — and where the growing pains still live.

Whether you’re lining up for your first race, thinking about directing an event, or just skimo-curious, this episode offers a grounded, insider look at where the sport is headed and how to be part of it. 

Let's go!

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Thanks to our sponsor CAMP

Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

Learn more about Travis Macy and Cam Smith 

Follow along with Skimo Gold and the Travis Macy Show 

Skimo Gold is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co. 

With Milano Cortina 2026 fast approaching, the Skimo Gold team dives into the latest action from the Courchevel World Cup and what it means for the Olympic picture. Catie Friend and Travis Macy break down the standout performances, rising stars, and surprising shake-ups across the individual, vertical, and sprint events.

They analyze who's peaking at the right time, how different countries are positioning themselves for Olympic success, and why this year’s World Cup scene is more competitive than ever.

Let's go!

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Thanks to our sponsor CAMP

Subscribe to our YouTube channel 

Learn more about Travis Macy and Cam Smith 

Follow along with Skimo Gold and the Travis Macy Show 

Skimo Gold is produced by Palm Tree Pod Co.