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Trip Leaders
Your trip leaders are your connection to the world you are experiencing. Heading to watch a World Cup event? Holly has skied 74 of them and knows many of the athletes personally. Skiing the Dolomitenlauf and Marcialonga? Kathi and Valentina each grew up on opposite sides of the Austrian / Italian border, but both speak German and Italian with native fluency and enjoy sharing memorable phrases. Got ski wax questions? Raphi has extensive experience waxing for the US Nordic Combined and Austrian ski teams.
Trip leaders Holly, Kathi, Anna and Raphi prepare a little surprise on the trail in the Italian Dolomites.
More than their experience, each trip leader is passionate about sharing their region and culture with you. Trip leaders are often the first thing most guests highlight when reminiscing about their trip. Here is an introduction to the trip leaders you might have on your next Lumi Experiences trip.
Anna
Anna lives in Villach, Austria near the Italian and Slovenian border and spends most of her time outdoors. She speaks fluent German, Italian and English which comes in handy on cross-border adventures. Anna has skied many of the European ski marathons as part of the Salomon team and particularly loves long-distance classic events. Anna recently moved from Seefeld back home to Villach to help run her family’s lumber business. You will often find her hiking, biking or running in the Alps and in the winter Skijöring with her dog Finn. Ask Anna about her experiences skiing the Dolomitenlauf, Marcialonga and other ski marathons.
Elisa
From Lake Garda near Verona, Italy, Elisa leads walking and cycling trips in the summer and teaches cross-country skiing in the winter. She considers the Dolomites her home and especially loves the scenery and grooming at the Passo Lavazé trail network, above Cavalese, Italy. Ask her about her favorite walks and experience skiing the Marcialonga.
Holly
Holly Brooks is originally from Seattle. Shortly after college she moved to Anchorage, coaching for the Alaska Pacific University Ski Center. In 2009 she set a “crazy dream goal" of making the 2010 Vancouver Olympic team and when she did, life took an exciting turn. Holly spent the next four years competing in two World Championships, another Olympic Games and earned the first-ever US team World Cup relay medal. Holly is also a 2-time American Birkebeiner Champion. Upon retirement from professional ski racing, Holly spent a season competing in Worldloppet ski marathons around the world. Today she runs her own private practice, Holly Brooks LLC, and is a professional counselor specializing in the athlete population. Be sure to ask her about twin toddlers, sports psychology and Alaskan adventures!
Valentina
Originally from Bruneck in South Tyrol, Italy, Vale has spent a lifetime skiing in the Alps and exploring the world. She grew up skiing in Toblach and Antholz, two of Italy’s most renown ski areas and spent several years coaching at the Ski Academy in Mals. Currently, Vale works as a physical therapist in Bolzano, when she is not outside playing in the mountains. Ask her about traveling the length of South America or which four languages she speaks fluently.
Raphi
Raphi, from Tyrol, Austria, has spent most of his years and free time skiing, climbing and running through the Alps. Raphi coached at Stamms, the world's oldest ski academy, and spends most of his waking hours outside. He is also a wax technician for the US Nordic Combined team in Europe. Ask Raphi about the two years he spent saying "ya to da U.P., eh?"
Matija
Matija lives in Jesenice, Slovenia. He is a native Slovenian speaker, as well as being fluent in English, Italian and German. He spends his summers as a bike tour guide and winters on skis in the Alps. Between seasons and trips, Matija travels with his teenage daughters on adventures across Europe. Ask Matija about growing up in Yugoslavia and childhood adventures across the border to go shopping in Italy.
Anita
Originally from eastern Finland, Anita studied and raced at the College of St. Scholastica in Minnesota before returning home to Finland. After retiring from ski racing in 2020, Anita started working for YMCA Finland. She currently lives in Helsinki, but her all-time favorite skiing is in Finnish Lapland in March or April when the sun is shining.
Elisa
Elisabeth is originally from Tegernsee, Germany, a small town in the foothills of the Alps south of Munich. She grew up skiing with her local ski club and took skiing to the highest level where she competed in the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea. After retiring from her international ski career, Elisabeth moved to Oslo, Norway to study sports business, while she still keeps ties to her home in Bavaria, where she recently interned with the illustrious FC Bayern soccer club. Ask Elisabeth about her experiences skiing the Fossavatn, including a podium finish.
Ave
Ave grew up on skis in Estonia and has been working as a cross-country ski coach since 2008. Over 200 skiers are enrolled in the local ski school, where she leads the Department of Recreation Management. In her role, Ave trains skiers and coaches year-round. In addition to coaching, she has skied the Tartu marathon over a dozen times and most enjoys having fun drinking blueberry soup with other skiers along the trail to Elva.
Kyle
Originally from Minnesota, Kyle raced for the College of St. Scholastica. After living in Washington DC for some time, Kyle moved to Joensuu, Finland, a small city in eastern Lakeland for a Master’s program in Environmental Law and Policy. His favorite ski from Joensuu takes him 15 km to a spot where he can enjoy a coffee, Munkki donuts made by Finnish grandmothers and a sauna before riding the bus back home.
Mihkel
Mihkel is originally from Tallinn, but love—and a passion for marathons—brought him to Tartu. He has spent nearly two decades in hospitality, most recently as a restaurant manager. Today, he works in a leadership role in industry, where the longer perspective and calmer pace allow him to spend more time with his family and enjoy what matters most to him: being outdoors, skiing and endurance sports. Ask him about his Worldloppet journey—his growing collection of stamps tells more than just where he’s skied.
Gerda
Originally from Tallinn, Gerda grew up dancing. Later in life she fell in love with cross country skiing and has participated in both the Tartu and Finlandia ski marathons. Ask her about dancing at the Estonian Song Festival.
Maria
Maria grew up in Geilo, Norway where she was able to walk out her door and onto the ski trails. She skied at the junior level in Norway before following her calling to study and ski in the US. Maria studied at the University of Colorado Boulder where she was also on the ski team, winning NCAA championships while skiing as a Buffalo. Despite her worldly travels, Maria settled back home in her village of Geilo where she raises her two daughters and works in economic development for the region.
Gunnulf
Gunnulf currently lives in Oslo and runs his own business as a coach driver and local guide, sharing the histories of destinations in and around Norway with visitors. Gunnulf and Lumi founder Garrott know each other through Gunnulf’s daughter who skied on the same high school team in Minnesota with Garrott. Gunnulf was actually Garrott’s first Norwegian tour guide when he came to Norway for a rafting and Norwegian cultural experience in high school. Be sure to ask Gunnulf about his time skiing competitively too!
Anders
When Anders was growing up, his family moved from their home in Denmark to Geilo, Norway, a rural village with a special ski community. He raced biathlon at the local ski academy and, at a young age, got to travel internationally as a ski racer under the Danish flag (instead of the Norwegian) since there was less competition. He lives in Lillehammer now and spends as much time as possible out of the office running, biking and skiing throughout the Sjusjøen plateau.
Linda
Originally from Voss in West Norway, Linda has been living in Trøndelag outside of Trondheim for the past 20 years. She spends most of her time teaching middle school students and also coaches Biathlon. Her favorite trail? The quiet Buvimarka trails guests get to experience skiing during the weekend when the trailside café is open. Ask her what she loves about being outside, in the mountains!
Lilli
Lilli is originally from Trondheim, Norway, and currently coaches a club above the arctic circle in Nordreisa at the northern end of Norway. Lilli grew up skiing for her local ski club Byåsen IL, with teammates like 5-time Olympic gold medalist Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. Lilli spent several winters living, coaching and training with the local club in Ísafjörður, Iceland. She knows the Ísafjörður community well and also has lots of experience on the trails and with the Fossavatn event itself.
Silje
Silje is from Bardufoss, about 2 hours south of the city Tromsø. When she was 16 years old she moved to Lillehammer to train at a top sports gymnasium to pursue her dream of becoming a good cross country skier. She has since retired from professional sport. After earning a Masters degree in sports science, she is working to apply her skills on and off the trail towards improving ski races in Norway and beyond, including at the World Championships in Trondheim.
Adele
Adele is a long-time bicycle tour guide and alpine ski instructor who fell in love with cross country skiing in the winter of 2020 when France’s ski lifts were closed. She lives close to Les Saisies and enjoys heading to the plateau for a few km whenever she has free time. Ask her about summers surfing on the French coast.
Linda
Originally from Voss in West Norway, Linda has been living in Trøndelag outside of Trondheim for the past 20 years. She spends most of her time teaching middle school students and also coaches Biathlon. The trails you'll be skiing during the trip -- in Knyken and Bymarka -- are her local trails! Her favorite trail? The quiet Buvimarka trails you’ll get to experience skiing during the weekend when the trailside café is open. Ask her what she loves about being outside in the mountains.
Annette
Annette has ties to both the US and France. She lives in Bois D’Amont, one of the villages along the course of the Transju’ and has a long history with the event. As past Event Director and Board Member, she loves to share her passion for France’s Worldloppet event. Ask her about her travels to many of the Worldloppet ski marathons.
Elena
Elena, from Italy, has been guiding for decades. In the summer, she leads groups on bike tours through Italy. Her winters are typically spent as an alpine and telemark ski guide in France when she is not leading Nordic ski trips in Italy and Austria. Between seasons, Elena can be found kite surfing and adventuring on her own. Ask her about lava-rock skiing on the Mount Etna volcano.
Kathi
Kathi, from Carinthia, Austria, has spent a lifetime on the Nordic ski trails and alpine slopes throughout the region. Growing up in the three-country border town of Villiach, Kathi grew up speaking German and Italian, even going to high school and earning her degree in Italy. She spent several years coaching the women’s national team. In the summer, you can find her hiking or exploring new mountain bike trails. Ask Kathi about the pump-track she rides in her back yard.
Petra
Petra, from Austria, has spent a lifetime on the Nordic ski trails and alpine slopes throughout Tyrol. Most years, she teaches English in her hometown. A sabbatical this year has given her more time to ski on her own and lead us through some of her favorite trails in Tyrol. Ask her about her recent bike tour around New Zealand’s north and south islands.
Oumar
Oumar, from West Africa, lives in Minneapolis. He was Captain of the ski team at St. Johns University. Later on, after interning with Salomon and working as an Event Coordinator for Minneapolis ski shop Gear West, Oumar founded his own business. Ask him about being trailside when Jessie won the first-ever individual gold medal for Team USA during the World Championships in Slovenia last winter!
Polona
From Hribi, Slovenia (Hribi meaning mountains), Polona works for an outdoor apparel company during the week and on weekends, she teaches ski lessons and guides mountain bike tours. Ask about her favorite places to ski in Slovenia and which Worldloppet ski marathons she completed to receive her Worldloppet Master gold medal.
Krissi
Krissi, from Tyrol, Austria, has spent her life growing up in the Alps and playing outside, on foot, bikes and skis. She is also almost impossible to catch on a sled. When Krissi isn’t exploring the Alps, she’s busy collecting passport stamps on her world travels. Tokyo, Cape Town, Los Angeles and Hong Kong are all cities she’s been to this year. Be sure to ask about how she spends so much time on the road… or in the air.