Interview with Brave Ski Mom – Kristen Lummis

February 1, 2017 • Blogger interview • Brave Ski Mom • Featured Posts • Interview • Kristen Lummis

One of the blogs we obsessively follow is the Brave Ski Mom blog. We love the way she writes and reading about her family and skiing adventures is always interesting. We felt that it was time to let our audience find out about Kristen too – although I am sure that most of you already know her blog – so we invited her to answer some questions just for the readers of our blog.

Kristen is an avid lover of anything and everything related to family skiing: resorts, gear, kids, parenting, and more. So she writes about it too. There’s a lot of great information on her site, so it’s a great resource for ski moms everywhere. Plus it’s a lot of fun to read. Below we have a special video for you featuring Kristen, where else but a ski slope, telling us more about herself followed by a written interview:

Kristen, can you tell us a little about yourself, who is Brave Ski Mom the person behind the blog?

I’m a happily married wife, devoted mother to two young men, ages 20 and 17, companion to an aging dog, passionate skier, whole foods proponent and cancer survivor.

I live in my home state of Colorado, where I’m fortunate to have quick and easy access to the outdoors. I love writing almost as much as I love skiing, so the Brave Ski Mom blog is a perfect fit for me.

When did you start blogging and what motivate you to write?

I started braveskimom.com in 2010. My son, who was then 14, really spurred me on. We love to talk about skiing and ski resorts and he often had unique insights into what makes a resort good for kids. I tried to convince him to start a blog, but he wasn’t interested. So I began writing practice posts and researching how to start a website. Sixteen months went by and I still hadn’t done much when he looked at me one day and said, “You know that blog? I knew you’d never do it.” My initial reaction was to agree with him, thinking “He’s right. I never did it.” Then I mentally kicked myself into gear and 30 minutes later, I’d posted my first article. As of today, I’ve published 720 posts and I write for numerous other websites and magazines. It’s been a true blessing in my life.

Who has impacted you most in blogging and how?

Oh, for sure my family impacts me the most. I try very hard not to make Brave Ski Mom a personal memoir or travelogue, but we do learn a lot about family skiing when we ski together. My goal is to share our experiences in a global way that make them applicable to anyone. I share our mistakes, the lessons we’ve learned and provide tips to help other families take up snow sports successfully, travel easily and enhance their enjoyment of skiing together.

When did you start to ski, how did you got involved in ski?

I started skiing at age 3 with my father. He was a part-time ski instructor, and a full-time architect. Some of my happiest early memories include missing school to ski with him!

What is your biggest challenge about being a ski lover , a mom and blogger?

Writing can consume every moment. I love to write. For me, it’s like building a puzzle, how will I fit each of the pieces into a coherent whole? The feeling of satisfaction I get when I finish a post or submit an article is immense. I’m always thinking of new topics and ideas, yet I don’t have enough time in the day to do all of this writing. As one of my sons said to me recently, “you don’t want to let writing about skiing get in the way of skiing.” He’s so right and so wise. I have to limit how much I take on, because while I don’t want writing to get in the way of skiing, I also don’t want writing to get in the way of spending time with my family.

It’s a balancing act!

What is your greatest satisfaction of being a ski & mom blogger?

Definitely the people with whom I interact every day. I have amazing readers from whom I learn a lot. I also am lucky to have many contacts within the North American ski industry. These are some of the most interesting, talented and fun people I can imagine! I love our community.

What do you do in your spare time, beside ski?

I enjoy hiking and biking with my friends and family. I love to walk and try to get at least 10,000 steps a day! Not only is getting up and moving good for me, it’s good for clearing the mind. I’m an avid reader, I enjoy cooking and I’m an advocate for genetic testing.

I was diagnosed with atypical endometrial cancer in 2015 and subsequently diagnosed with a genetic condition called Lynch Syndrome that causes cells to become cancerous. My message to everyone is that if you have cancer, of any type, in more than 2 generations of your family, with at least one of these cancers occurring before age 50, you should consult a genetic counselor to evaluate your risk.

While I hated having cancer (who wouldn’t?), I am fortunate that we know Lynch Syndrome is in our family. My sons have a 50% chance of inheriting this syndrome, but with proper preventative care they should never get cancer.

Is there a special message you would like to deliver your audience?

Yes! Hug your children each day and treasure every chairlift ride together. Pick them up when they tumble into the snow and make time to drink hot chocolate. Bond together through skiing. Skiing and snowboarding are lifetime, multi-generational sports. Before you know it, you’ll be repeating all of this with your grandchildren. It’s an amazing gift.

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Such an amazing lady! Thank you so much, Kristen for the interview opportunity and for sharing such powerful message to all of us. You are so right, family and children need to be treasured always.