Today In Stoke: U.S. National Ski Mountaineering champ Monique Merrill talks randonée at REI

Team Nike

Adventure racer Monique Merrill on radical randonée racing, tonight at REI Denver

​If you're one of those local loonies who gets as stoked about skiing uphill as skiing down, this one's for you: Breckenridge-based adventure racer Monique Merrill is the featured guest tonight at 7 p.m. at the REI Denver Flagship store, 1416 Platte Street, where she'll be talking about the thrills and spills of radonnée racing, a Euro craze that's taking hold here among endurance athletes and other gluttons for punishment (to get a piece of the action for yourself, start training for the Randonée Rally at Ski Cooper on February 20, 2011, a featured event at the 5th annual TeleFest).

Merrill was the U.S. National Ski Mountaineering Champion in 2005 and has a long resumé with Team Nike Adventure Racing. Tonight she'll share a slideshow and stories from her recent races and other trips around the world, as well as some tips for getting started in the sport.

Via REI.com:

"Randonée, a wildly popular sport in Europe and emerging sport in the U.S., can be defined as ski mountaineering on lightweight AT bindings and skis. Merrill will share her passion for randonée's vibrant culture and hopes to encourage more women to get involved in the sport."