Bio
One of my earliest memories is from when I was four years old. I remember cross-country skiing in the eastern township of Quebec with my family and the pain of blood coming back into my frozen toes. Now I experience the same but at times the pain is because the blood is NOT flowing back!

I've always been very active and driven as a child. I won my first race, a snowshoe race, in first grade. I competed in cross-country and track through high school. I also loved nordic skiing and ice skating on lakes with my friends.

When I moved to the Canadian Rockies in my early twenties is when I got 100% into mountaineering and never looked back. I also started exploring my endurance by challenging myself in multi-sport, multi-day events including the Eco-Challenge and the Southern Traverse in NZ. I also got into non-stop 7 day races: the Marathon of Sand in Morocco (a 245km unsupported - 7 day run across the Sahara) and the Iditabike (a 350-mile, 7-day, unsupported winter biking event on the Iditarod trail in Alaska. I also competed in 24-hour cross-country mountain biking events for many years and won the World Championship in 1999.

My races have taken me around the world into some of the most amazing and remote places. I've always enjoyed competing and training for both mountain running and mountain biking at the same time - both sports have made me a more balanced athlete. I also believe it helped me stay injury-free for so many years. It's such a good feeling to succeed at a high level in more than one sport at the same time - it's all about believing in it and enjoying the training.

I've never competed in nordic, alpine or randonné skiing since I just love the "feel" of it too much. When on skis, I love just being a kid, playing and enjoying it with friends. Doing hut trips, winter camping, breaking trail, and route finding is one of my favorite things to do.

A huge part of my life is running my business, the X-Training School, which I've been dedicated to for almost two decades. My education and expertise are in anatomy/ biomechanics, human performance and injury-prevention applications. I create and write all my programs. I'm passionate about my material and I love teaching concepts that I know will make a huge difference in peoples’ lives. I travel across the U.S., France, Switzerland and my home, British-Columbia, for my work.

At the moment, I share my homes between Chamonix; Livingston, MT; and British-Columbia; places where I love the people and the mountains, I can speak my languages and can make a living!!!!

Recent Projects
I'm creating new programs at my school. One of them is a series of Mountain Running Camps in the French and Italian Alps. These were very successful last summer. This winter, I have a performance-enhancement program with the Ski Patrol at Bridger Bowl in Bozeman, MT. I work regularly with the boys and girls to correct weaknesses and imbalances so they become stronger on their skis and stay injury-free for the season. I'm amazed how into it they are. I spend hours with them and they are extremely dedicated and believe in the program. We have tons of fun!

I am also expanding my courses in Jackson Hole, WY and Bend, OR, which I will be teaching for sports physical therapists and doctors and enjoying the outdoors in my spare time.

I will be spending more and more time in Chamonix and Courmayeur, since that area is a home base for me. I planned on racing again next summer in Mountain Trail Running events in Europe, one of my favorite is the Tour of Mont-Blanc, a 175km, high-altitude running race that goes through the mountains of France, Italy and Switzerland!

Hopefully soon I will be building a small sustainable cabin as my only home base. The secret is where will it be!

Environmental Projects
I want to believe my efforts are broad in environmental issues. I'm not out there being an activist but I make daily decision and actions that have a very positive impact on the environment.

I feel strongly about building and designing to preserve the environment. I believe in using reclaimed materials for construction, and minimizing the environmental impact of surroundings. I live in a reclaimed-material house, the siding of which comes from highway snow fences in Wyoming. I heat the house with a Tulikivi stove and have an AGA stove in the kitchen, and Skwentna, my cat, in bed. I have a gutter system that accumulates water, which is then used for different purposes.

Favorite Products
I use Patagonia products everyday for everything I do. These are a few in particular I can't live without:

• Wool 2 Zip-neck for cool runs, AT ski days and riding.
• Houdini jacket - whether I'm traveling, nordic skiing, winter riding, belaying, running on a windy ridge or sipping an espresso in Chamonix.
• Biostretch 3 Tights and Zip-neck are my new winter base layer - I love it! I forget I have them on. Usually I can't stand tight clothes when I exercise, but the fabric is very stretchy and moves beautifully in important areas - perfect for all my cardio workouts.
• Capilene 3 is my favorite layer for skiing, ice climbing and working in my cool office at home!
• I live in my Down Sweater Jacket; I love to be warm & cozy no matter what I do. I wear it underneath my Shelter Stone jacket when I ski on cold days, and it's always in my pack in case.
• The Fiona Parka is my "live-in" sleeping bag, so comfortable, warm, lightweight, and I feel feminine in it.
• The Guide Pants are perfect for backcountry skiing.
• In the summer I run with the Nine Trail Shorts - simply perfect and the pockets are the best to pack energy food.

- Other favorites: Primo Down Jacket, Powder Bowl Pant, Stand-Up Pants, R1 Flash Pullover, the Active bras and underwear, Serenity Capris, Down Sweater Vest, and all the Bikinis. The list goes on!

But I believe in more than just Patagonia products. I believe in their philosophy and their impact on environmental issues and their contributing to a better world. I've been with Patagonia for 10 years and I have to say it's a great family!

Chloë's Web site: xtrainingschool.com