Lori Anne Donald is involved in a variety of athletics in Nelson, British Columbia including skiing, mountain biking, trail running, and dance. Lori Anne applies her personal experience from training and competing as an athlete to her role as a Physiotherapist, working with a wide variety of athletes.

To see her recent training and activities, check out her recent posts on Instagram, Facebook, or her Blog.

Athletics

Ski Mountaineering Racing

Lori Anne is a member of the Canadian National Ski Mountaineering Team. Lori Anne started Ski Mountaineering Racing in 2015. She competes in races throughout the winter months in British Columbia, Alberta, and the Northern USA. She represented Canada at the Ski Mountaineering World Championships in Italy in 2017 and in Switzerland in 2019.

Ski Mountaineering racing is a winter ski endurance event that involves multiple ascents and descents of a mountain on skis. A typical Individual Race course will ascend between 1500-2000 vertical metres throughout the race. Races typically take between two and three hours. Lori Anne also competes in the Sprint Event, which is a condensed version of racing that involves skinning up, boot packing, skinning up, transitioning to ski down and then descending through gates against other competitors (all in about 4 minutes).

To learn more about Ski Mountaineering Racing and competitions in Canada visit the Ski Mountaineering Competition Canada Website.

Follow this link to see Lori Anne’s race results over the seasons – Ski Mountaineering Racing Results.

 Downhill Skiing

Lori Anne loves downhill skiing at her local ski hill – Whitewater Ski Resort. Her skiing has progressed significantly since moving to Nelson in 2013 (thanks to having to chase her friends down the mountain). She loves a good powder day and a stellar groomer day. She can be found doing intervals early in the morning or out skiing in the backcountry several times a week with friends.

Mountain Biking

Lori Anne is a proud member of the Nelson Cycling Club every year. She loves mountain biking on the various trail systems around Nelson, British Columbia and participating in local bike events.

A big thank you to the trail builders and volunteers for all their hard work on these awesome trails!

Trail Running

About a year after moving to Nelson, Lori Anne started trail running. She loves the feeling of climbing to the top of mountains and then taking in the view. It’s amazing how far you can get with just the power of your own legs! You can catch her on the trails early in the morning before work often doing laps to the flagpole.

She has competed in various trail running races, with distances ranging from 30 km to 3 km vertical races with close to 1,000 metres of vertical climb. She has competed in 21 km and 10 km road races.

 Whitewater Kayaking

Lori Anne has been whitewater kayaking since 2005. She learned to paddle on the Ottawa River in Ontario. She was a certified whitewater kayak instructor at the Rocky Mountain National Army Cadet Summer Training Centre for two years. She enjoys playboating, river running, and some creek boating.

She has paddled rivers in Ontario, Quebec, New York, North Carolina, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Idaho, New Zealand, and the Colorado in the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Her favourite local run is Wilson Creek in Rosebery, British Columbia.

Dance

Lori Anne was in a professional ballet training program throughout elementary and high school. She has 17 years of classical ballet training. She still loves to dance and joins in a ballet class with Dance Umbrella or Front Street Dance in Nelson when she can.

Lori Anne teaches Latin dance with Salsa Dance Nelson and has performed at the Capitol Theatre. Lori Anne learned how to salsa dance while attending Queen’s University and with Toronto Dance Salsa while living in Toronto, Ontario.

Sponsorship and Ambassadorship

Village Ski Hut

Village Ski Hut has been very supportive of Lori Anne’s training and Ski Mountaineering Racing since 2015. Village Ski Hut is the go to store in town for boot fitting and downhill ski advice.

Thank you Ian, Heather, and the whole VSH crew! You help keep my skis tuned and my gear in top racing shape!

Whitewater Ski Resort

Lori Anne is a Whitewater Athlete at Whitewater Ski Resort. Whitewater has made a huge difference in Lori Anne’s training for Ski Mountaineering Racing. Lori Anne can be found training early before the hill opens and working on her downhill technique throughout the day.

A big thank you to all the managers, ski patrol, lift operators, and alpine team coaches for your help and encouragement in my training. Having a positive and safe training environment has been crucial to my continued progress in the sport of Ski Mountaineering Racing.

Nuun Hydration

Lori Anne is an Ambassador for Nuun Hydration and loves being a part of the Nuun Community. Being able to customize her water and electrolyte replacement for training and racing is key. Make your water count and check out the variety of options they offer. Lori Anne’s favourite is Nuun Sport – Strawberry Lemonade.