I was deep into a rotating cycle of Gu’s, Honey Stinger Waffles, and a Costco-sized box of Clif Bars when I met Lily and Max Ritter. We stood atop the Aiguille du Midi as I bit into a stale, scientifically-contrived calorie bar that only dulled the sensations inspired by one of skiing’s greatest panoramas.
Meanwhile Lily and Max traded actual food back and forth out of their ski packs. An assortment of baked-that-morning croissants, fluffy pastries, and foil-wrapped pizza. They were actually enjoying their ski snacks. Not a factory wrapper in sight.
I had slowly relinquished control to big food over the past decade in exchange for convenience and compliance with skimo fueling dogma. The formula that reduces food to its chemical components for optimum ski touring performance. As if every ski tour were a battle to the finish line at my aerobic limit.
So when the skin track ticked upward and I struggled to hold their tails, I realized that they were onto something that I was not. They take snacks seriously. Seriously enough that their second cookbook, Ski Snacks: Easy, Tasty Recipes for Powder Days and Mountain Adventures, just dropped on September 1st.
Turns out, Lily and Max’s French bakery obsession translates to the kitchen where they’ve already helped many a ski bum (aka skid) upgrade their ski-centric recipes in their first book, Beyond Skid: A Cookbook for Ski Bums. The new book dives deeper into the portable and all-around delicious, while highlighting “Skid Hacks” along the way. What stuck out to me was the focus on pocket-ready food and minimal waste. Polenta in my pocket? Sign me up.
The book covers 65 recipes – energy bites, summit sandwiches, baked goods, and tailgate treats. All skier-friendly with a nod toward snow sliders on a budget.
With an early copy in hand, I dove into a few of the easier recipes while I waited anxiously for summer to wrap up. But my list of next-ups is long and I’m looking forward to stuffing my pockets with miniature quiche, Bribery Banana Bread, and Pocket Dillas once the snow starts flying.
The authors ski hard(er than you and me)
Who are Max and Lily? Not your typical Jackson Hole ski bums. In addition to Teton shredders, the duo deliver the ski content you know and love at Powder and the Ski Journal, respectively.
They’ve traveled, skied, and snacked through the world’s ski destinations that many of us aspire to visit – Norway, Japan, Alaska, and all over the Alps. The pair have sampled a ski town pastry or two, to say the least.
The new book has already accumulated eight dog-ears. On top of 65 recipes that I could legitimately take on myself using ingredients that my ski town City Market actually stocks, there are a few other sections that skiers will appreciate – an analysis of packaging strategies for your homemade creations, fueling tips from legends of the sport, and of course lessons from skin tracks around the world. It’s at home in a stack of cookbooks, the gear closet, or on coffee table display.
Ski Snacks is available for purchase at https://www.beyondskid.com/ for $22.95, or about the price of a ski town breakfast burrito these days. Your skin track skid buddies will thank you.
Trying to keep up with Lily and Max in France
Bergen Tjossem is a ski fanatic, conservation professional, and nature nerd based in Vail, Colorado. His life and career have centered around protecting the natural environment and public lands that raised him, but as Ed Abbey put it, “It is not enough to fight for the land; It is even more important to enjoy it.” So when he’s not working his day job, you’ll find Bergen ski touring before dawn, ice climbing in the dark, running trails until his legs fall off, skiing 13er’s with his friends, or making the world’s best pizza with his wife, Rachel. You can find him on Instagram.
