It’s a wild thing to be writing about a race ten years older than I am. Fifty years. How many races can say they’ve been bringing a community together for half a century? Very few. This race was born from the incredible efforts of passionate people who just wanted to ski down one of the most beautiful mountain valleys on the planet. People like Bob Rosso (the spirit animal of the Boulder Mountain Tour), went out and not only made a race happen, they made an entire Nordic community happen. They made this Nordic Town USA. A place where, every year, people could come from all over the world, line up on a cold Senate Meadows morning, and ski hard down one of the finest trails in America. That’s what the Boulder Mountain Tour is really about, a community working together. This race is the fruit of a tree that has been growing for fifty years – planted, watered and fed by countless, generous people who have given their all to make this event, and this place, the magical thing it is today. This year, when my ski tips cross the start line, I’ll be thinking about how grateful I am to all those people, and to all of you, for coming back year after year. We’ve had fifty great BMT’s so far; I can’t wait to see how amazing the next fifty are. Ski fast, have fun, and welcome back.