It was 6:30 p.m. when Doug Johannessen pulled his black Jeep into the parking lot of a Casper Mountain trailhead. Snow was starting to fall from the dark sky and his car was the only one in the quiet lot.
Johannessen, dressed in a thick blue thermal that matched his eyes, pulled his bicycle from the rack on the rear of his car. It looked like a normal bike, save for its oversized tires.
“Last winter, when the snow hit, I didn’t really know what to do,” he said, while fastening the strap of a fleece-lined helmet around his neck.
He removed two lights from his pack and attached one to his handlebars and another, a headlamp, over his helmet.
He then climbed on his custom-made bike and hit the trail, just as snow started to accumulate on his beard.
There are many obstacles to exercising during Wyoming’s extended winter. Frigid temperatures. Icy roads. Dark skies early in the evening.
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Locals and those new to Wyoming, such as Johannessen, must adapt during the cold months to stay fit. But it’s possible to keep exercising outdoors when temperatures plunge, with help from local outdoors shops and a host of winter sporting groups.
A few years ago, Johannessen moved to Casper from Santa Cruz, California, to run a veterinary clinic. He’d been a runner and a mountain biker, so he immediately took to the mountain trails. When the snow arrived, he purchased snowshoes.
One night, he was snowshoeing on the mountain after work when he ran into some people involved with the local Fat Fish mountain biking group. They were on fat bikes, which are fitted with oversized tires designed to ride on snow.
“Next thing I knew I bought a used fat bike,” Johannessen said. “I had never ridden one before.”
It was tough to ride at first, he said, especially in deep snow. But he got the hang of it. Now he drives up the mountain many evenings after work.
“I don’t often get off work until 7, and then I’ll head up here and get whatever miles I can in,” he said.
Options abound
There are plenty of options for Johannessen once he arrives. The mountain is home to single-track trails groomed specifically for fat bikes. Plus, there are snowmobile and Nordic skiing trails that cyclists can ride on.
Johannessen has also taken up cross country skiing since moving to Wyoming. Last month, he competed in Casper’s second annual ColdAvenger winter triathlon. The race includes 3.1 miles each of fat biking, snowshoeing and cross country skiing.
Ammar Hussieno also raced in the triathlon. Hussieno moved to Casper from North Carolina six years ago. He’d heard about the city’s Nordic trails, so he bought a pair of cross country skis at Casper’s annual ski swap.
He struggled during his first attempt at skiing on the mountain.
“A nice skier came by me and gave me advice and said, ‘Don’t give up,’” Hussieno said. “He said, ‘This is a great sport.’ I watched him skiing and he looked so good skiing. And then I learned that he was an Olympian.”
Rob Rosser, an Olympic competitor in the biathlon, encouraged Hussieno not to give up on cross country skiing. Hussieno took lessons from the Casper Nordic Club and he can now use classic and skate skis.
“The nice thing about cross country skiing here in Casper, is that we have a lot of trails,” Hussieno said.
“And it’s really protected from the wind, so even when the weather is nasty somewhere else, you can come here and it’s a nice escape.”
He’s also involved with the Fat Fish racing group and rides a fat bike.
“They’re a great group,” he said. “They welcome all abilities.”
Escape through exercise
Hussieno is a husband, father and pulmonologist at Wyoming Medical Center, with limited time for exercising. Still, he’s found a way to work out on the mountain.
“I look at those activities as my escape,” he said. “I found that winter sports help you enjoy the winter season so you’re looking forward to that season. You really have fun on the weekends instead of struggling with the snow and the roads. It gives you balance in life …”
When he can’t make it to the mountain during the winter, Hussieno uses work out videos, often ones on YouTube, at home with his wife. He also rides his fat bike to the hospital for work. He travels up the mountain a couple days a week.
“We are so fortunate here in Casper to have the mountain so close,” he said. “I think most of us, instead of watching a football game on the weekend, can come up and do these activities. It’s good exercise.
“It also helps you mentally,” he continued. “It helps you deal with your work so you go back on Monday ready to work again, not regretting or feeling like you didn’t do anything on your weekend.”
Christy Olsen, a Casper native who participated in the winter triathlon this year, said Wyomingites who haven’t yet learned how to fat bike or cross-country ski should try snowshoeing first.
“I think snowshoeing is probably the easiest thing for people to get into if they’re looking for some way to stay fit during the winter and not wanting to worry about learning a skill,” Olsen said.
She also suggested visiting shops in town, such as Mountain Sports, for help getting started.
Olsen, who teaches strength training for girls at Natrona County High School, makes it up to the mountain at least four days a week. For anyone worrying about finding the time and motivation for such exercise, Olsen suggested making it a priority.
“I think you know how much better you’re going to feel afterward,” she said. “If you have a stressful day, you know as soon as you get out and start walking or skiing or biking up here, you’re going to feel 100 times better, because it’s a good stress reliever.”
For Johannessen, motivation isn’t a concern.
“It’s just so much fun,” he said. “And it’s beautiful out here at night. It really is. When you’re up here with five or six people, and you get to one of the intersections with the wide section of Nordic ski trail and everybody turns their lights off and it’s just stars. It’s absolutely beautiful.”
