Ed Monrad

Seattle, WA, USA

I learned to love the mountains as a kid on epic Boy Scout trips in Washington’s Cascade and Olympic ranges. Camping in snow caves, climbing volcanoes, 50-mile backpacking trips, and one rain-drenched canoe trip taught me I was built for endurance in nature.  After a too-long interlude in pancake-flat Chicago, I discovered the joy of running pell-mell down single-track during the Matterhorn Ultraks race in 2018. Since then I haven’t stopped looking for flowy trails wherever I can find them!

When I’m not in the mountains, I now live in pannenkoek-flat Amsterdam, where I lead the corporate strategy team for a leading proprietary trading firm.

I stay fit on the flats running fast with a track and field club, occasionally racing a road 10k or half marathon. I also love to bake – introducing snickerdoodles to my Dutch friends is always a treat. And in the winter I try to get in a ski turn or two.

Friends know me as the Pied Piper of cats – I can stand in one place and before long a cat will magically appear!

My go-to is a little-known Vertical Kilometer climb out of Chamonix, France, that follows the path of an abandoned cable car line to the ruined La Para and Les Glaciers stations. From there, you traverse under Glacier de Pèlerins to Refuge du Plan d’Aiguille to refuel with homemade tart. You can descend via Grand Balcon Nord and the Montenvers train station before celebrating with a burger at Poco Loco!

2023