Colorado’s Pardoes Are on Their 117th Consecutive Month

This month will be Lester and Makenzie Pardoe’s 117 ^th consecutive month skiing. Lester, a transplanted Canadian—who now lives in Lyons, Colorado—loves getting out, and he shows no sign of slowing down. And, he takes his daughter Makenzie whenever he goes. Powder caught up with him recently.

Powder: Tell me about your background.

Pardoe: I grew up in Calgary, Canada. A lot of winter, so spent a lot of time skiing/sledding/skating. Speed skating was my main sport, which actually translates to skiing really well.

I went to the University of Calgary, and graduated in 1993 in physical education and with a 2-year diploma in high performance coaching from the National Coaching Institute of Canada.

Makenzie is studying bio-chem with a minor in exercise science at Fort Lewis in Durango. She was born in Boulder, Colo, and just finished her freshman year.

Powder: What do you do for a living?

Pardoe: I ride a bike! I’m the Director of Devo Programming for Boulder Junior Cycling, one of the largest cycling clubs in North America, so I oversee all programs pre high school, and have a lot of input into our overall structure.

Powder: What age did you start skiing?

Pardoe: When I was 3 in Canada, on some strap on skis. Makenzie use to ride around in one of those chest baby holders when I went ski touring when she was a few months old. She got on cross-country skis at 2, downhill skis at 3, and a snowboard at 7.

Powder: Where do you live?

Pardoe: I’m in Lyons, Colo. Makenzie is back here when not in school (or riding her bike somewhere).

Powder: One hundred and sixteen months on skis? Is that just once a month or do you try and ski more than one day?

Pardoe: Some months a lot more than others. Obviously winter is ski season so we are both out often. Freshmen at Fort Lewis get a Purgatory season pass, so I think Makenzie went there more often than classes last winter.

June–Sept it’s normally just once a month as the search for snow is tough. August–September is mountain bike race season so Makenzie got into racing with the high school Cycling League (and now collegiate). It’s been tough to squeeze in skiing as well.

Powder: You telemark?

Pardoe: Yep, most of the time. I ride a snowboard on occasion. I also cross-country ski, and backcountry tour. Makenzie is 90 percent of the time on a snowboard. She is itching to learn more about backcountry skiing.

Powder: Which month in the past 10 years has been the thinest in terms of snow?

Pardoe: Usually September is the toughest, though occasionally you get that early storm. September 2022 was especially thin. Definitely have seen typical June–July–August snowfields shrink in the past decade. What was often skiable in July is often gone by early June or even by Memorial Day.

Powder: 116 months is just under 10 years. Do you have a goal?

Pardoe : Not really, we didn’t start out to do this, it was just dad–daughter time and a way to beat the heat and we kept going. I figured it would stop when Mak went to college but she kept it going, so I did, too. Ten years is definitely a goal, but we will hit that in October, meaning the following 7–8 months will be easy, which then makes you think, “well it’s only 4 months to year 11.”

Makenzie, who’s 18, has done it with me. We started when she was 9. Started as a "lets ski on Father's Day as it's too damn hot," and we had such a good time we kept doing it. She has gone away to collage and been able to keep the streak alive, too. This is great.

Powder: Anything more you can say about this?

Pardoe : It’s been a super fun way to make sure we have one-on-one time. A chance to just hang out, especially as she got older and developed her own interests and life. It’s something we share, just the two of us. Some months it’s easy and fun, and some months it’s a mad panic when you realize the month is ending, the snow sucks and is miles away, and you really have to scramble and make it happen. But each month has been worth it.

Friends and family really get in to it, too. I bumped into a friend I hadn’t seen in 6 years last week. One of the first things he asked was “do you guys still have the streak together? How many months?”

Powder: Favorite places to ski?

Pardoe : Talking with Mak, we agree on the some of the same highlights: 1. Saint Mary’s Glacier for Makenzie’s tenth birthday. We backpacked in after school, set up camp and skied at midnight getting two months in at the same time; 2. Mount Evans [now called Mount Blue Sky] in July a few years back on Canada Day; and 3. Lake Louise Canada—just so beautiful.

Powder: What's been the hardest thing to ski?

Pardoe : September sun-pocketed ice at either Rocky Mountain National Park or Saint Mary’s. Calling it skiing is a stretch, would be better off on skates.

Powder: Anything else you want to add?

Pardoe : There is an interesting community of folks doing this. At Saint Mary’s in the summer you get the folks checking off their month, always great to chat with them. It doesn’t have to be skiing, but having something a little ridiculous to do, especially with a connection with a child, is super awesome!

Powder: Good luck on whatever’s next.