From East Coast Chaos to McCall Mountain Magic
When Ben and Kate rolled into McCall—him with a backseat full of ski gear, her with a spreadsheet full of criteria—they weren’t quite sure what they were getting into. But three years and one ski-induced romance later, they’ve settled into life in Idaho’s mountain playground like seasoned locals... well, almost.
Ben hails from New Hampshire, by way of Vermont, Boston, and a brief stint in higher-ed immigration work that now has him wrangling visa paperwork as a remote paralegal. Kate’s origin story reads like a U.S. roadmap: born in NYC, schooled in Maine, with career pit stops in Oklahoma, Michigan, California, and even a trail crew in the Frank Church Wilderness in her younger days. North Dakota is the only state she hasn’t visited—“but I’m not in a rush,” she shrugs.
Their meet-cute? Naturally, it involved an ultra-marathon. They crossed paths at the 50k mark of the IMTUF 100 (because where else do outdoorsy singles mingle?)—masked, dusty, and somehow both photographing the same runners. Turns out, Ben had just moved from the town where Kate’s parents retired. Her brother even went to the same college. Destiny clearly had a trail map.
Their first official date? A ten-mile backcountry ski tour—Kate’s first real ski ever. “He fell into a tree well, which I’m 80% sure was just to make me feel better,” she laughs. “That’s when I knew he was a keeper.”
They’ve since traded that “maybe temporary” vibe for full-on mountain commitment, buying a house near Ponderosa Park and founding the West Central Uphill Alliance, a grassroots group for human-powered winter recreation. Translation: they get a bunch of snow-loving weirdos together to ski uphill for fun.
When they’re not organizing ski mo races or dodging chipmunks on their daily trail runs, you’ll find them in Bear Basin or in the park, reveling in the fact that they can live a whole week without starting their car. “We walk to skiing. That’s not something you can do in Boston,” Ben says.
They also lead a Tuesday night running group, which has grown from “just Ben and a dog” to 20+ regulars trotting around town. “McCall’s full of quiet crushers,” Kate says. “People just doing epic stuff in the woods and not telling anyone. We’re trying to lure them out with snacks.”
After bouncing across the country, both agree: McCall’s community is what makes it stick. “Other places were great,” says Kate, “but they always felt like someone else’s hometown. Here, people wave at you like you’ve lived here forever—even if you still have Vermont plates.”
Their verdict?
“We came for the skiing,” Ben says.
“But we stayed for the people,” Kate adds.
