Couple’s Passion For Skiing Lets Fish Off The Hook

There are moments out on the trail, with their nordic skis gliding smoothly beneath them, that Jim and LaJuan Casella think about how their winters used to be.

Plunk. Stand around. Sit. Reel. Freeze.

The Casellas were ice fishermen. Passionate, 12-hours-a-day, every-weekend sort of ice fishermen.

That all changed in 1987, when both of Jim Casella’s knees were operated on at once. Doctors prescribed cross-country skiing as rehabilitation.

Nine years later, the Valley residents have taken to skiing, hook, line, and sinker. Last week, in the midst of preparing for Sunday’s 19th annual Langlauf cross-country ski race on Mount Spokane, LaJuan described her single regret at having left fishing behind.

“That big fish is still out there,” she says, laughing.

Langlauf director Paul Smith said the Casellas exemplify many of the skiers who take part in the citizens race, a 350-person spectacle at Mount Spokane State Park that has become a local tradition.

There are still the sleek, lithe racers in their skin-tight body suits, out to humble the undulating, 10-kilometer course. Then there are folks like the Casellas - perhaps a little bigger, a little slower, but no less enthusiastic about nordic skiing.

“When you’re in shape and you can feel your endurance and skill increase, you know that there’s something better to do than breathe in and out on the couch,” says Jim. “As a fella gets older, it’s extremely important to stay in shape.”

Jim, getting set for his fifth Langlauf, estimates he’s put in about 600 kilometers this year in training. LaJuan returns to the race after being sidelined by a knee injury last year. She got stuck doing the couple’s taxes for a couple weekends and says she has skied “only” about 450 kilometers this year.

On Saturdays, Sundays, and just about every day off, you can find the Casellas at the Mount Spokane nordic trails. LaJuan has taken up skate-style skiing this year; Jim is sticking with the classic style. He finished in 4th place last year and 2nd in 1995 in Langlauf in his 55-59 age group.

But competition isn’t really the point, the couple says. Unless you mean competition with yourself.

“You don’t go out there and compete with anybody else,” Jim said, whose goal is “just to finish a few minutes faster each year.”

LaJuan is a little more ambitious. By the time she reaches 50, the 44-year-old says, she’d like to get her time down somewhere around 35 minutes.

In addition to skiing in the citizens race, the Casellas also assist Langlauf race officials with everything from organizing the entry packets to helping set up for the event.

Race director Smith said it is volunteers like the Casellas, doing their little bit, that helps Langlauf run so smoothly.

“They’re always around after Langlauf to help us clean up,” Smith said.

Jim, an inspector at Hewlett-Packard, turns 58 next week, but looks 15 years younger.

With retirement in the foreseeable future, he dreams of one day running his own nordic ski center, something on the lines of Sun Mountain Lodge in the Methow Valley.

At least for now, LaJuan says she’s content to let others catch the fish - she’ll keep skiing as long as she can. The couple say they are encouraged by acquaintances they’ve made who have continued skiing well into their 70s.

“We’ll keep skiing as long as we can breathe in and out,” Jim says. “We’re not that fast, but we really enjoy it.”