July 27, 2016 – Two prominent US cross-country skiers just announced their engagement via social media. SkiTrax caught up with Andy Newell to ask him details of how he proposed to Erika Flowers and what’s next. Here’s what the veteran national team member told us in his own words including how he popped the question:

“I proposed to Erika on July 1st. It had been a plan in the making for some time so it wasn’t exactly a ‘spur of the moment thing.’ At the same time it was still a good surprise for her which is exactly what I wanted. Her sister Natalie was coming to Stratton from out of town and we had a lot of friends in town for the 4th of July weekend so it seemed like a perfect time to surprise her with the proposal.”

“I had snuck out of our apartment, leaving a hidden note, and made my way down to one of our favorite hangouts and fishing spots on Gale Meadows Pond near Stratton. When I had a good head start on her and was already in our fishing boat, I called her to have her read the note to meet me down at the pond. The day before, I had left a trail of painted rocks on the mile-long path through the woods that leads out to a hidden point around the pond. She arrived and followed the path and painted rocks to meet me and the boat that was already at the point with fishing rods and a cooler of food and drinks. When she got there she still had no idea what was going on, so I popped the question and she said yes!

“It was a really fun adventure to plan out and we motored back on the boat before a big storm hit and spent the next few days celebrating with friends around southern Vermont.

“We have set a date in June of next year (2017) for the wedding and it will be out in Bozeman, Montana [Flowers’ hometown]. We have no honeymoon plans, but since we will both be training away next summer, I think we will save time for one big getaway trip in the spring of 2018.

“Erika and I had known each other through skiing, but never really met or hung out until she finished college at Dartmouth and moved to Stratton to join the SMS (Stratton Mountain School) team in 2013. Then we started hanging out a lot in the summer and realized we had the same adventurous spirit and loved doing a lot of the same things outdoors. Since then, we have traveled around to a ton of cool places together skiing and surfing, and have grown to be best friends. She is one of the kindest and smartest people I’ve ever met so for me once I realized how much fun we had together and how well we got along I knew she was the one.

“Right now this doesn’t affect our careers at all. We are still living together here at Stratton and training full-time for skiing. We will also be training full time next year but in our spare time we will enjoy planning a fun wedding together. Aside from the formality of getting hitched, not a whole lot will change for us in the short term. We both enjoy ski racing and will continue to pursue our goals of racing at the highest level. Some day I’m sure we will have to settle down and find ‘real’ jobs and start a family but until then we both wanted to get married and enjoy being young and together for several years before worrying about real life too much.”

Flowers, 26, finished 3rd at the 2016 American Birkie (51km F). Also, this season she finished 1st at the US Super Tour in Craftsbury, VT (10 km C) and 3rd (5km F) there. She also finished 2nd in the 5km F at Theodore Wirth Park, MN this season. She is a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-American, top 10 at U.S. Nationals, 1st Place Swiss Cup, Silvaplana SUI (10km F Mst) in 2014. She also recently finished a geography major at Dartmouth College.

Andy Newell, 32, has been competing for 15 years on the international stage; he was top 10 in the sprint at Junior Worlds for three straight years (2001-03). Newell has stood on three World Cup podiums (3rd, Sprint FS, Changchun, CHN, 2006; 2nd, Sprint FS, Lahti, FIN, 2008; 3rd, Sprint CL, Drammen, NOR, 2010), has appeared at three Olympics (2006, 2010, 2014) and has been on seven World Championship teams (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015). This past 2015-6 season, he finished 4th in the World Cup classic sprint at Ruka, FIN. He trains at the Stratton Mountain School on the SMS/T2 team. Off the snow, Newell loves surfing, playing guitar and singing. He is also involved with environmental organizations and writes for SkiTrax.

SkiTrax joins the ski community in congratulating Flowers and Newell and wishing them the very best of health, happpiness and good times in the years to come.