Paving the Way: The Most Influential Women in Skiing

By: Nicole Birkhold

Suzy Chaffee was allowed to be a member of the Denver University Ski Team, but wasn"™t allowed to ride in the team van to practice because she couldn"™t pass a male physical. Wendy Fisher put up with traveling with only men for years for the sake of a movie part. Kristi Leskinen and Sarah Burke used to forerun boys events just to get a chance to hit the same jumps.

The seven women on the following pages "” from the very first freestyle ballet skiers to the X Games sweethearts we all know "” have faced the challenges of being a girl in an industry that is well known for being a boys club. Without them, the landscape of women"™s skiing wouldn"™t be what it is today.

CLICK BELOW TO READ THE PROFILES

• Suzy Chaffee

• Kim Reichelm

• Kristen Ulmer

• Wendy Fisher

• Ingrid Backstrom

• Kristi Leskinen

• Sarah Burke

This story was originally published in the November 2009 issue of Freeskier.