PNW: Local Skiers Hit It Big

[KQ]

An extreme experience for two local skiers

By Vanessa Pierce
Special to The Seattle Times


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SCOTT MARKEWITZ / SPECIAL TO THE SEATTLE TIMES
Extreme skier Ingrid Backstrom takes flight in a scene from Warren Miller's new movie, "Impact."


SQUAW VALLEY, Calif. — You wouldn't guess Ingrid Backstrom is an extreme skier. She's a petite 5 feet 4, speaks softly and likes to cook Asian turkey-ball stew, her boyfriend's favorite. But when the snow flurried in Utah and Alaska during her debut in the newest Warren Miller film, she slapped on a pair of big-mountain Völkl Gotama skis and hit waist-deep powder as one of "Warren's Angels." Her mission: to save the mountain from the threat of untracked powder.

"It was a dream to go to so many cool places and ski with a lot of cool people," she said. "I couldn't believe it was me."

Warren Miller has once again made news with his newest flick, "Impact" — his 55th career movie — pulling together today's hottest freeriders. They included Backstrom, 26, a rising star in big-mountain skiing, and Hilaree Nelson O'Neill, 31, the matriarch of mountaineering, both of whom were schooled in skiing at Washington's ski areas. Backstrom grew up in Highline and skied at Crystal Mountain, where her parents patrolled for 20 years; O'Neill learned to ski at Stevens Pass.

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COREY RICH / THE NORTH FACE /
Hilaree Nelson O'Neill is one of the best freeriders in the world.


O'Neill and Backstrom were given two different missions by Miller in two different parts of the world. While Backstrom hit some of the hottest skiing in America, O'Neill took to the slopes in Europe.

Miller's assignment for O'Neill, Miller's go-to mountaineer, was to ski on location in France, where she lived after graduating from Colorado College. A three-month vacation turned into a five-year stay in Chamonix. During that time, she became the European freeskiing champion, and before long was a sought-after ski-expedition guide throughout the world.

Now living in Telluride, Colo., O'Neill has championed women's backcountry curiosity by guiding various all-women expeditions to the Himalayas, Tibet, China, Mongolia and Canada.

"I definitely remember thinking when I was 13 that there were not enough women in Warren Miller movies," she said.

But now women like O'Neill and Backstrom, snowboarding gold medalist Kelly Clark, snowboarder Natasza Zurek, big-mountain skiers Jessica Sobolowski and Wendy Fisher and freestyle Olympian Hannah Hardaway have put their stamp on Miller's collection of ski history. And it's a big stamp.

In the film, O'Neill skis a 60-degree pitch in Chamonix, where she slowly eases off the rugged edge and into Col des Cristaux, a run that can slice and dice anything or anyone that falls off course.

"The only thing that goes through my head is one step at time," O'Neill said. "I was on huge 188s and was thinking, 'I hope I can turn these things.' "

Back in the U.S., Backstrom was preparing for her first Miller movie. O'Neill has been in three.

The No. 2-ranked female extreme skier in the world, Backstrom now calls Squaw Valley her home, leaving Washington after four years at Whitman College, where she was a three-time All-American racer. She chose to bag racing after college and give extreme skiing a go.

She was hooked after entering her first extreme competition.

"Racing is kind of a weird thing; if you choose to race in college, you kind of miss the boat," Backstrom said. "You have to choose college or ski racing — it's sort of a rigid sport. I like the freedom of freeskiing, but racing's awesome, too, and it gave me a good foundation for skiing."



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COREY RICH / THE NORTH FACE /
Ingrid Backstrom is one of the world's top freeriders.


She lives in a cozy, old A-frame nestled in the Squaw Valley woods, where the wood creaks and the cold air sneaks through the cracks. There is no pretension here. In fact, there are only a couple of signs that skiers live inside — a Powder magazine on the coffee table (Backstrom is a correspondent) and her gear stashed in the loft. Her Völkl skis, North Face jackets and Tecnica boots line the corner of her bedroom wall, almost hidden from sight.

She has joined the likes of many of the world's best freeriders, like Shane McConkey and Jenn Berg, in America's freeskiing capital — Squaw Valley USA — where the warm Pacific storm fronts dump more than 400 inches of snow per season. She joined Berg and Völkl freeride team member Charlotte Moats, a native of Vermont, as Warren's Angels.

They beat up mountain after mountain, kissing the snow with big, flowing turns, while pounding the powder with drops from steep rock faces.

The day before the Angels arrived in Utah, 3 feet of fresh flakes landed in Little Cottonwood Canyon outside of Salt Lake City.

"It was crazy," Backstrom said. "It was just one of those days, from the time the sun comes up to the time the lifts close, you don't think about anything. You're just hiking and skiing and going for it. ... It was the best day ever."

Miller's crew shot the Angels for four days in Utah. Then they were whisked off to Alaska, where they rode the picturesque fluted faces of the Chugach Mountains with the help of Chugach Powder Guides.

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CHRIS PATTERSON / WARREN MILLER ENTERTAINMENT
Ingrid Backstrom, standing near a helicopter in the hanger in Chugach, Alaska, skied at sites in Utah and Alaska for the film "Impact."


"You pretty much couldn't ask for more (after Utah)," Backstrom said, "and then we got to go to Alaska."

Backstrom and O'Neill grew up watching Miller's movies and have due respect for the man who has showed the world why he has spent his life filming skiing's best athletes.

"It's awesome," Backstrom said. "I never thought skiing in one of his movies would happen for me. I remember watching when I was little and being in awe of all the skiers. Not only is he such a huge force in the skiing community, but he's one of the founders of action sports films in general."

Go ahead and ask Backstrom what it's like to drop off a 20-foot cliff. She'll be in Seattle for both showings of the film Friday among ski, snowboard and telemark enthusiasts who can only dream of laying down tracks around the world like she and O'Neill have done.

Vanessa Pierce is a former Seattle Times NEXT writer and currently an arts and entertainment editor at the Aspen Daily News.

[Squirrel99]

This space reserved for Girlski to rave about becoming Ingrid




(yes, I too heart ingrid!)

[13]

Rippin' skiers and beautiful women as well. We need more of them in this egotistical sausage party that we call freeskiing.

[joshbu]

O'Neill has championed women's backcountry curiosity by guiding various all-women expeditions to the Himalayas, Tibet, China, Mongolia and Canada."

This is a hell of an understatement. Hilaree is one of the more accomplished ski mountaineers around male or female.

As for Ingrid, I've skied with her boyfriend, Kip. He's a good dude, a PNH guide, and a hell of a skier in his own right. I don't think that's going to stop me from calling him "Mr. Backstrom" next time I see him

[Ubersheist]

[b]....and likes to cook Asian turkey-ball stew, her boyfriend's favorite.

Ug. My stomach just sank.

I guess I'll just have to play the waiting game. It may take a few years or decades, but I'm sure that she'd want me eventually. Maybe I should start working off my man-boobs. Then I know she'd want me.

[Ubersheist]

DOH! I double posted somehow! Oops.

[girlski0912]

I am so happy to see female skiers getting more respect and being seen as part of the entire freeskiers movement. And yes...Ingrid is awesome and I want to be her, but will be satisfied skiing with her.
Anybody happen to see the new Outside magazine? They have a list of 25 top adventure atheletes. I had to laugh at their article on Kit DesLeseirs. They go on and on, rightfully so, about how she has logged multiple first descents on different peaks. They also failed to mention that she won the World Freesking Tour, you know, in her spare time. Minor accomplishment, but it just goes to show the caliber of the female skiers out there killing it right now.

[Ubersheist]

Minor accomplishment, but it just goes to show the caliber of the female skiers out there killing it right now.

Ingrid's killing it like no other female out there right now. I'm nothing but thoroughly impressed by her, regardless of her gender. Did you see those pics in the new Powder? Jesus!

It's been a long while since I've seen any sort of media with Kristen Ulmer or Wendy Fischer, but Ingrid seems to be hitting it even harder then either of them in thier respective heydays!

[joshbu]

It's been a long while since I've seen any sort of media with Kristen Ulmer or Wendy Fischer, but Ingrid seems to be hitting it even harder then either of them in thier respective heydays!

Kristin Ulmer doesn't do segments or photo shoots that much any more, AFAIK. She does her "Ski to Live" camps (http://www.xmission.com/~ulmer/) which are sort of a cross between a Buddist self-discovery clinic and a ski clinic. She might still write for Penthouse too.

I think Wendy Fisher is doing a series of women's camps as well (http://www.fishski.com,) in addition to her filming.

As for hitting it harder, I dunno. Ulmer was sort of Jamie Pierre before Jamie Pierre in a way. She used to do some awfully risky (stupid?) things.

[optics]

Backstrom+Dyer+Oster=

You can keep all those jib girls.

[joshbu]

You can keep all those jib girls.

OK. I will.

[optics]

You sure you have room?

[cj001f]

This is a hell of an understatement. Hilaree is one of the more accomplished ski mountaineers around male or female.

Excellent, but that good? She's certainly one of the bigger one's in the public eye, but there are a ton who ski & climb hard and never get media coverage.

Ulmer was a risk-taker, but a good bit of that seamed marketing as well.

Not to detract. Chicks who rock on skis rock.

[joshbu]

Excellent, but that good? She's certainly one of the bigger one's in the public eye, but there are a ton who ski & climb hard and never get media coverage.

Ulmer was a risk-taker, but a good bit of that seamed marketing as well.

Not to detract. Chicks who rock on skis rock.

Heh. "Good" is sort of meaningless when it comes to ski mountaineering. You either make it up and back, or you don't. At any rate, O'Niell has first descents in Antartica, the Andes and the Himalaya. That's sort of a different world than climbing and skiing hard. You can only get to those places by being independently wealthy or by being the sort of person who keep the sponsors names in the public eye.

[grizzle6]

Ingrid Backstrom is the Sage Cattabriga of women--ALL OVER THE PLACE!! You can't pick up a ski mag without finding Ingrid in their somewhere.

[cj001f]

Heh. "Good" is sort of meaningless when it comes to ski mountaineering. You either make it up and back, or you don't. At any rate, O'Niell has first descents in Antartica, the Andes and the Himalaya. That's sort of a different world than climbing and skiing hard. You can only get to those places by being independently wealthy or by being the sort of person who keep the sponsors names in the public eye.

Good = skiing hard. 5.6 Grand Teton ski descents. S5/S6/S7 stuff. Take a look at the Turiano Teton guide - or Lowell Skoog's excellent history of cascade steep skiing in the Northwest Mountaineering Journal. Look at the first descent, there are a few famous names, and a good number of not at all famous people who have a job, and push it hard. Sponsored skiiers are the minority, even at the upper limits. Just because you haven't heard of them, doesn't mean they don't rip.

Anyways this was all a stupid sidenote; O'neill rips and has worked hard to get where she is

[joshbu]

Good = skiing hard. 5.6 Grand Teton ski descents. S5/S6/S7 stuff. Take a look at the Turiano Teton guide - or Lowell Skoog's excellent history of cascade steep skiing in the Northwest Mountaineering Journal. Look at the first descent, there are a few famous names, and a good number of not at all famous people who have a job, and push it hard. Sponsored skiiers are the minority, even at the upper limits. Just because you haven't heard of them, doesn't mean they don't rip.

Anyways this was all a stupid sidenote; O'neill rips and has worked hard to get where she is

Eh. I suppose we can agree to disagree. I don't see how equal terrain at 10K' lower elevation with 10x better access and rescue support is just as hard.

[Buster Highmen]

So...uh...where's this big bong?

[vinzclortho]

As for Ingrid, I've skied with her boyfriend, Kip. He's a good dude.

hey I know him. I stayed at his house twice when he and Parkhill and those clowns lived right Oly Valley road.

[cj001f]

http://cascadeclassics.org/MountBake...ng03/Route.JPG
http://cascadeclassics.org/NorthCasc.../38JasonUp.JPG
http://www.mountaineers.org/nwmj/ima...s_BM_Adams.jpg
http://www.cascadeclassics.org/Mount...01/12Eykes.JPG
The last one's the Mowich Face

[optics]

Yeah, but the other dude did it first and with a camera.


Plus, check this shit out, your lines are pussy!

[cj001f]

Yeah, but the other dude did it first and with a camera

Those aren't mine.

[Sphinx]

Give it up, Carl, everybody KNOWS that the PNW has no steep lines.

[powstash]

Ulmer was a risk-taker, but a good bit of that seamed marketing as well.

Not to detract. Chicks who rock on skis rock.

She'd ski you and me into the ground on any day, in any terrain. If you've only seen Ulmer ski in the films, then you aint seen anything. The chick still friggin' rips and skis the gnar more in one season than you've done in all your days. Take your hat off to her, and don't tread lightly. RESPECT the chicks that rip. Period.

[joshbu]

Give it up, Carl, everybody KNOWS that the PNW has no steep lines.

I never said there weren't steep lines in the Cascades. I said that those lines are not as a hard when compared to lines of similar steepness in the Andes.

Hey vinz, check out: http://www.alaskaheliski.com/guide_garre.htm