Life of a Freeskier - Wendy Fisher
I just came across with fantastic interview with Wendy Fisher about the transition from Olympic Ski Racer to World Class Freeskier. It's a great interview about the pressures of high-level competition and the importance of just having fund skiing. It's also incredibly personal and touching, telling the story of her brother who was lost to skiing. Lots of the top guys in Freeride have a racing background - 10 years ago it was the only way to compete in skiing, so anyone with any passion went into that. But it stopped being about fun and many became disenchanted. That crop of frustrated, fun-seeking and talented skiers (with excellent skills) were around at the time that Freeride skiing was becoming a genuine way to compete (and earn money). Whilst many skiers are now going straight into Freeride, ski-racing is still a fantastic grounding for the skills and techniques (as well as ability to cope with high speed) that will put a skier in good stead for top level Freeride competition. Head on over and check out this fantastic interview in Powder Mag.