⛷ Freeride Forum: An Interview with Pro Skier Lexi DuPont
Read along for an interview with pro skier, Lexi DuPont, and a deep dive into the first ever female freeride competition
👋Howdy freeriders and freeride enthusiasts. Welcome to another week of the Freeride Forum. This week, I was able to score an interview with the legendary Lexi Dupont, who gave an insightful look into the life of a freeride skier and her experiences as a female in the industry. Buckle your boots and get stoked for this week’s addition of the Freeride Forum.
Lexi Dupont on being a female in freeride, and more…
Lexi DuPont is a former alpine ski junior olympian. She is now, ironically, a freeride superstar. Dupont — yes, of that Dupont family — was born and raised in Sun Valley, Utah, but her freeride potential wasn’t recognized until one fateful trip to Hanes, Alaska. Dupont was there visiting with her family when acclaimed photographer, Will Wissman, noticed her and saw her potential. He then convinced her parents to shoot with her. He put her in an Eddie Bauer jacket, took some photos, and the rest was history. Between the epic shots of Dupont in Alaska and her sporting an Eddie Bauer jacket, the sponsorships came rolling in and she started to get some traction.
Fourteen seasons in Hanes later, Dupont’s career has been quite the whirlwind. She’s been featured in numerous ski films, notably working with Warren Miller. She was a freeride world tour wild card contestant and even created Sister Summit, the first ever female-only freeride competition. To Dupont, it seems as if opportunity is endless. I had the privilege of interviewing Dupont earlier this week; the interview has been edited for length and clarity.
🎤 How does your background in ski racing, particularly in the Junior Olympics, shape who you are as a skier today?
For me, ski racing was a baseline that helped with technique. Also, when you’re involved in a ski club or team, the consistency really helps just to get out on the mountain every day to get practice. And, being apart of the ski community was something that I really loved. It showed me the possibility of having a job in the industry.
🎤 I saw that you went to University of Colorado Boulder. What did your career look like while attending CU? Also, since you were spending time in Colorado, what was your favorite mountain to ski?
So I grew up in Sun Valley, Utah and did ski team with a friend of mine named Mckenna Peterson. She brought up trying to compete, so we signed up for a competition in Telluride. I ended up on the podium that weekend, and competing on the mountain was something I knew I wanted to do again. So, I started getting in more competitions and was missing a lot of school. I was dropping letter grades and ultimately decided to take the winters off from school and do classes in the summers. It’s kinda funny, I think it took me like seven years to graduate but I am glad that I did. And for my favorite mountain in Colorado, that would be Crested Butte. It’s sick.
🎤 I saw that your focus over the past few years has primarily been focused on filming as you were working with Warren Miller and Stellar Media. What influenced your decision on returning to competition, particularly with your appearance in the 2022 FWT? And also, what does competition look like for you right now?
I was pretty much exclusively filming for ten years but got the wild card for the Freeride World Tour in 2022. It was a pretty crazy mindset to get back into competing, but with the help of my friend Hedvig Wessel and a sports psychologist, I was able to do it. The community for big mountain skiers is basically the Freeride World Tour and X-Games, but honestly, there’s not that many huge events. I was thirsty for this ski community that I had known and loved, so I decided to create the Sister Summit. Around this time was when I was realizing that being a pro skier isn’t just about skiing anymore - it’s about building a brand and a community. Sister Summit was the first ever female ski and snowboard backcountry contest, with an all female crew and everything. It was pretty magical.
🎤 What has your experience been like being a woman in the Freeride industry? How has your gender affected your career?
I would say something I have experienced a lot as a woman in the freeride industry is tokenism. There’s a lot of tokenism for women in action sports, a lot with producers just putting one girl in an entire ski film. However, this has definitely been progressing in the last fifteen years for the better and it seems like something the industry is starting to get behind.
🎤 What would you say are the next steps in your career or what are your up-and coming career aspirations?
I’d say my biggest priority right now is my baby, the Sister Summit. I was to keep the ripple effect going through trying to get the industry and companies behind women in the sport. I am headed to Japan in January to guide a group and I am working with Hedvig Wessel in creating a film. I also rented a house in Alaska this spring for six weeks to do some sick filming with my closest friends. Another thing is that I am a pilot and I am trying to put something together to fly a plane with the girls to climb a mountain. Yeah, that would be pretty cool. But mostly, I just want to spend most of my time and energy on Sister Summit, it’s where I have found the most fulfillment of my entire career.
🎤 Lastly, what would you say is your ski highlight of your career?
That would definitely be the last run of Sister Summit with the deepest pow. And I mean like the deepest pow. The cameras were away and we were tree riding. I was crying tears of joy seeing all these women who are leaders in the sport all coming together for a common goal. We were just amplifying the feminine frequency.
Spotlight: Sister Summit
According to the Sister Summit website, its mission is to:
Bring together the top female athletes skiers & snowboarders to inspire, push the sport and the feminine frequency in outdoor. Powered 100% by women, for women.
The Sister Summit’s inaugural competition was Nov. 24-Dec. 1, 2022 in Revelstoke BC, Canada. It brought together 10 skiers, 10 snowboarders, and three rookies along with an all-female team of media, chefs, guides, and hosts. Sister Summit was founded by professional skiers Lexi DuPont and Hedvig Wessel, along with professional snowboarder Leanne Pelosi. They were also joined by communication specialist Fanny Avril.
Sister Summit was “A space for women to connect, learn and expand our skillset.” The women participating hit the slopes, worked on wellness, went to workshops, and worked to strengthen the community to work on being the best athletes possible. Sister Summit was a monumental event that may change the sport of freeride forever; the industry is changing.
Click here for the highlights of Sister Summit and its instagram.
🙉 Take Five for Freeride 🙉
Top five pieces of freeride news that you NEED to know.
🎿 The Freeride World Tour is merging with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. This is said to be a “game changer” for the Freeride World Tour.
🏔 The first of the Freeride World Tour’s five events will take place from Jan. 13th to 18th in Kicking Horse Golden BC, Canada.
⭐️ Elisabet Marina was announced as wildcard in her Freeride World Tour debut.
❄️ The 2023 Freeride Junior World Championships location was confirmed. It will take place in Kappl, Austria.
🥽 The brand Scott extended their sponsorship with the Freeride World Tour for the next three years from 2023-2025.
A Bit from the Writer
Ski season has officially commenced, and boy, is it nice! Thank you for reading this week’s addition of the Freeride Forum. Next week we will dive into more interviews, perhaps a ski documentary review and who knows what else! But anyways, below I have attached my current ski playlist for your discretion. Definitely check it out - there are some pretty sweet tunes for carving the slopes.
My name is Annie O’Neill. I am a journalism student at Colorado College with a fascination of skiing. I follow the Freeride World Tour closely, I watch many ski documentaries and am well educated on most things freeride. Follow me on instagram and subscribe to receive all the latest freeride news.
It brings back memories of the thrilling times spent on the baseball diamond on the ice. Time has been a tapestry of sports zeal and flair, much like the bold and iconic Oilers Varsity Jacket expressing the essence of hockey pride and the timeless appeal of an echoing the spirit of America's pastime.
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