While every ski resort has a few local women skiers who rip, Crested Butte is home to a bunch, including Wendy Fisher, Alison Gannett, Jill Sickels Matlock and Kasha Rigby. And leading them all is Kim Reichhelm, winner of the first World Extreme Skiing Championships (WESC) women's title in Valdez, Alaska, in 1991.
When she was invited to that first-ever, heli-accessed competition in Alaska, she had recently retired from the US Ski Team and ski racing, and had just come off the filming of Greg Stump's "License to Thrill" with Scot Schmidt and Glen Plake.
"There were a lot of people who were skeptical about that first event and said 'extreme skiing shouldn't be judged' and 'this is wrong.' I've always been very open to new ideas and new things, and I went to Alaska for that contest, not really for the contest, but for the experience, and I obviously have never regretted it since," she says.
Four years later she went back and won it again.
Now, with years of incredible experiences in skiing, Kim has a lot to share and she does that through her "Women's Ski Adventures," now in its 13th season at Crested Butte Mountain Resort.
"I started Women's Ski Adventures because I saw so many women not having fun skiing, and we're talking all levels. A lot of people say, 'Oh, you run that extreme skiing clinic for women,' Well, it's not extreme at all."
According to Kim, the clinics are for moms, sisters, friends — people who don't get to ski every single day but still love it. More one-on-one than most, the program allows clients to learn in small groups of four to six per instructor. It's important to her that people aren't waiting around for anybody or being rushed, and most importantly that they're skiing in compatible groups, which, she believes, is how you relax and improve.
"I want to educate my clients so they have more self confidence. I try to keep things simple but educate them — make sure they're in the right boots, make sure they have footbeds, make sure their boots fit properly; I mean there're so many women who ski in boots that are way too big and they can't control their skis but they don't even know it. Nobody ever took the time to tell them. So it's fun, we have a blast."
Kim remembers her own learning curve, especially during her first Alaska experience. On that trip, she had an epiphany — becoming instantly aware of the inherent dangers in her sport.
"That was my first time in Alaska, and my first time in a helicopter, and my first time really skiing big mountains like that, and I didn't know anything. So right away...my mode changed, my awareness, and the education process to become a better backcountry skier, it began right then and there," she says.
Fortunate to have been where she was in the sport during a time when it was really changing, Kim was able to challenge herself on big mountain terrain under the guidance of well-knowns Schmidt and Plake.
"I had a lot of experience as a racer; I knew how to carve turns, but I didn't know anything about going fast and skiing chutes and catching air. It's a different type of skiing, and so they were really helpful in my technique and helped me learn a lot about how to handle different types of terrain and conditions."
Over the last decade, Kim has seen the competitive side of freeskiing evolve through her involvement as participant, judge, commentator, and spectator.
"When I first started competing in extreme skiing events it was more like festivals. It was more to me like an excuse to go to a really cool place and hang out with my friends and ski our brains out." But the bar has been raised and Kim admits it scares her to see how hard today's freeskiers push it.
"I have seen people get hurt so badly that five years later they're still recuperating. I have seen death. It's very hard for me to watch because to me it was about a festival, it was about celebrating skiing and celebrating life and not risking your life for nothing — for a trophy, for recognition, for sponsorship."
So what sort of advice would she give to those young, hungry skiers looking to score high at the comps and earn a living in this crazy sport? "One of the things I think a lot of athletes get confused about is they think if they win a contest then they're going to get huge contracts and great opportunities, and, yes, those opportunities may come about if you ski well, but if you're a good skier there are going to continue to be opportunities, and it's about the business.
"It's about being a good public relations person and working with your sponsor and understanding what they need to get out of you as a professional athlete," she says, "and you don't have to huck yourself off a 100-foot cliff and splat at the bottom to get those things."
Kim continues to look for new challenges by pushing the boundaries of her comfort zone. Lately, she's been working on improving her telemark skiing. "I love telemark because I'm really bad at it. It's just hilarious to not be able to just jump in and charge down anything I want, not even thinking twice about what's ahead of me. And on my tele skis I'm constantly struggling for balance, and I get a great leg burn. I'm really enjoying skiing in the backcountry here in Crested Butte, and I always telemark in the backcountry.
We're sure she'll be launching on her teles by season's end.
— Michelle Quigley, MountainZone.com Staff
