Our co-founder Lynsey Dyer recently caught up with Kit DesLauriers. Kit is a member of the Global Athlete Team for The North Face. She first realized she wanted to ski the big stuff while standing atop a mountain in Sikkim, India, in 1998. Looking around at the majestic Himalayan peaks where so many others had come in search of life-changing moments, Kit had her own epiphany when she couldn’t shake one thought: Why didn’t she bring her skis?? It was then she decided to focus on ski mountaineering and began refining her skills so that she could ski anything, anywhere in the world. And focus she did: she now has several first descents to her name, including the first descent of the Polish Glacier on Aconcagua and the first female ski descent of Vinson Massif in Antarctica. And when she’s not skiing down the world’s tallest peaks, Kit finds the time to take first place on the World Freeskiing Tour, as she did in 2004 and 2005.

SheJumps: I hear you raised a real wolf for 9 years? What was that like?

Kit: I brought AltaWolf home to live with me starting when he was 14 days old and his eyes and ears were still not open. At first I fed him by a bottle (a homemade mix of beef baby food, egg yolk, condensed milk, yogurt...) and as wolves establish their hierarchy among their siblings by the time they are several weeks old I did a lot of training both for myself and him so that I could be Alpha Wolf. My goal was to not have him die for being a wolf in a humans world while still letting him be as wild as possible. He lived without needing to wear a collar or be locked up at all and we spent 9 perfect years together until he died peacefully in my arms. Since Alta came to live with me the day before I graduated from college some people, including my mother, think that I gave up my first taste of real freedom for this immense responsibility. What really happened was that I made the best decision of my life and created a situation where I learned important lessons like going after what you want with all of your heart, being loyal to friends and family, eating only when you are hungry, and showing others that you care.

SheJumps: So many women and girls might fantasize about raising a wild animal or scaling everest let alone skiing it but few (ok maybe none, at least so far) have been willing to go for it. What has it taken? What have you had to give up in the process? And what the hell were you thinking?

Kit: It has taken an intense practice of detachment from the outcome. Life is about the every day and if you get too caught up in the what’s next and what if’s then the mind starts to spin out of control and when the mind is out of control nothing good comes from it. I don’t feel like I have given up anything but an outsider may think so. For instance, every single day of Alta’s life I went out for a ski or hike or run or snowshoe with him regardless of my work commitments or the weather. I am sure I missed some dates with human friends because of it, but I didn’t miss out on anything. In fact I gained a lot both in discipline, commitment, loving connections, and experiencing the mountains in all conditions. Same for my project to ski the 7 Summits or win the World Freeskiing Tour. What was I thinking? I wasn’t really thinking about giving things up or how difficult it would be, it’s more that I was following the direct knowing that I had when I was faced with these ideas. Like when I read Dick Bass’ book on climbing the 7 Summits and then wondered to myself if I could ski them...I couldn’t shake that off afterward without trying, even though I tried to not acknowledge the reality of that path ahead, I finally realized I had a direct knowing that I was going to do this or at least give it a really good try. With each mountain in the project there was that practice of detachment from the outcome. Imagine if I let myself get caught up by what would happen if I wasn’t successful on a peak while I was simultaneously planning for the next one? That is totally purposeless, and even detrimental.  



SheJumps: Can you speak to the quote, "Well behaved women seldom make history"? 

Kit: I am a 2011 inductee of the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame so I beg to differ with that quote which sounds good at first read, but ugh, think about it! I prefer what Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”



SheJumps: You've made history, what were some of the challenges along the way as a women, and what's next?
Kit: Honestly, I have hardly felt any challenges in my journeys because of being a woman with the exception of needing to stay carefully attuned to people’s perception of my actions. I think it’s important to surround yourself with supportive energy and I have been, although rarely, in situations where people around me didn’t believe I could do something probably partly because I am a woman. To me, that is a recipe for disaster because it breeds negativity and doubt. I prefer instead to just do my thing and if people want to talk afterward, go for it. One bizarre thing that I have noticed is an increase in men setting similar goals to things I have accomplished. It’s almost as if they are thinking that if a woman did it, it must be easy. What’s next? I have loads of ideas and am constantly sitting on them in an effort to gauge which ones feel right for when. My ski dreams continue to include rad descents in other countries and to that mix I add winter wilderness journeys. Last year I skied in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge of Alaska and count that as my favorite place in the world. I know that I will go back there and that I will continue to advocate for it’s protection.



SheJumps: How has becoming a mother changed your perspective on being a professional athlete?

Kit: Of course it is more challenging to find the time to be in the mountains as much as it was before the children came along but being a mother has taught me an even greater dedication in some ways since I have to make the most of my time in the mountains and then practice an ego free approach to life (a definate work in progress!) when I am not "out there" but am instead with my adorable, loving children. In this way, being a professional athlete while being a mom is more challenging yet is forcing me to be a more spiritual person. On another note, being a professional athlete requires a certain degree of mental control and while many mothers stop doing things once they have kids because they don’t want to get hurt, I take a different approach. Think about the moment before launching a cliff on skis and the mental swirl in your head. If you think about screwing it up or how dangerous it is or anything else negative that is usually exactly what you get. If you think about sticking it and remain in a state of total non-conceptual wakefulness, the outcome is more often stellar. Now consider that you have kids who depend on you. Which mental attitude should you adopt? See, the stuff that kids have to teach us is endless.



SheJumps: If I had one magic talent, what would it be?
Kit: It would be to be able to sing!



SheJumps: Do you have a nickname?
Kit: My nickname has been kitski from all my friends in my previous hometown of Telluride Colorado. That or ‘Go Go Girl’



SheJumps: Anymore random insights?
Kit: Change a tire in under a minute because it’s better to squat a little and be who you are.

To learn more about Kit, go to www.kitdski.com.