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Volume 12, Number 4 | March 5-11, 2020
A bond that transcends mountains By Kate Phillips Sopris Sun Correspondent While some people would have opted out of a frigid day in the mountains, a small but mighty group of women tucked their heads and began the arduous ascent of Snowmass Mountain — together. Over the last decade and a half, elite female ski mountaineering (skimo) athletes in the valley have been competing at the highest, international level and supporting each other along the way. When competitive female skimo racing broke onto the American scene back in 2003, it showcased
a sport rich in sisterhood where athletes worked together to achieve the impossible. Pioneers Jeannie Wall and Emma Roca competed in the famous Pierra Menta in Europe becoming the first American women to do so. In a 2015 Skin Track interview, Wall recalled the famous accomplishment and said that history aside she was most inspired by the partnership and support she gained from training and racing with Roca. With the tone set, female athletes around the nation quickly followed suit and eventually found their own version of skimo sisterhood.
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In 2006, Carbondale based legend Sue King was among the first female athletes to climb uphill for the sake of enjoyment. Using just her nordic ski gear, King would regularly skin the mountains of Breckenridge. Almost instantly King got hooked and she naturally evolved into one of the top skimo athletes in the area; she even qualified for the 2010 US Ski Mountaineering Team. Despite her obvious talent, King found that skimo was less about the accolades and more about the bonds she created. Continued on page 8
SKIMO SISTERHOOD Lindsay Plant rips off her skins with teammate Grace Staberg in preparation for the over 4,000 vertical foot decent down Highlands Bowl. It was Plant's first race with 17-year-old Staberg, who recently took home junior world cupgold for ski mountaineering. Photo by Laurel Smith
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