SKIING
"Skiing is the easy part."
I've been skiing since I was two years old, learning in my driveway on the east coast. My family moved to Park City, UT when I was nine and I started competing in moguls and halfpipe. My ski career has evolved from competition and recreation to a professional career creating films in big mountain, backcountry and ski mountaineering terrain.
Supported by: Atomic, OnX Backcountry, ZipFit Liners, Picture Organic Clothing, AspenSnowmass, MountainFLOW Eco Wax, Slut Strand Society and SheJumps.
Career
Where it started
Skiing started for me in a driveway in upstate New York when I was two. I hated it. We moved to Park City, UT when I was nine and I started competing in moguls and halfpipe for seven years. I liked it more. With a great foundation to build off of I started following my guy friends off cliffs and skiing big mountain terrain in high school and I never looked back. I helped found the University of Denver Freeride team in 2016 and upon graduation found myself skiing in Japan for a travel agency job every winter.
Where we're at
I now live in Carbondale, CO and get to ski AspenSnowmass and the surrounding Elk Mountains on the regular. I feel lucky to live where I live, surrounded by the stellar community and beautiful mountains. Living in the Roaring Fork Valley has evolved my skiing for the better. I've learned to embrace long ski mountaineering days - up the west face of Snowmass Mountain and the elbow of Mount Sopris and on lines like Ribcage and Pearl Couloir - and to ski fast, drop my hip and the art of an airplane turn.
Where we're going
My goal with skiing is to make it a more equitable place. I realize the privilege of being a Japanese-American female skier with a platform. I want to use that platform to inspire others that look like me, who rarely see themselves in ski and outdoor media to participate in this sport that has alienated so many for so long. I hope to do this through film projects and collaborating with other athletes in the powder, on puckering lines or through community events.
