About

My name is  Vanessa Michelle Nicon Aadland, and I just turned 22. I grew up in the Pacific North West where my dad taught me to ski at 3 years old. My family lives for skiing so I got spoiled with “sick days” from school so my mom had someone to car pool to the mountains with. Every year we would go on ski trips to Banff, Kicking Horse, Apex, Whistler, Red Mountain, Big Sky, Baker, Crystal, down to Schweitzer, Hood, Tahoe, and of course Utah! In 4th grade I summited Mt. St. Helens and telemarked down Mt. Shasta. In high school I taught lessons for powder pigs at Snoqualmie pass.

After graduating from High School, I worked nights and skied whenever possible. Alpental, a steep resort with limitless backcountry, redefined my skiing and exposed me to steep and technical lines.  Learning backcountry safety became a big part of my everyday riding.  At 17 I was training and practicing beacon drills which reinforced the importance of riding smart , knowing your limits, and being prepared.

In the fall of 07 I moved to Utah, where I lived at a mid-mountain lodge at Alta and once again, skied everyday! It turned out to be a pretty solid move considering  Alta received over 700 inches that season. Now I’m living in Sandy, Ut at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon with great friends and my dog Baker. I work at Snowbird as a server at the Steak Pit! Come visit me some time.

Next winter I plan to keep Snowbird/Alta my home while I shoot, film, travel, tour, and compete in the World Freeskiing Tour.

Some random stuff:

1. My brothers and I got “ski bum” tattooed on our butt
2. I love mint tea with soymilk, foos ball, mooning people, and dancing the night away
3. My Mom is my best friend and my Dad is a ripping telemarker and a rocket scientist, for real.
4. I speak spanish when I’m drinking
5. I have a growing list of things I want to do before I die
6. My biggest fears are bee’s and getting tickeled to death
7. I eat on average, two apples a day
8. My perfect moment is shredding moon lit pow with my friends
9. I am a day dreamer
10. I’ve traveled all over the States, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Switzerland and Indonesia

Whats Important to me:

• family and friends
• laughing
• focusing on the positive
• overcoming challenges
• goals
• helping others
• living a life of gratitude

Nick Names

v, v-card, sunshine, nesse, ness, chippy, turbo, vanny, chip, ooley, va-nay-nay, v-ski,  essa, bane, vanessa la fresa