I met Chandler about 6 years ago at our home mountain in Washington, Alpental. My mom and I had seen this young guy shredding around the resort skiing fast and fluid on one leg. We introduced our selves and learned he had recently lost his leg in a boating accident. I also got to ski with Chandler a few times at Alta, and I grabbed his number. To this day I have him saved in my contacts as “Chandler Kills it.” He is the most enthusiastic guy and seriously throws down on his ski! I was so impressed with how fast he was, and how confident he jumped off everything. He likes getting air more then I do! Most of all though I was impressed with his attitude. Not only is he positive, but he is a rad, down to earth guy. One day when we were skiing together, he had been following me off the cliffs I was hitting and showing me other fun drops. I asked him if he has tried skiing switch. By the end of the day he was craving switch turns on his ski… Here is Chandler’s story.

Brief summary of the boating accident. How long ago did it happen?

When I really understood that I had lost my leg, I just thought “what things can I still do?” I was 16 years old, and I loved skiing, tennis and lacrosse. It seemed like my favorite things would be unavailable to me. It was tough for those first few days.

Getting back to skiing was so good. My doctors were worried that if I fell skiing, I could re-break my pelvis, so they banned me from skiing until the spring. In February, I had an appointment with one of my surgeons, and asked him if I could ski. He gave in and said okay, and that day I skipped the last part of school and went skiing at Alpental, my home mountain. On the first ride up the chair, I was nervous that I would fall getting off the chair. To my surprise, it went okay, no falling, and I made my way slowly down the run with no big problems. On that first afternoon, I was back to skiing advanced terrain, but I was hungry for more. Later that season I made it back to skiing powder and even a little slackcountry.

After a few seasons of skiing on one leg, skiing to me is a way to experience freedom, physically. I have a prosthetic leg, but I’m unable to really run around. When I ski I don’t use it. I love not feeling like I’m hindered in any way. Skiing is a way that I can feel the rush of going fast. I love to ski in trees and figure out fun lines. It makes me happy to ski creatively. Skiing on one leg is pretty much the same as two. The mechanics are the same. I love that I can still ski hard. Skiing is one of those things which I will try to continue do until the day I die. I don’t know how long my leg will last. My body might give out a little earlier than other people, but until it does, I’ll be skiing.

As I write this, I haven’t skied for more than a year, simply because I am taking this two year break. Do I miss skiing? Oh yeah. However, I am happy right now, and I think it’s remarkable when we leave the things we love most, it’s possible to still find happiness. I am so grateful that I can still ski. I think some people just kill themselves thinking about a bunch of “what if” questions. Don’t focus on the “what if” things of the past, and focus on the present, certainly with the future in mind. I am thoroughly convinced that if we choose to be happy, we can be happy.

Chandler, My self and friends, skiing at Alta

In life sometimes we go through some difficult things, but through them we grow beautiful, strong wings so we can rise above them. As Elizabeth Ross wrote…
The most beautiful people we have known are those who have
known defeat,
known suffering,
known struggle,
known loss,
and have found their way out of the depths.
These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern…
Beautiful people do not just happen.

My first interview will be with my friend Chandler Balkman. Stay tuned to hear his story about surviving a boating accident that left him with one leg.

Thursday night I headed up to Bellingham with Rime Knits Owner, Ross Reid. We woke up at 5 am Friday morning to beat the rush of cars to Mt. Baker’s opening day. 4 ft of fresh snow awaited us as we pulled into the dark empty lot. It was an incredible day of some of the deepest snow I’ve ever skied with some wild crazy FUN ASS people including Surface team riders Eliel Hindert, brothers Mattias and Micah Evangelista.  Our shred posse also included our guide for the day, Mr. Grant Gunderson. DubSatch boys Sam Cohen and Taylor Lymam also scrambled to get the goods all the way from utah! After a full day of neck deep pow turns, countless high fives, and continuous choking and laughing we met up at Bellingham’s Casa Que Pasa for well deserved burritos! From there I stuffed into a little car between beer, wine, wet ski gear, and stinky boots with friends of friends across the boarder to Vancover. From there we dropped off some people, picked up a truck and some other people and rallied up to Whistler!! With pretty skys, new friends, and fresh snow we shreded the rest of Whistlers opening weekend till our quads were on fire. Sunday evening I jumped into another friend of a friend… of a friend’s car where we made our way back across the boarder and to my car parked at Ross’s then finally back to my house.  THEN, some how woke up this morning for my dentist appointment, then to my physical appointment and THEN I’m waking up early tomorrow morning to drive to Utah where I’ll be posting up again this winter. woooooo

Vanessa Aadland has been vagabonding her way around New Zealand this year. Embracing being a broke ski bum to the fullest extent of the law. This week she placed 4th overall at The North Face Freeski Open in Wanaka, NZ. Wanted to congratulate her for crushing it and thank her for being an inspiration to us all.

THANKS SURFACE!!!! Honored to be in the FAMILY

www.surfaceskis.com

My head was still buzzing from the night before, my last night in New Zealand. Our car made its’ way though the bright green valley floor dotted with hundreds of sheep and sharp mountains jutting through the hills. I was on my way to catch my flight but decided to sneak a bungee jump in for kicks. I just couldn’t leave NZ without doing the classic tourist move. I sent all my NZ friends final goodbye texts, thanking them for loving me like a sister. It’s so strange to think I’ll probably never see most of them ever again. Here is a summary of my incredible trip. Incredibly amazing, incredibly difficult, incredibly beautiful… but yes, it was defiantly incredible.

Arriving in New Zealand (as I do) with next to no plans and a contact or two shoved in a pocket, I eventually settled into the stunning town of Wanaka. I moved into a little house, right on the edge of town, with 4 random girls from all over the world. We all became best friends instantly and with time became like sisters, sisters of “The Doll House.” Even in tight quarters and scary financial times, to this day, I love each of them. I shared a loft with 2 of the girls, lived off noodles and toast, used a $10 filing cabinet as a dresser, and slept in my puffy down coat, a beanie and sleeping bag to stay warm. Nothing to worry, us crazy dolls made the very best of it!

With a very late start to the season, due to an extreme lack of snow, a job was hard to come by. By the end of the season I some how managed to get fired from two, but finally landed a great job. I can say with confidence I went from the worst job of my life, to the best one. For most my trip I reckoned I’d never be able to afford a flight out of the country. At times I had over drew my bank accounts, had to borrow money and had past hospital bills digging my hole deeper then I knew was possible.

A 6 ft storm kicked off the season and Treble Cone was going off! Opening day was an epic pow day with the highest amp level I’ve ever experienced. Early in the season I did a fun competition called the Triple Comp, where I won $500 to a local ski shop!

Thanks to some wonderful souls I was able to raise the money to compete in The World Heli Challenge. I placed 2nd on free style day and toped the Big Mountain day off with one of the scariest crashes of my ski career, in the midst of it all loosing a ski to never be found. The search for my ski quickly came to an end when 2 time champion of the event, Mr. Ted Davenport, shattered both legs. (send your love his way!)

I also spent some time volunteering with a program ran through Snowdrifta, teaching pre-schoolers how to ski. It was refreshing being around such joyful, free spirits.

In September I was telling my flat mates how I was confident in my decision NOT to compete in the North Face Free Ski Open. There I was, a couple days later, competing in the event. I ended up only .23 points away from the podium but was happy as a clam about placing 4th.

I spent my last day shredding in the sunshine at Snow Park with my favorite people and partied my face off till all hours of the night. Along with a gnarly hangover on my 2 day mission home, came a stone cold $300 excess baggage fee. If I wanted to catch my flight I had a window of 10 minutes. After a flurry of frantic shuffling and tears, I had to throw away 2 pairs of poles, all my outerwear, jeans, some thermals, sweat shirts and t shirts. (luckily I had already lost the pair of skis I brought so I didn’t have to toss those into the rubbish as well)

The whirlwind of events finally settled as my plane touched down in SLC. While it’s all over in a blink of an eye, I still can’t digest everything that happened in the 4 months I lived in that beautiful, little town. It was such a crazy ride packed full of adventure, surprises, beautifully genuine people, lots of tears and even more laughs. With the bad came the good, and with the terrible came the wonderful and as always I’m thankful for every second of it!

The Triple Comp went down at Treble Cone yesterday, with sunny blue skies, very entertaining skiing and some crazy people. The Triple Comp is a super fun, pretty low key comp that consists of 3 categories; Bank Slalom, Free ride Expression Session, and of course, Chinese Down hill. The Bank slalom was set up in a tight gully where it was hard to keep your speed. It was my first time racing in gates besides the Alta town series which my team and I did switch. The Expression Session was my favorite where there were plenty of rocks, wind lips and drops to play on. I threw a 180, a spread eagle and of course added some gnar points to my line by mooning the judges. Last but not least was the Chinese down hill. They lined up all the skiers at the top of “powder bowl” and had us take off one ski and place it 15ft in front of us. With a sudden “GO!” all 14 of us scrambled to our ski and raced down a sketchy, steep slope. Some how no one died. There was an after party at Mint Bar where I was awarded 1st place (I was the best, and only lady skier) I won a helmet, beanie, heaps of stickers, pow gloves and $500 to Base (a ski shop in Wanaka) NO BIG DEAL!

Big-mountain ripper and Surface Skis athlete, Vanessa Aadland, of Alta, UT, decided to hike up and descend Utah’s Superior earlier this month in nothing but what God gave her: her skin (and a beacon and pack, of course, for backcountry safety). This excursion was purely for fun and adventure, as well as a tribute to her freeskiing heroes.

Naturally, she posted the photo of her standing at the summit (as seen here) on Facebook and immediately received a torrent of comments about her body. It’s a difficult line to walk, she said; she wanted to encourage women to “go for it” and “keep up with the guys,” but she also sees the potential hypocrisy (i.e. women showing some skin to get ahead). Ultimately though, she accomplished a difficult (and chilly) goal at the top of Superior. Plus, she’s simply following in her hero’s footsteps: let us not forget that Shane McConkey was the original naked skier. And if anything, Vanessa closed the gap in the game of G.N.A.R. points with Dex Mills naked double back flip.

FS: Your most recent claim to ski industry fame was hiking up and skiing Superior (across valley from Snowbird Ski Resort) naked. Give us the dirt: How did that become a reality? Is this something you wanted to do for awhile? Who took the picture? What did it feel like to accomplish what some are saying is one of the most significant G.N.A.R. points feat of recent?

VA: Well first of all, I’m really happy I got the chance to ski Superior naked! I thought it was one of the most exhilarating, freeing things I’ve ever done. I’ve wanting to do it for a while and one random evening I convinced my twin brother Tony to go with me early the next day. When I was on the ridge and the wind was howling I didn’t really want to do it anymore but in honor of my friends and heros who have passed I bucked up and went for it. Two heroes in particular were Shane McConkey who lived and loved life to the max and Ryan Hawks who had a contagious passion for life. I’m so in love with the way they made life a good time, I only hope I can do as many fun and crazy things before I die! I definitely don’t think I’m nearly as “rad” or “gnar” as them and that’s why they are my heroes.

FS: The picture of you at the top of Superior—butt naked— received a lot of hits on Facebook, some comments supportive and some critical. Were you surprised by people’s reactions?

VA: I didn’t think too much about the consequences of putting the photo up on Facebook, I just did it and assumed people would get a laugh. I was shocked at how quickly the photo spread across the Internet (and the ski industry). Unofficial Networks, Teton Gravity Research, New Schoolers, She Jumps, The Ski Diva, Mountain Riders Alliance and Jackson Hole all posted about me, Red bull tweeted about it, and Scott Gaffney (co-creator of G.N.A.R. “Gaffney’s Numerical Assessment of Radness”) himself contacted me to give me props. That day Unofficial’s site got 7,000 views, a record for them by far and over 1,000 people shared the photo on their Facebook. I’ve seriously been doing non-stop interviews for the last few weeks.

But it’s true, once the photo hit the brutal forums of the ski industry, not everyone was as impressed. After reading forum after forum the direction of the comments had nothing to do with why I skied naked. When “just having some fun” turned into a debate about whether my figure was worthy of some Internet ski bro to “hit it” was frustrating to say the least. I don’t care much about that especially since there was waaaay more positive comments than negative. A ton of people wrote to me giving me props and saying “I don’t know you, but you’re my hero!” Another girl said “If that girl doesn’t have a nice ass, the whole social media/ski scene better hope to God that I never decide to ski something naked and post the pictures on the Internet!”

FS: You’re currently in New Zealand, what’s the scene like over there? What are your plans for their winter?

VA: I’ve been living in a small mountain town called Wanaka and it’s awesome! I had never been to NZ before and had heard only good things, so I decided to give it a go. So far, everyone is really cool and it’s been one big party while we wait for the snow. I’m living in town with four of the raddest girls from all over the world in a cute home we call “the doll house.” Lake Wanaka is so beautiful, when I’m running along the trails I feel like I’m in a movie. I just got a job at a kabob shop right in town on the lakefront. While here, I hope to ski in some big mountain comps, like the World Heli Challenge in August, one I’ve wanted to do for a few years now.

I would like to compete in the Subaru FWT stops in South America, but you can’t do it all. I’ve been going to SA the last few summers so I thought it would be cool to switch it up a bit.

FS: A little known fact about you: you’ve dropped (the infamous) Fat Bastard cliff at Jackson Hole. What was that experience like?

VA: Yea, I hit fat bastard three years ago. Fat-ypus, my first sponsor, payed for a team trip to Jackson. It was the last day of the trip and we hadn’t got anything done. I was pretty hungover, my binding was broken—so my boot was knocking around—and the snow wasn’t blower by any means. All the sudden the light kinda popped, and it was on. I had never heard of this famous cliff but, yeah, when I saw it I was pretty nervous. I hiked above it to check it out and next thing I knew I was counting down for take off. It’s still the biggest cliff I’ve ever hit. I would like to hit it again and go for the stomp.

FS: What do you say to ladies in the ski industry? What does it take? Any advice, or tips?

I’m glad you asked me this! Ladies, don’t let the critics in the industry get you down. People are going to hate, judge, and critique you no matter what, so stay true to your self and just have fun! While others spend their time hating on silly forums, go out and give it all you got. Don’t be afraid to fall, and don’t get embarrassed when you do. If you surround your self with people who support and love you, the importance of impressing everyone else dissipates.

Also, stay positive and determined. So many people have told me I’m so lucky, but I’ve seriously worked my ass off with sometimes up to three jobs, had injury after injury, done terrible in competitions but never gave up. I’ve slept on an endless amount of couches, sold everything and lost jobs, friends and heroes, but I NEVER stopped loving skiing. It’s not all cupcakes and smiles, but if you want it bad enough you’ll make it happen… and when you finally do, it feels so good. If I am lucky, then I’m lucky that the people in my life have taught me (and encouraged me) to do what I love, so in that sense I’m the most blessed girl ever!

And one last thing, DREAM BIG! Sounds cheesy, but before I had any recognition, I would constantly day dream about how awesome it would be to have sponsors from head to toe and have a poster of me skiing, then it happened.

Check out this link to help me out!

www.sendvanessatowhc.blogspot.com

to learn more about the competition go to

www.worldhelichallenge.com

I have to say I was shocked by all the attention I got. Both my brother and I didn’t really think it was THAT big of a deal… and if you knew my family, it’s really not. I wanted to do it because I thought it would be a fun rush and hoped that my lost loved ones would be watching and laughing. SO to the lovers, the haters, the people who know me and the people who don’t, I didn’t ski Superior naked so people could see how sexy or un-sexy my backside is, I just wanted to have a little fun… and trust me, I did.

Here’s how It went down….

My twin brother, Tony and I set our alarms for 4am on June first. Tony had to be downtown to work at 9 so we didn’t want to cut it too close. I wasn’t too worried about my BN until we reached the ridge where 40 mph winds were whipping! It was an icy, sketchy climb up and by the time we got to little superior we were running out of time. We had to drop there. It was really tricky getting my clothes off on a icy, windy knife edge ridge, but eventually I took my pants and lastly my coat off.

Being naked on a mountain was the weirdest, craziest feeling ever! I was yelling and laughing non stop, and I’d scream every time a strong gust would drill icicles onto my bare skin. About half way down I called my mom for the “pick up.” As we got further down it was much warmer and the snow got really creamy so I started letting go and skiing  really fast! I was hollering and laughing and jumping off rolls in the snow. For the last part I had my arms in the air and waved to my mom who’s jaw was dropped. We skied up to her laughing and she said, “OH MY GOD! VANESSA!!!! YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL!! Hahaha!!!!

When I got home I uploaded a photo on face book and passed out for a few hours. When I woke up I already had tons of “likes” and comments! Instead of packing for New Zealand I spent the day with my family poring over comments and forums about me. By the end of the day 7,300 people viewed the photos on Unofficial’s website, 700 people posted the picture on their face book, 1,000 people visited my website, 30 people tweeted about me, including Red Bull! BUT, the best event of the day was when one of my all time favorite hero’s, Scott Gaffney himself (Shane McConkey’s best friend) sent me a message saying, “Shane is raising a beer to you today. Well played.”