by Tina Basich
At the reception, all of the athletes in the book had stars on their name tags. I was so proud to be wearing a star. I wasn’t the token female athlete, but was part of a bigger picture of women in history. I went around to as many athletes as I could to have each of them sign her photo in my book. One girl in particular, Aimee Mullins, really opened my eyes to the challenges women in sports have been through. She was a long jumper and held the record for the 100-meter dash. She opened the book to a picture of her at the Paralympics. I hadn’t realized that she had prosthetic legs. It made me think about all of the different struggles that every athlete goes through to accomplish her goals. Every girl in that book, young and old, had all gone through her own pressures and down-times and had still found that inner strength to rise to the challenge.
One thing I realized is that there are all types of women in sports. Athletes have all different body sizes and shapes. For some sports you need strong arms and strong legs and for others you need balance and grace. It takes coordination in different forms. But the one thing in common across the board is the determination to be your best at something and finding that inner strength. Having the right mind-set and love for your sport gives each female athlete the ability to visualize and be strong enough to achieve her goals.
Being an athlete gave me confidence I never knew I had. That’s such an empowering feeling that I continue to hold on to. Sports helped me with my self-esteem throughout my entire life. As for the future of women in sports, I hope that female athletes won’t even have to think about being “pretty good for a girl.” In my lifetime I hope to see the identity of a female athlete become even stronger and affect everyone. Professional athletes are not the only athletes of the world. If you get up and go jogging every morning, you are a part of this. It’s that ambitious and adventurous spirit in all of us that keeps this revolution in motion.
Times have changed just during my years as a snowboarder. Even attitudes have changed. Shannon and I had to wear pink and take a 60-foot jump in Innsbruck to make our mark and show our feminine strength. But I think the best is yet to come. Now, for the first time, women surfers are getting their own signature brands of boards and clothing. Events like the All Girls Skate Jam have started and give girls a chance to compete on an amateur level in skateboarding. With the impact of movies like Blue Crush that feature women athletes, girls and women are taking to the ocean. Thanks to some of the pioneering women’s sports publications like W.i.G., Wahine, and Fresh and Tasty, who were showcasing women’s action sports before anyone even understood what was going on, it’s not unusual to have a woman surfer, skateboarder, or snowboarder on the cover of Sports Illustrated or ESPN or featured as feminine and athletic in FHM or Elle.Sports aren’t just a hobby for women anymore. They are also our way of life.
Snowboarding changed my life. Maybe what happened to me was part of a larger plan—to be there to represent, to show what it means to be a female athlete and push on like that woman at the Boston Marathon thirty years ago. Maybe it’ll bring about another revolution for women twenty years from now.
The Boarding for Breast Cancer booth at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado, with Tara Dakides, Lisa Hudson, Jill Stephens, and Justine Chiara.
A few years ago I moved from Utah back to the foothills of Tahoe and bought my own house near my parents. Now, no matter how much I travel for snowboarding, I still feel a comfort returning to northern California where it really feels like home. Sometimes I get scared because my friends are from all over the world and I think, What happens if I stop snowboarding? But I realize that snowboarding has become a permanent part of my life; I won’t ever be able to let it go. I’ll always be involved in the sport in some way because it’s in my heart. In twenty years from now, I’ll still be out there, the old lady on the hill, wearing the latest new outfit with my freestyle snowboard under my feet, looking for some powder turns, and loving the life that got me there.
GLOSSARY
Ally-oop A trick doing a 180-degree spin in an uphill direction in a halfpipe.
Backcountry Any mountain area that is outside the ski resort.
Backside This can be used to describe a backside air in a halfpipe or doing a backside spin off a jump. If you’re goofy, spinning counterclockwise, and if you’re regular, spinning clockwise.
Backside wall The wall in the halfpipe that you carve up with your heel-side edge riding forward. If you’re looking down at the halfpipe, your backside wall is on your right if you’re goofy foot and on your left if you’re regular foot.
Big-mountain riding To ride down big mountains with all types of terrain.
Bluebird A clear day without a single cloud in the sky.
Bulletproof Extremely hard snow and ice.
DIY Do It Yourself. A punk expression for making your own clothes, doing your own thing.
Dual Slalom Two racecourses with tight turns set up parallel to each other.
Fakie Riding backward.
Finger chute A narrow path on a big-mountain run that looks like long fingers or spines.
Flat landing To land on a flat slope off of a jump.
Freeriding To ride around the mountain on all types of terrain.
Frontside This can be used to describe a frontside air in the halfpipe or doing a frontside spin off a jump. If you’re goofy, spinning clockwise, and if you’re regular, spinning counterclockwise.
Frontside wall The wall in the halfpipe that you carve up with your toe-side edge riding forward. If you’re looking down at the halfpipe, your frontside wall is on your left if you’re goofy foot and on your right if you’re regular foot.
Giant Slalom Racecourse with big turns.
Goofy stance When your stance on your board is right foot forward.
Halfpipe A carved-out U-shaped gully in the snow, often man-made with Pipe Dragon snowcats, that you can snowboard on and do tricks in.
Indy air Trick in the air, grabbing your toe-side edge in between your feet with your back hand.
Invert To flip upside down or sideways in a spin or jump.
J-tear A flipping trick that’s too hard to explain.
Jam session When a group of friends rides together in the halfpipe or on a jump.
Layback slide Trick in the halfpipe that looks like a layback slash a surfer would do on a wave.
Method air Trick in the air grabbing your heel-side edge in between your feet with your front hand.
Moguls Those damn bumpy things that skiers make on the ski run.
900 Ask Tony Hawk.
Powder The fresh, deep, untracked snow.
Powder line A fresh (meaning no one has skied it) ski run with untracked powder.
Regular stance When your stance on your board is left foot forward.
Rocket air Trick in the air, grabbing the backside edge toward the tip of your snowboard.
Slob air Trick in the air grabbing your toe edge in front of your front foot with your back hand.
Slopestyle An event in competition where there is a series of jumps and rails on one run.
Snowpark A combination of jumps and wooden and metal rails set up at a ski resort for snowboarders and skiers to use as obstacles to slide on or jump over.
Stance The distance between your two bindings, or goofy stance or regular stance.
Superpipe Bigger than a halfpipe—at least 12 feet high from base of the pipe to top of the wall.
COMPETITION STANDINGS
1986 Soda Springs, 1st Competition Halfpipe: 3rd
1987 California Series, Donner Ski Ranch Halfpipe: 1st, Slalom: 1st, Overall: 1st
1987 Shasta, CA Halfpipe: 1st, Slalom: 1st
1987 World Championships Halfpipe: 6th
1988 California Series Overall: 1st
1988 U.S. Time Trials, Purgatory, CO Slalom: 4th
1988 World Championships Halfpipe: 6th
1989 U.S. Open, VT Halfpipe: 4th, Downhill: 7th
1990 USA Halfpipe Champion 1st
1990 World Cup Halfpipe: 2nd
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br /> 1990 Pro Tour, Squaw Valley, CA Halfpipe: 1st, Slalom: 1st
1990 OP Pro Copper Mountain, CO Halfpipe: 1st
1990 Vuarnet Vertical Air Show Halfpipe: 1st
1990 California Championships Halfpipe: 1st, Slalom: 1st
1990 U.S. Open, VT Halfpipe: 1st
1990 OP Canada, Lake Louise Moguls: 1st
1990 OP Pro June Mountain, CA Halfpipe: 1st
1990 OP Canada, Quebec Slalom: 2nd
1990 U.S. Open Overall: 2nd
1990 World Cup Colorado Halfpipe: 2nd
1990 OP Canada, Lake Louise Halfpipe: 2nd, Giant Slalom: 2nd
1990 Vuarnet Vertical Air Show Obstacle: 3rd
1990 OP Canada, Quebec Halfpipe: 3rd
1991 USA Halfpipe Champion 1st
1991 World Cup Overall Halfpipe: 2nd
1991 OP Pro June Mountain, CA Halfpipe: 1st, Slalom: 7th
1991 PSTA Mt. Bachelor, OR Halfpipe: 1st, Giant Slalom: 3rd, Overall: 1st
1991 World Cup Breckenridge Halfpipe: 2nd
1991 OP Pro Copper Mountain, CO Halfpipe: 2nd, Giant Slalom: 10th, Slalom: 9th
1991 U.S. Open Halfpipe: 2nd, Giant Slalom: 15th, Overall: 1st
1991 PSTA Eldora, CO Halfpipe: 2nd, Giant Slalom: 15th
1991 PSTA Arapahoe Basin, CO Halfpipe: 2nd, Giant Slalom: 7th
1991 World Cup Japan Halfpipe: 3rd
1991 PSTA Snow Summit, CA Giant Slalom: 3rd, Halfpipe: 4th, Overall: 1st
1991 Mt. Baker Banked Slalom 5th
1992 USA Halfpipe Champion 1st
1992 TWS Derby Obstacle: 1st
1992 PSTA Snow Summit, CA Halfpipe: 1st
1992 PSTA Squaw Valley, CA Halfpipe: 3rd
1992 OP Pro Copper Mountain, CO Halfpipe: 3rd
1992 PSTA Snowmass, CO Halfpipe: 3rd
1992 World Cup Snowmass, CO Halfpipe: 3rd
1992 World Cup Japan Halfpipe: 3rd
1992 PSTA Big Bear Mountain, CA Halfpipe: 3rd
1992 U.S. Open Halfpipe: 3rd
1992 PSTA June Mountain, CA Halfpipe: 3rd
1993 Westbeach Classic Obstacle: 1st
1993 OP Pro June Mountain, CA Halfpipe: 1st
1993 TWS Derby Big Air: 3rd
1993 World Cup Japan Halfpipe: 3rd
1994 King of the Hill, Valdez, AK Freeride: 2nd
1994 World Cup Europe Halfpipe: 7th
1994 Mt. Hood, OR Halfpipe: 4th
1994 Squaw Valley, CA Halfpipe: 4th
1994 World Cup Japan Halfpipe: 6th
1994 Rocky Mountain Series, Snowmass, CO Halfpipe: 3rd
1994 Mt. St. Anne Canada World Cup Halfpipe: 2nd
1994 U.S. Open Halfpipe: 2nd
1994 World Cup Colorado Halfpipe: 3rd
1994 World Cup Sweden Halfpipe: 2nd
1996 ESPN X Games, Snow Summit Big Air: 3rd, Slopestyle: 4th
1999 MTV Snowed In Big Air: 1st
1998 Airwalk Contest, CO Big Air: 1st
1998 ESPN X Games, Crested Butte, CO Big Air: 1st
1998 ESPN Freeride Contest Big Air: 1st
1998 ESPN Summer X Games Big Air: 2nd
2000 Sims World Championships Big Air: 2nd
RESULTS
SKI RESORTS
Donner Ski Ranch, Norden, California
Ticket price: $20
(530) 426-3635
Miles from Sacramento Airport: 90
Skiable acres: 435
This is where it all started for me. The first ski resort in my area to let us snowboarders on the lifts. Owner Norm Sayler was so nice and supportive. He just wanted us kids to have fun and enjoy his mountain. You get the family vibe here and it’s a great, inexpensive way to start snowboarding. Norm has kept the prices down on lift tickets and I think you won’t find another lift ticket in that price range anywhere. The mountain has a great snowboard park with really fun runs off the back side. I have so many memories at this one.
Squaw Valley USA, Olympic Valley, California
Ticket price: $58
(800) 403-0206
Miles from Reno Tahoe International Airport: 42
Skiable acres: 4,000
www.squaw.com
Squaw still has that lasting impression of being the biggest resort in Tahoe to many snowboarders. There’s every kind of terrain here, from big-mountain riding to snowboard parks and multiple halfpipes. It’s the true ski town experience with many activities other than snowboarding.
Snowbird Utah
Ticket price: $56
(800) 453-3000
Miles from Salt Lake City Airport: 29
Skiable acres: 2,500
www.snowbird.com
I love Snowbird because of the big-mountain feeling you get riding there. The top of the mountain is accessible by a 125-person tram. This is a great comfort to snow-boarders—nothing better than giving your feet a rest out of your bindings for the ride up. Dangling your board off the lift with one leg all day can torque your knee a bit. Utah is also known for its great powder. The light fluffy snow is unique to anywhere else on earth. It’s known to have storms that dump up to 5 and 6 feet of snow in a few days. Snowbird is the place to be the day after the storm. The mountain has great terrain features from chutes to cliffs for jumps. There is also a halfpipe for the freestylers of the group.
Wasatch Powder Birds, Utah
Price per day: $665–$770
(801) 742-2800
Skiable acres: 45,000
www.powderbird.com
It’s always a treat to go helicopter snowboarding in Utah. I always have an amazing day with the Wasatch Powder Bird Guides. The day starts out with a gourmet breakfast and lesson on safety in the backcountry. A complete day is seven runs, which is just enough to satisfy anyone’s powder addiction. It might seem effortless to ride the untracked powder in Utah, but here it’s enough to wear you out and really test those leg muscles. Extra runs are available if time permits and the sun isn’t going down.The terrain has everything from wide-open bowls to cliff-lines for jumping to natural terrain features like huge ridgelines that make a snow wave. To top off the day, Wasatch Powder Bird Guides serve up an excellent dinner and beverage selection.
Out of Bounds Adventures, Haines, Alaska
Price per day: $400 to $750
(800) HELL YEA
Average vertical feet per day: 20,000
www.alaskaheliskiing.com
Riding with Out of Bounds Adventures and their guides in Haines, Alaska, is the ultimate backcountry experience. I’ve had so many adventures here and some of the most scary moments. If you can time it right—weather and snow stability depending—this will be the best heli-snowboarding experience of your life! Make sure your skills are capable and you’re warmed up and ready to go. It takes training to be in shape enough to handle such long, hard days of riding huge runs. There are also runs for intermediate riders—it’s not all extreme like you see in the movies or on TV.Guides pay attention to your abilities from the beginning so that you won’t be in a situation where you cannot get down because it’s more than your skills can manage. There is no limit to heli-runs, so start clocking your vertical feet and the race is on!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To all my girls—Lisa Hudson, I owe my career to you, Gaylene Nagel, Kathleen Gasperini—we did it! Thank you for your patience, Angie Dominguez, Sherryl Lynn, Keri Jones, Shannon Dunn, Barrett Christy, Leslee Olson, Michele Taggart, Megan Pischki, Janna Meyen, Tara Dakides, Leah Butler, Tami Bradley, Erica Bartfield, Tiffany Aldrich, Laura Schwan, Kristen Berry, Christine Chung, Kayte Peck Guerrero, Moniqua Plante, Sarah Haynes, Melanie Morano, Shelbee Meed, April Todd, Catalin Kaiser, Emily Sullivan, Heather Mills, Natalie Murphy, Darryl Hannah, Justine Chiara, Lyndsey Roach, Jamie McCloud, Jen Hannet, Jerry Mahathy, Laurie Bula, Debbie Monroe, Kim Peterson, Pettit Guilwee, Lisa Klien, Trish Burns, Clair Jonson, Shantie, Kelly Wright, Victoria Jealouse, Karen Lewandowski, Abby Guyer, Circe Wallace, Morgan LaFonte, Stacy Tricky, Megan Griffith, Jessica Ballard, Marchella Churchhill, Mona, Kayo Ishibe, Dana, Kennedy,
Lovie, Shelly, Jessica Dalpiaz, Jean Higgins, Kelly-Jo Legaz, Lisa Vensigerra, Amy Howett, Tara Eberhardt, Betsy Shaw, Shelly Walsh.
To my family for all of their love and support—my parents, Michael, Skip and Joy Pisor, Tony and Pattie and Jackie Free, Chrissy and Oren and Brittney, Gramps, Grandma Mary, Grampa Bruggman, Grandma Dorothy, Grandpa Harry, Aunt Margie, Uncle Don and Aunt Eva, Uncle Dickie and Aunt Larrie, the Routts, Aunt Jude and Elaine, Sid and Dianne Turner, the Adams, Auntie Annie, Uncle Steve, Uncle Tom.
To my extended family and friends—the Poers, the Percys, the Todds, the McCrarys, the Kaisers, the Sullivans, Robin Dalley, Inga Krauss, Robin Primavera and Alee, Montie and Boys, the LaCosts, the Hornors, the Cottrells, Tuffer and Stacy Patrick, Gene Burns, Eric Long, Mikki and Ken.
To all of my Sac friends—the memories are forever—Bucky Helwick, Heather and Stuart Jansma, Blue and Sophia, Holland and Cindy Hollingsworth, Don and Danielle Bostic, Charlie Adams, Larry “Slo” Peterson, Randy Smith, Ricky Windsor, Scott Mugford, Troy Clower, Eric Silva, Brenden and Tristen, Nathan Carrico, Mark Hornor, Sheila and Jordie, Brian and Shelly, Punker Bill, Mitch Weathers, Steve-O, Kevin Costa, Sam Cunningham, Chris and Andy Olivera, Scott Lowmirer, Casey, Jon Brockway, Matt, Eden King, Kurt Harvill, Snaggle, Jerry Johnson, Ross Goodman.
To all of my friends who helped my career with photographs, filming, and >magazine coverage—thank you for your encouragement, your photos tell my story—Justin Hostynek, Trevor Graves, Alibaba, Eithan Fotier, Bill Gallen, Jon Shapiro, Richard Cheski, Scott Soens, Mark Gallup, Jeff Curtis, Nate Christensen, John Kelly, Whitey, Andy Wright, Scott Sullivan, Chris Carnel, Jon Foster, Kevin Zacher, Ruben Sanchez, Stan Evans, Eric Burger, Shem Roose, Jess Gibson, Ian Ruter, Chris Owens, Tamera Davis, Dave Simmers, Ben Meyren, Al, Chris Zam, Scott Mellini, Jimmy Lu, Mike McEntire, Snowboarder Magazine crew, Transworld Snowboarding magazine crew, Kanomi, Infograms, Pat Bridges, Doug Palladini, Scott Sullivan, Ross Stephy, Pattie Sagovie, Brice Knights.