Ingrid Backstrom Photo courtesy of North Face

Check out Ingrid Backstrom's new blog!

Why you should know her: First place at the Canadian Freeskiing Championships in Whistler, B.C., 2004

Favorite book: Anything by John Irving and Carl Hiaasen

Favorite place to travel: Pacific Northwest and New Zealand

Favorite TNF gear: Allure Jacket and Freedom Pant ("They’re super functional and they look hot!")

About Ingrid
Ingrid Backstrom grew up in Seattle, Washington, where she spent her winters skiing down the nearby mountains and her summers hiking back up them on backpacking trips with her parents and two younger brothers. After graduating from Whitman College, the call of the mountains drew her to Squaw Valley, California, to put in what she thought would be a yearlong stint as a ski bum. It only took a few freeskiing contests, however, for Ingrid to realize that she had found her niche, and that she’d be calling the mountains home for a long, long time. Ingrid’s star is on a phenomenal rise, as her string of first-place titles shows. In fact, in 2002 she was the only female on Powder magazine’s list of "11 Future Big Mountain Heroes." When she’s not skiing, Ingrid still stays outside as much a possible, running and biking to relax and keep fit. Ingrid is grateful for the opportunities that her sport brings her, getting to travel and ski with "amazing people around the world."

Career Highlights
* 1st, Canadian Freeskiing Championships, Whistler, B.C., 2004
* 1st, U.S. Freeskiing Nationals, Snowbird, Utah, 2003
* 1st, U.S. Extremes Freeskiing Contest, Crested Butte, CO, 2003
* Placed top 3 in 11 out of 12 freeskiing contests she’s ever entered

Films/Media Highlights
* Freedom Down the Ski Slopes, USA Today (Feb, 2005)
* Powder Magazine's 2005 Video Awards: "Best Female Performance" and "Breakthrough Performance" (first female skier to ever win this distinction) (2005)
* Matchstick Production’s Yearbook (2004)
* Warren Miller’s Impact (2004)
* Profiled in Freeze Contenders (2004) and Freeskier proFiles (Feb 2004)
* Only female included in Powder magazine’s "11 Future Big Mountain Heroes" (Nov. 2002)
* Article in Powder magazine, Dec 2004, Vol 33, "Danger Kitty"
* Upcoming article in Outside magazine, Dec 2004, "Rising Star - The Hot List"
* Upcoming article in Shape magazine, Dec 2004, "Snow Wonder"

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