The United frequent flyer shares her most treasured travel memories and her dream seatmate
You recently became the winningest alpine skier of all time. How did it feel when you broke Ingemar Stenmark’s record?
I’ve never been able to really process big moments in my career. Of course, I know I have 88 victories, and I know that is the most of any alpine ski racer in history, but somehow the meaning of that hasn’t really hit. I just keep moving along, I guess!
This month, you’ll be heading to Vermont for the Stifel Killington Cup. What are you most looking forward to there?
One of my absolute favorite things at Killington is the crowd. The people who are passionate about skiing on the East Coast are truly die-hard fanatics. The crowd at Killington brings such an electric atmosphere—it’s just a pleasure to compete for them.
This is the second year for U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Heroic initiative, which is designed to create opportunities for women in the sport. Why is this important to you?
We are at a very critical time in ski racing, where we have the opportunity to make a clearer path for women to hold staff, coaching, and leadership roles, particularly at the World Cup level. I think a lot of women actually hold back from trying to move forward to higher levels of coaching because they think they may not be capable of the physical work. However, what you see from my team—with Karin Harjo as my head coach; my mom, Eileen Shiffrin, as one of my coaches; and my PT, Regan Dewhirst—is that they all are able to do an incredible amount of physical work because they place emphasis on training to be strong enough to do it.
Do you have a favorite place to ski?
Either Aspen or Palisades Tahoe in the U.S.; internationally, basically anywhere in the Dolomites, but particularly Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
What’s the best thing you’ve eaten on your travels?
One of the pastas or pizzas from Pizzeria Hans in Dobbiaco, Italy. It’s close to Cortina d’Ampezzo, and they make the absolute best food. I literally crave it quite often during the year!
What’s the most meaningful trip you’ve ever taken?
When I was younger, we would go to Maui every year as a family. Now, it has taken on a different meaning in my life: Maui was one of my dad’s favorite places on the planet, so after his passing it’s been very nostalgic to return. It’s one of the places where I feel the closest to him and the most healing from his death.
Which famous person—living or dead—would be your dream seatmate?
A comedian, like Jerry Seinfeld or Kevin Hart.
