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Kim Reichelm is Queen of the Mountain in Crested Butte

By Madelyn Miller

Kim Reichhelm, former world extreme skiing Triple Crown champion and founder/director of Women’s Ski Adventures, and Crested Butte’s Ski Ambassador started skiing when she was four years old.  Headquartered at Crested Butte, Reichhelm is dedicated to encouraging more women to become involved in snow sports, with an emphasis on skiing.

And I am just that kind of woman. I mean the kind that needs encouraging. My only attempt at skiing was in Switzerland at age 50. Talk about being a late bloomer.

Reichhelm has been leading Women’s Ski Adventures for the last 10 years and brought the thrill and camaraderie of skiing to hundreds of women, whether they be first-timers or experts wanting to hone their craft.  This season, for the first time, she will also direct a local series of women’s training clinics.  She is a pioneer in women’s extreme skiing. Reichhelm is the only skier—man or woman—to have won the U.S., South American and World Extreme Skiing championships all in the same year—the extreme skiing ‘Triple Crown’.

Reichhelm is still often referred to as “the girl who hit the tree”, a title she acquired while skiing on location for ski filmmaker Greg Stump in A License to Thrill in 1989.  On that fateful run, she fell and dislocated her knee.  The accident propelled her to start her own program teaching and empowering women to overcome their fears through the sport of skiing.  “It was the first time I was scared.  It made me respect fear,” she said.  Soon after, Women’s Ski Adventures was born.

Reichhelm will again host four Women's Ski Adventures exclusively in Crested Butte during the 1999 ski season: Jan. 21-26; Jan. 28-Feb. 2; Feb. 15-20, and Feb. 25-March 2.  All of her women-only clinics are four-day, fully-catered ski vacations. Each clinic includes daily instruction and video, most meals, a gift bag full of goodies from corporate sponsors, complimentary ski demos, wine and cheese parties, a fashion show put on by a team of Crested Butte Ski School instructors, a welcome and awards dinner, and huge doses of  fun and camaraderie.  All ability levels are accepted, from never-evers to novice extreme skiers.  Discounted lodging for clinic participants is available at both the Crested Butte Marriott and Sheraton Crested Butte Resort hotels.  Call 1-888-444-8151 for more information or for reservations.

Bringing Women’s Ski Adventures exclusively to Crested Butte proved to be a beneficial match for the resort.  "It's a perfect partnership because both Crested Butte and Kim Reichhelm are unique in the ski industry," said Edward Callaway, CBMR president.  "Kim has combined her prowess as an extreme skier with an unusual rapport with students--particularly women--to encourage them to go beyond their present boundaries and discover breakthroughs in their skiing.  While Crested Butte may be the epitome of challenging terrain, it is also a great place to discover the sport.”

"I'm excited to continue working with Crested Butte to encourage more women to experience the thrill of skiing in such an exhilarating place,” Reichhelm said.  “Crested Butte has become my year-round home, and a source of inspiration for my work.  I am passionate about getting more women out there skiing and having a good time.  For many women, it isn’t about skill, it’s about confidence.”

Resort guests are also welcome to share a day on the mountain with Reichhelm “one-on-one”, together in a group or with their ski club.  Reservations can be made by calling the Crested Butte Ski and Snowboard School at (888) 444-9236.
 

The 38-year-old Reichhelm grew up in Westport, CT, raced on the U.S. Ski Team as a teenager, skied for the University of Colorado for four years while earning her bachelor’s degree, and competed on the Women's Professional Ski Racing Tour.

Since capping her extreme skiing competitive career in the 1994-95 season winning the World, South American and U.S. Extreme Skiing Championships, Reichhelm’s excess energies have been directed toward television, as commentator and reporter for various snow sports events on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, Fox Sports Network and the Outdoor Life Channel.  She will be featured in two new ski film releases this fall, including Steve Winter’s Sick Sense and Christian Begin’s No Man’s Land, the latter an odyssey on women, passion, spirit and mountains.

KIM REICHHELM PERSONAL DATA:

Home Town:   Crested Butte, CO

Birth Place:   Westport, CT

Education: University of Colorado; BS, Recreation, 1983

Age:    38

Height/Weight:  5'10"/ 140 lbs.

Ski Boot:   Raichle, size 7 1/2 (women's)

Ski:    K2 Merlin 6, 198cm.

First Ski Memory: When I was 4-years-old, my parents dropped me off at the Little Cub Ski School at Stratton Mt., VT, and I was absolutely furious when I had to stay in and crayon all day while they were out skiing. Finally, at the end of the day, they picked me up and took me skiing.

Favorite Thing To Do When Not Skiing: Fish.

What I Love Most About CB: The community. . . Crested Butte is a relaxed, friendly place.  I love the fact that we’re at the end of the road and the speed limit is 15 m.p.h.  I love being able to ride my town bike to the market for food and never have to drive my car.  I’m proud to live in a place where people have worked hard to preserve the town and open space.

What I Like Best About Being Ski Ambassador: I didn’t have to win a gold medal to get the job.

Photos courtesy of Crested Butte Mountain Resort / Tom Stillo Photographer

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