{"id":11780,"date":"2021-09-15T08:49:59","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T14:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.powder7.com\/ski-blog\/?p=11780"},"modified":"2021-09-15T10:46:39","modified_gmt":"2021-09-15T16:46:39","slug":"veronica-paulsen-powder7-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.powder7.com\/ski-blog\/veronica-paulsen-powder7-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with a Badass: Veronica Paulsen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Say hello to our newest athlete. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I caught up with Veronica Paulsen during September 2021, she had just finished a second straight day of hucking huge airs into the pool at Park City’s Olympic Park. “It’s awesome,” she said. “I’m making progress and learning new tricks. Also, I’m worked.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We’re pumped to welcome Veronica Paulsen to the Powder7 skier team. | PHOTO: Amy Jimmerson<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yeah. Lugging skis and boots up sets of stairs over and over to practice skiing in Utah’s summer heat doesn’t appeal to everyone. But Paulsen isn’t everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A California native turned Jackson local, Paulsen’s ski career exploded when she became the first woman to land a backflip into Jackson Hole’s iconic Corbet’s Couloir. It was an air three years in the making that crowned her the 2020 female winner of the resort’s Kings and Queens of Corbet’s competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since, she has continued to push her skiing. Last winter, she filmed with Teton Gravity Research for their new film “Stoke the Fire,” which premieres this month. She will double down and film with them again this winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Needless to say, we’re stoked to welcome Paulsen to the Powder7 crew. Following water booters, we chatted about other pertinent topics\u2014like onesies, retro tricks, and what it’s like to be a pro woman freeride skier in 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where did you grow up skiing? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Squaw Valley [now Palisades Tahoe<\/a>]. I joined the freestyle team when I was 12, so a little late. My parents don’t really ski much, but they drove me up to to Tahoe a bunch anyway. My best friend\u2019s family also took us up all the time. She was on the race team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do your parents think now about your ski career?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

They are shocked! Most of this is so foreign to them. They\u2019re stoked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who comes to mind as someone who has had a major impact on your skiing? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The coaches we had at Squaw are unreal. When I joined the freestyle team, I was a 12-year-old Jerry who hadn\u2019t grown up skiing at all. They were so welcoming. Them being so welcoming and showing me the ropes had a huge impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Paulsen became the first woman to land a backflip into Corbet’s Couloir in Kings and Queens of Corbet’s in 2020. | PHOTO: Amy Jimmerson<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How and when did you get into big-mountain skiing?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I started with moguls and did that through college. I took time off school to ski on the NorAm tour<\/a>. It took over my life for a decade. After that, I realized I wasn\u2019t making it to the Olympics, so I retired from moguls. I was feeling burned out on the competition scene and wanted to go somewhere where I\u2019d remember why I fell in love with skiing. So I moved to Jackson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had never been there before and didn\u2019t know anyone, but I’d seen it in movies and said \u201cthat\u2019s the place for me!\u201d Dad was so confused. He drove with me and as I was driving him back to the airport, he asked if I was sure I wanted him to leave me alone in this completely new place. I said yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did competition mogul skiing translate to what you do these days?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bump skiing gave me the best base ever. If you can ski moguls, you can ski anything. It gave me the competition mindset, too. Even after I stepped away from it, it still kept me super focused every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you remember the first backflip you ever stomped? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was at summer freestyle camp at Whistler. Since I was older when I started, everyone else had already done backflips. That summer I was 15. The first two tries, I over rotated. And then I stomped the third. It was a mogul jump. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first backflip off a cliff was at Squaw. Squawlywood, right under the chairlift. I didn\u2019t stomp it at all, but you get the cheers from the lift, and that\u2019s awesome. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describe the feeling of skiing away from that backflip in Kings and Queens.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t just stomping a backflip. It was like three years of work had gone into this, so as soon as you land, you’re thinking about what it can do for your career and how proud you are and all that. It was a tough road. There were days I wondered if I should even be doing this. So it was all of that packed into one awesome moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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