Shredding Smuggler's Notch near Stowe in Powder Magazine. Photo taken by Dana Allen

I remember as a kid, going to Warren Miller films or reading ski magazines and thinking to myself that I would never be able to lead the lifestyle of the ski bum, living in Vermont. All photos and videos were of men, usually shot in Jackson Hole or somewhere else far away, and it was hard for me to relate to that image of skiing.  I went through the race program at the Mount Mansfield Winter Academy here in the green mountain state, and kind of forgot about my dream of “extreme skiing,” or freeskiing as we call it now. It was not until after college, when I moved out to Crested Butte, Colorado that I started to consider signing up for a competition. I dedicated my time for the next few seasons to training hard and working on my progression in the sport, and I was happily encouraged by decent standings in the events. At the end of the day, however, I still felt like I was far away from what I had imagined being a ski bum would be. There was a lot of work and not enough play.