Ladies we Love: Jessica Baker

April 3rd, 2014 • BY Erinn Morgan

[This Ladies we Love profile is the second installment in our new monthly series featuring the highly inspiring roster of female athlete ambassadors from Outdoor Research. They are skiers, climbers, mountaineers, and more—all breaking down barriers and pushing the edge.]

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Jessica Baker has had a love affair with skiing since she was five years old. Since then, she has chased snow as a ski racer, professional freeride skier, instructor, and mountain guide—today, she is the only female heli-ski guide for Alaska Rendezvous Heli-Ski Guides. She is also the founder of Ski Divas Women’s Ski Camps, which offers female-focused skills camps for intermediate and advanced skiers in locales such as La Grave, France and Jackson Hole. Here, we check in with the skiing phenom (and new mom) on her life on and off the slopes.

WomensMovement: How did skiing become such a large part of your life?

Jessica Baker: My grandparents were skiers, and my parents were skiers. And, when my parents decided to raise a family in the Selkirk mountains of Northern Idaho, well, I suppose that really sealed the deal.

I started skiing when I was five years old. And, at the age of nine, I started ski racing for Schweitzer Alpine Racing School (SARS). I continued a solid racing career through college; including participating in several Junior Olympics, Nationals, Nor-Ams,  and NCAA Division 1 ski racing. While working on my thesis in college I took a break to visit Jackson, Wyoiming. As soon as I drove into the Teton Valley, I knew instantly that I wanted to be there and continue my ski career in some way, shape, or form. Six months later I arrived in Jackson with a Bachelor of Science, and a job secured as a ski coach and ski instructor.

I improved my skiing as I skied some of the Teton’s bigger ski lines, and was prompted by my peers to enter into the world of “extreme skiing”—big mountain freeskiing and freeride competitions. I entered my first freeride competition on the North American Tour at Kirkwood in California in 2000 and won. And, then I entered my second competition and won. So, things were going well in the skiing world and I just kept rolling with it; it felt natural. I ended up competing on the World Tour Freeskiing Circuit for eight years winning the North American Tour Women’s Champion Title, and several of the World Tour events. I have since retired from the Freeride tour but I have pushed forward into the world of ski mountaineering, guiding, and alpinism.

Skiing is truly at the heart of my entire being. Along with their undying love and support, skiing was the greatest gift my parents gave me. I am so thankful that it has become such a huge part of my life.

WM: Best ski day this season?

Jessica: We had a lot of incredible powder days in Jackson Hole this season but perhaps the best day for me was when I strapped my six-month-old baby girl to me and skied a run down our local town hill, Snow King. It was her first run out of the womb. She lit up with excitement—I’m pretty sure she has skier in her blood, too.

WM: Scariest skiing experience?

Jessica: A few years ago while heli-ski guiding in Alaska’s Chugach, I was opening up this run called Ice Cube and I saw it had a layer of surface hoar buried about 10cm below the surface. I thought I could easily mitigate such a shallow, but potentially dangerous layer with a few ski cuts, and then post up as my clients made their way through the crux of the run.

So I mitigated the slope via my ski cuts and then had my clients ski through my ski cuts. As my final client came down he cut out beyond my ski cuts to a different part of the run and triggered a pocket of snow I was trying to avoid. Sure enough, the slope broke out and gathered momentum and volume, entraining the surface of the entire run.

Meanwhile, I’m a thousand feet below this, posted up halfway down the run, and I see a huge wall of snow blasting toward me. There was no escape, I dug into the snow with my poles and set the edges of my skis in the best I could. The snow enveloped me and pushed on me, but it did not move me from my post—I was able to hunker down but it took all my strength to fight getting swept away by the avalanche. Once the snow passed by I looked up, saw that my client was also okay, and then counted my blessings as I realized it could have gone much worse

Some valuable lessons were learned from the event—don’t ignore signs of obvious instability, even when you think it’s manageable (i.e. surficial) because it may have higher consequences than you can foresee. In the Chugach there is never a true “island of safety” midslope. The only truly safe place is at the bottom away from the alpha angle. Always be aware of secondary exposure in the event of an unexpected avalanche or fall.

WM: How was Ski Divas born?

Jessica: In 2004 I went to La Grave, France to ski with Doug and Emily Coombs. While there it became apparent that very few women skied the area. That hit home for me and I wanted to be a conduit to open this terrain to other women who also had the desire. So, I went to Doug and Emily and presented the idea of running a women’s camp during one of their La Grave Steep Skiing Camps. They both loved the idea and I started working on it.

I joined Doug and Emily for the next two years in La Grave, helping with their camps, learning the terrain, and building momentum for a women’s camp. Then, in the Spring of 2006, Doug Coombs passed away while skiing in La Grave. This was very hard for me as I had just been skiing with him three weeks previous to his passing. I lost one of my best ski partners and mentors. Determined to keep the spirit and inspiration that I had gained from Doug, I wanted to continue forward with the women’s camp in La Grave.

That summer I sat down with Emily Coombs, and she gave me the blessing to go ahead branch off with my own women’s camp. So I came up with the name Ski Divas, and put together a women’s camp in La Grave for the following year. It was a success. Since then I have broadened my scope, offering not only advanced ski mountaineering in La Grave, France, but also special clinics in Jackson Hole for the intermediate to advanced skier, as well as backcountry seminars in the Tetons, and a women’s only heli-ski week in Alaska.

WM: How can women benefit from a gender-specific learning environment?

Jessica: In my experience, I’ve found that women are more comfortable in a learning environment where there is little to no pressure, and a lot of support. Women also tend to push themselves more when other women are present, rather than recoiling in the face of a challenge when a male counterpart is around. It’s also a great way to meet other women with similar passions, and provides a venue for new friendships and comaraderie.  It’s a win win situation. 

WM: How does it feel to be the solo female heli-ski guide for Alaska Rendezvous Guides?

Jessica: There’s no doubt that heli-ski guiding is dominated my men. It has been a long and difficult road, but I have established my place in the heli-ski industry, and have proven to my male peers at Alaska Rendezvous that I can handle any task and any challenge to the same extent that they can.

I believe that women work harder to attain the same status and level as a man does in this line of work. I also believe the gender barriers will break down more and more as time goes on. It’s a tough environment full of risk and reward. Female or male, you have to be mentally and physically tough for the job. I always say, “It has the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows,” but, in the end, the job is deeply satisfying and a continual learning process requiring all of my skill sets and knowledge.

Please tell us a little about yourself:

• How is DJing a part of your life? I used to DJ regularly both at the local Jackson Hole Community Radio station (KHOL 89.1 FM) and at various night spots. Now I just DJ for an occasional special party or for a gathering of friends. My DJ name is “The Selectress.”  I do love music and dancing, and it will always be a passion of mine.

• Fav music genre(s)? I really like an eclectic mix and I am always searching for new sounds, but you will see the following in my music collection; reggae, funk, soul, hip-hop, jazz, afro-cuban, rock, alternative, ambient mid to down tempo, and bass infused electronica.

• 3 tunes you’re listening to right now? Artist: DJ Vadim/Song: Terrorist; Artist: Supervision/Song: Arcane;  Artist: Nostalgia 77/Song: Quiet Dawn

• Favorite food/dish you’ve been eating lately? My mostly raw pad thai dish that I recently concocted and  have been perfecting with each new preparation.

• Go-to energy snack for the mountain? I love raw almonds and raisins mixed together. 

• Biggest indulgence? A day off, with a midday nap.

 

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