5 Girls that Shred [Introducing a 5-Part Series]

It takes guts, grit, endurance, and a gleeful love of adrenaline to pursue extreme sports the way that the women in this “Girls that Shred” series do. “I love my sport, I love spending time up in the mountains, and I love the feeling of going fast and controlling every muscle in my body to carve around gates while throttling down mountain faces steeper than the stairs in the Empire State Building,” Lindsey Vonn, a Vail resident, says in her newly released book, Strong is the New Beautiful, “I also love my body—it’s what’s allowed me to do my sport and do it well”. What Vonn and the women in this article series understand is that confidence and strength are qualities that emanate from the inside — when you choose strength and when you choose to love what your body can do, you choose to embrace that which makes you truly beautiful.

This is a story that women in the outdoor world already know. You’ve gotta have some muscle to scale a mountain face and race at top speed down high-alpine singletrack. For these women, physical strength is inseparable from their inner drive, from their pursuit of what they love. What begins as a conversation about female athlete body image and body politics always ends with a love story about the outdoors and their chosen sports. The “Girls that Shred” have learned to love their bodies and to treat them well not because they strive to look a certain way but because when fine-tuned, their bodies allow them to excel at what they love.

Over the course of five weeks, OutThere Colorado’s “Girls that Shred” series will profile five women with roots in Colorado who have made a lifestyle out of outdoor adventure. From climbing to mountaineering, snowboarding to mountain biking, these five women are out there kicking butt on a daily basis. OutThere Colorado is so excited to showcase women who make strong beautiful everyday and who are beautiful in their strength.

Do you know any girls that shred? Tag them on our Instagram with #girlsthatshred.

Meet the Girls that Shred

Alexa Hohenberg

Professional snowboarder and cat ski guide, owner of StillStoked.com

“When I was eleven, I got to go on an all-boys ski trip and try snowboarding for an afternoon. I spent the day being dragged up the T-bar on my face, but I loved everything about it, especially how rebellious snowboarding was at the time. I still feel the same 22 years later. It’s my biggest love.”

Hilary Lempit

Climber, skier, outdoorswoman

“What song best embodies me and my lifestyle? Run the World (Girls) by Beyoncé.”

Kasha Rigby

The North Face Ski Team member, traveler, world citizen, activist

“One of my favorite expeditions was climbing and skiing the Five Holy Peaks on the border of Mongolia, China, Russia, and Kazakhstan. I felt the weight of the full expedition as I stood on the final fifth peak: it had been the journey of a lifetime, of commitment and teamwork, and strength and beauty.”

Sydney Duncan

Ski patroller, mountaineer, white water raft guide

“I fell in love with mountaineering in a classic “over my head” Mt. Rainier way. My Dad has been an avid mountaineer since I was a child, and finally I agreed to climb something a little more involved than the Colorado 14ers with him. It was challenging, but I ultimately summited successfully and safely. After that very humbling experience, I was hooked.”

Becky Gardner

Professional mountain biker, Kona Super Grassroots team member

“I think its less about the races I have won and more about the people I have met and the places I’ve gotten to ride my bike over the years. I love going to new places and new events—To me, those places and people are the highlights of my career.”

Follow OutThere Colorado’s “Girls that Shred” weekly series on Facebook to learn more about each of the athletes.

Do you know any girls that shred? Tag them on our Instagram with #girlsthatshred.