By Mary Walsh

Where are you right now?

Laax, Switzerland. The European Open’s going on right now.

Oh, cool. So you went right from the Winter Dew Tour to another competition, that’s pretty crazy!

Yeah, it was pretty insane. We did the Winter Dew Tour, packed up and flew out two hours after the [Snowboard Slopestyle Final] was over. It was crazy. We made It [laughs].

So you didn’t even get a chance to celebrate your win in slopestyle on Saturday?

We didn’t even celebrate. Usually there are free drinks on international flights, but they were like ‘we quit doing that.’ We were like, ‘what?!’ It was good though, I was with my friend Chanelle [Sladics]and we were both really sore, so we just hung out and drank a lot of water.

That’s good. You won Slopestyle at the [Mount Snow stop of the] Winter Dew Tour. How was that?

It was good. I was really scared because the course was a little bit intense. I ended up falling on my first run. All the pressure was on and I just had to go for it. We really lucked out with weather, too.

Especially considering how gnarly the Prelim was on Thursday during the storm.

I know. I was freaking out and you couldn’t see anything. Even Andreas Wiig was having trouble, and we were like ‘oh my god.’ We were lucky because we had a few moments when it cleared out. They were talking about having us go after the guys and we said we just want to go, which was good, because it got really bad later. The weather’s always an issue. You just kind of have to deal with it. [During the Slopestyle Final] it was actually nice outside.

You filmed with Runway Films last season. How was that?

I like filming. It’s hard when you’re doing a bunch of contests , but if you get to do a few filming trips it makes the whole year worth it because you get so much exposure. I definitely like the outcome but getting there sucks. Going on the trip, getting up early, hiking in powder…but the end of the year makes it totally worth it. It’s definitely rad when you can go out with your friends and pick cool spots and film or go on rail trips.

Runway isn’t making a movie this year, are you going to be filming with anyone else?

Yeah Runway is not going on, but there’s a new girl project. We don’t have a name yet, but I’m working with that so it should be really cool. It’s pretty mellow, they’re trying to keep it under 10 girls.

I haven’t filmed at all this year, yet [laughs].

As a female rider, how important is it to do contests verses filming?

For girls, I definitely think it’s important to do contests. I think you have to do a little bit of everything. Filming and taking photos is super good for your sponsors. You want to get photos published and if you can film you want to do that, too. I think contests are most important, though, unless you’re like Victoria Jealouse and you can just film, but not every girl is [where Victoria is].

If you could just film like Victoria, would you want to stop doing contests?

Right now I kind of like contests. I get to travel to new places with all my girlfriends and it’s super fun. Filming is a lot of work, I like it, but it is not my favorite thing. With contests you just take a few runs and it’s pretty good.

Where do you go next?

I go from here to Colorado for a few days of riding Keystone and then X Games right after. It’s kind of back-to-back.

How do you keep yourself sane while traveling that much?

I don’t know, I get a lot of massages [laughs]. It‘s cool that you get to go with friends. If I was alone, it’d be much harder. I’m on planes with my friends, driving with them — if you were on your own, it’d be lonely and boring. It takes a toll on your body for sure: riding, then a 12 hour flight, then driving. I’ve been seeing a kinesiologist back home — he’s like a chiropractor. I’ve kind of been falling in love with it over the last year. He puts me back together after I’ve been traveling. I do a lot of physical work, too. It’s kind of whatever you can do, stretching, for sure, is number one. Mentally though, you take it one day at a time.

So with your travel schedule, when do you actually get go to home next?

Uhh, home, I don’t even know [laughs]. I go from X Games straight to Las Vegas for the SIA Snowsports trade show. Then I go straight to Tahoe, but not home, for the Grand Prix, then I go home for a few days, then I go back out for World Cup and a filming trip. I’m excited. Once I’m in the zone, it’s kind of easier to just stay on the road. Unless I go home for like two weeks or at least a week, it’s hard to go home for like three days, because you get used it for a minute and then you’re back at the airport. But it’s good to go home and see my family.

What do you do in summer?

Usually I stay home for a little bit, then I go to Mount Hood for a few days to do board tests, [take part in] the Billabong team week and ride with the campers. This summer I was going to hang out and be mellow but then I went to New Zealand, Canada and then Hood. Then I came home and it was like Sept 5th and I was like, ‘summer’s over’.

This is your first season since you graduated High School. That must make things much easier for you.

I graduated last year in June. It’s pretty much the best thing ever. Having to travel with my textbooks and everything was gnarly. I had the constant stress of making sure I got everything done and I was trying not to worry about it during contests. It was gnarly having so much homework on the plane and then going home to try and catch up on everything. So many friends were like, ‘get your GED,’ and I wanted to but, at the same time, I didn’t. I wanted to get it done. It’s the best thing ever that I did. I’ve been taking classes for fun, like French and guitar. Right now I feel like I can do whatever I want, pay attention to life, and not have to do things like history and math.

That’s awesome you’re playing guitar.

Yeah, I’m trying! I didn’t travel with it this time. I’m learning like one-string beats, nothing too crazy.

By Mary Walsh

What’s your favorite trick to do?

Switch backside three. It’s just kind of new to me and [the Winter Dew Tour] was kind of my first time doing them on bigger stuff. Pretty stoked on those, kind of one of one of my favorites right now.

What’s your feeling on where women’s riding is at right now?

I think it’s crazy how much it’s progressed in the last few years. I’ve been riding since I was 9 and now, the size of jumps we’re doing and the tricks girls are doing are rad. It’s progressing super fast.

Where would you like to see it go?

Bigger spins on jumps, more videos, 900s, 1080s. Women will be doing that at some point.