Skiing the world with Keely Kelleher

Winter’s Coming: Bust Out the Spandex!

By Keely Kelleher, 11-18-09

	Racing in Cortina, Italy

Welcome to my Snow Blog! First off I’d like to give you a quick intro on my skiing background. I grew up in the Gallatin Canyon fifteen miles from the Big Sky Ski Resort. Being raised in Big Sky, outdoor sports became my way of life. There weren’t many places to get into trouble as a youngster in Big Sky, yet I managed to find ways on the mountain. I would bomb down runs in Big Sky like Ambush or Snake Pit with ski patrollers close on my tail yelling, “slow down!”

Big Sky was so small twenty years ago there wasn’t even a daycare for my parents to rid of me for a few hours. As a result Lone Peak became my babysitter. Instead of going to the mall, movies or prom with friends I went to the ski hill. I fell deeply in love with skiing, whether it be floating through powder, slicing through ice and corduroy or straight running steep pitches...it didn’t matter as long as I was skiing I was happy. I would throw fits if I had to leave Big Sky early. One Christmas when I was nine I cuddled all night with my brand new neon pink Atomic skis Santa had brought me. My obsession for skiing soon turned into ski racing. I wanted to go faster than anyone and being timed while skiing seemed like the perfect fit.

I started showing promise at a young age and my passion for racing grew. A decade later I found qualified for the U.S. Ski Team racing against childhood heroes like Picabo Street (by the way I named my pet rabbit after her as a kid). My passion and drive as a kid and my parents’ unbelievable support has paid off. I am currently a professional World Cup ski racer and Olympic hopeful living my dream job. I travel with fifteen girls and five coaches year round, training in New Zealand and Chile during the summer months and living and competing in Europe in the winter.

Now that I have fully introduced myself the rest will be easy. I am writing my blog for anyone who loves winter! I know there are a lot of you out there who feel like the first sign of wintry weather is like opening a present. Whether your racing down mountains in spandex suits at 70 mph like me, or first in the lift line on a powder day, we all have something in common: we love to ski. Regardless of skiing age, style, or level we all experience a rush of excitement, adrenaline and pure joy when we click into our bindings. I travel all over the world competing and living in some of the most desirable ski destinations and I want you to experience them with me. Throughout the winter I will not just be describing my life as a ski racer, but also the people I meet, food I eat, and places I experience in my travels. You can see me as your local Montana World Cup skier reporting ski conditions from around the world. Also check out Keely’s Top Five weekly at the end of every blog.

Keely’s Top Five:

Top five reasons to get excited for winter

1. Hot chocolate next to a warm fire.
2. Busting out your favorite winter jacket.
3. Your first run. No matter how good or bad the snow is, getting some cold wind in your face feels great.
4. For all you girls: checking out the hot guys at the ski/snowboard shops (guy in the white hat in Copper Mountain, CO call me).
5. Apres skiing with your friends after a powder day.

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