Wendy Fisher: How Grief, Grit & Free Skiing Shaped a Champion's Legacy

The Ski Moms welcome legendary skier Wendy Fisher, whose name is synonymous with both Olympic racing and big mountain freeskiing. Wendy started skiing at age 2 in Squaw Valley (now Palisades Tahoe), chasing her older brothers down the hill. After losing one of her brothers in a tragic accident, she poured her grief into skiing—eventually making the U.S. Ski Team and competing in the 1992 Winter Olympics.

Wendy opens up about the emotional toll of elite racing, how fear of failure held her back, and what finally pushed her to walk away at age 23. A soul-searching road trip led her to Crested Butte, where she entered her first big mountain contest and redefined the sport by skiing bold lines no woman had attempted before. She went on to become a two-time World Extreme Skiing Champion and star in iconic films by Warren Miller and Matchstick Productions.

Now based in Crested Butte, Wendy shares how she’s reinvented herself many times—becoming a mom of two, ski instructor, DJ, and event coordinator. She talks about teaching through Vail Resorts' “Ski with an Olympian” program and her ongoing love for skiing and community.

Resources:

• Website: WendyFisher.me
• Ski with Wendy: Available at Crested Butte and Epic Pass resorts
• DJ Services: DJ Red for events and weddings
• Après Ski: The Beckwith (formerly Elevation Spa), Crested Butte Mountain Resort base area

Notable Quotes:

"I felt so much guilt for losing the love of skiing, because by the end of my racing career, I just dreamed of when I was 7 and skiing at Squaw, having fun, hitting jumps, playing. Like, skiing used to be so fun. Where did it go?"

"When that crowd noticed where I was

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Transcript

Nicole: Welcome back to the Ski Moms podcast. It's season five and we're hitting the slopes. We're sharing real unfiltered stories of motherhood on the snow. From conquering the bunny hill with toddlers to squeezing in your own powder days, this season celebrates every type of ski mom.

Thanks for joining us. We've got a great season lined up and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Today, the ski moms are joined by someone whose name is legendary in the world of skiing, Wendy Fisher.

Wendy's journey began in California, where she first clicked into skis at just 2 years old.

And her love for the sport has never faded. She went to the Burke Mountain Academy, an elite ski racing school in Vermont. And from there she carved her path onto the US Ski Team.

Wendy competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics, became a two time World Extreme skiing champion,

and we're so excited to dive into her story, her experience as a ski mom,

and what she's learned from a lifetime on skis. Welcome, Wendy. Oh my God. And your boys are so cute.

I don't know how old they were in the movie that I watched, Supermom. When, what year was that?

Wendy: Supermom. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. How old were they? Maybe like 10 and 7 or.

Yeah, they were little. His son was still skiing around with his backpack with his dog on his back. Aw.

Nicole: But we do, we love to start from the beginning. I know in your intro we talked about that you clicked in at 2.

Do you remember those early days or is it just sort of like part of your core that you were always on skis?

Wendy: I was just always on skis. Yeah, yeah.

And I just remember having fun. I don't know, I feel like my memories more start at like 6 and 7 of really paying attention and, and sadly is because, you know, had a major death in my family at that time.

So my brother died skiing and I was there and skied up to him.

So honestly, that's my first real strong memory of skiing.

And then, you know,

then afterwards I think is where it trickles in of a lot more of just the skiing. But before I have a few of that, I think season,

it was just what I did. I, I, we had no choice. My parents just dropped us off.

My brother skied, so that's what Wendy does.

And so yeah, we just kind of followed that path and were you were.

Nicole: In Northern California when you started?

Wendy: Yeah, yeah. Skied at Squaw or Palisades is where we started skiing. And you know, and then I did Move. We did move to Tahoe. We grew up outside of Davis.

Moved to Tahoe when I was 4, and I actually grew up on the Nevada side, but always. But would ski in California and that Tahoe or at Squaw until I was like,

11.

And then we started skiing at Diamond Peak, and then that's when I went to Burke.

Sarah: And were you. Were your parents ski racers?

Wendy: No. Nope. My dad grew up in San Francisco. My mom, Southern California, but went to school in Berkeley. And they were weekend college, weekend warrior partiers.

And, you know, then my dad moved us to. Or my parents moved us to, you know,

outside of Davis, and then they became the weekend family. So they would take us up to Tahoe every weekend, shared a cabin with another family.

And my oldest brother who passed, he's the one who told my parents, you know, he was dyslexic and struggled in school, and he was a jock. Football, baseball, soccer. But he told my parents, he's like, the only thing I want to do is ski.

And the teachers told my parents that Mark seemed to improve in school in the wintertime.

And so I think the combination of those two things. And then my parents were sick of the commute back and forth, so then they moved to Sataho on the Nevada side.

And then we just.

We just remained skiers. I did try to quit one time. I was in middle school.

I was just. I never did any school sports,

and I think I kind of felt left out and didn't have a ton of friends, and so I wanted to do start doing basketball. So I told my parents, I'm going to quit, and basketball is during ski season, and it's like, I'm going to quit and I'm going to do basketball.

And my parents, like, sure, fine.

And then I remember when it came down to it, I just didn't have the strength to actually quit. So it's like, I don't know if I can. If I can leave skiing.

And. And so then, yeah, then I never questioned it ever again.

Just kept skiing.

Nicole: Well, I'm so sorry about your family loss. That is.

I mean, it's so impactful to a kid. And I'm guessing. So you were. Let me do a little birth order. So there were two boys and then you.

Wendy: Mm. So, yeah, six. Wait. My middle brother, he's three years older, and then my oldest brother was like seven years older.

Nicole: So I would imagine little Wendy is trying to keep up with these boys in general.

And I'm sure I. I know I've seen some articles somewhere that Said a lot of times the most successful athletes are the babies, because, number one, they're out chasing the older kids.

And they acquire skills so much earlier than the older kids as well.

But did you. Did, you know, did you sense that when you were growing up that you just wanted to be able to keep up with these big boys?

Wendy: Yeah, my parents said that, like, I, I, you know, they, like, at Squaw Valley. Sorry, Palisades, they had what was called the Gingerbread House, where it was like the daycare center, but you'd go out skiing, too.

And I'd be in the Gingerbread House. They dropped me off,

and I guess the older kids would come in from skiing and take off their boots, and I'd line up all their boots, and I would just be, like, hovering and want to go.

And. And so they're the ones who are like, wendy really wants to ski more.

And then they.

Then when I was added to the Squaw Valley ski team,

I was the younger one. But that coach would be like, wendy, you're coming with us with all the older kids. And he would used to tell them, he's like, no one passes Wendy.

She skis right behind me, and no one passes her.

I don't remember this, but this is what my parents told me. And the year of my brother's death, I do remember this.

And I think. Cause my parents talked a lot about it, so that kind of stuck in my brain more. But we were skiing the Palisades, and so I don't know if you know about Palisades.

You have to climb a ladder,

so you have to take off all your stuff. You have to hike up. Then you have to climb a ladder to get to the top of the Palisades from one way.

And one brother took my skis, One brother took my poles. You know, the whole team was with me. My parents were at the bottom.

And they remember just being like, what are we doing? Like, why are we letting. I think I was six or seven, I. And they put my stuff down. I clicked in.

I didn't even wait for everybody and started skiing down before everybody. Well, the other story that I thought was funny is, you know, back then we just. And here in Crested.

But same thing. We don't really watch our kids. They just go off you. You don't worry about kidnapping and weird stuff.

And it was raining, and they went to go get me at the Gingerbread House. And like, where's Wendy? And they're like, well, she's out skiing. And I'm the only one on this teeny lift that's doing laps on the.

On the front side. My parents come and they wait at the bottom, like, wendy, what are you doing? And I'm like, I'm skiing. And they're like, do you know it's raining?

And I'm like, it is.

I don't remember it, but so I guess it. I do believe having older brothers totally helped me.

I was into racing them,

and then,

you know, I did not know it at the time, but now that I'm 54,

my brother's death had a huge, huge effect on me. So I think I skied a lot for him. Cause he didn't get two. And so that was really hard.

Nicole: Yeah, my. My husband lost a sister when he was 10.

And I know a little bit from his healing process that you feel the weight of, you know, their dreams as well as your dreams. And, you know, while the parents don't implicitly say it, it does become part of, like,

just a load that you're. An invisible load that's on your. Your shoulders. I know for sure.

And I'm sure he would be amazed with everything that you've done in. In his honor. But it's. It's a lot of your honor too. Like, you. You really,

you know, took your passion and took it as far as you could.

And I do love the fact that you, you know, you also turned it into, like, when you stop getting the joy from racing.

At least I picked that up from the story that you really did a deep dive inside yourself to figure out, like, okay, if it's not racing, how do I make peace with my desire to be out on the mountains?

Wendy: Well, not. That was the heaviest time of my life because I was ski racing, and I started talking to my brother a ton like, come on, help me out here.

You know, this is doing this for you.

You know, I wasn't like, that deep, but I was just like, you know, if there really is a bug spirit, like, I'm freaking struggling here, and I'm trying to keep this going.

And. And I felt so much guilt for losing the love of skiing, because by the end of my racing career,

I just dreamed of when I was 7 and skiing at squab, having fun, hitting jumps, playing.

Like, I'm, like, skiing used to be so fun. Where did it go? And I'm so sad that I don't like it anymore. And.

And I mean, I was just.

Just emotional so much. It had such a hold on me that I was like, oh, my God. You know, I've been Spending my whole life doing the sport and now it's done and I'm 23 years old or whatever.

I was just like,

you know, this is my, this is my education, skiing. That's it. I was a horrible student.

And so when I did discover free skiing and you know, and I quit college, I was skiing for a college. And I told my dad I can't even get in a starting gate ever again.

I freaking hate this sport. Like, I have no energy.

And I'm like, I'm taking my summer vacation now. I'm going to hit the road. I just want to have one winter of just having fun again because it used to be an awesome sport.

So I did. I hit a road trip, ran into people, started having fun. Then I came to Crested Butte. That's where I got talked into doing the big mountain contest.

And I was like, I don't know what this is about. Like I had heard of it and knew nothing about it,

but then was skiing with a bunch of locals. And everyone's like, you should really do it. And I'm like, okay.

Everyone showed me this one line, the very. And turned out to be the first venue for the one. You know, it's a three day contest. You have two runs every day.

It's different nowadays.

So everyone's like, Wendy, this is where all the girls go. And they just showed me where all the girls went. And I practiced some lines and someone told me I didn't look pretty enough, that I looked too racer and too aggressive.

And I'm like, okay.

Anyway, so first run happened. My run was fine. All the girls went exactly where they said.

And then that's when I got to the bottom and I ran into Shane McConkey who he grew up at Squaw too. We were. I have a picture of us little together.

He went to Burke,

then he went to cu. I went to CU for summer school. So Shane and I followed a lot. And then I run into him at this contest and like Shane and hung out,

watched the men come down now in this gnarly, gnarly section with rocks and jagged stuff and horses, horrible terrain.

And I'm. And my first thing I noticed was like, wow, look where they're going. And oh my God, he's awful. Like he's a horrible skier.

Like, what's he doing? And you know, pulls it off. And I'm like, Shane, can I do that? Like, he's not very good.

And then, you know, back seat just while next guy goes down, I'm like, can I do that? He's like, yeah. So he just kept saying yes to every line that I was noticing.

So then went up for the second run.

I picked out a new line,

and all the girls went back to the same place. And then that's when I started skiing. Right towards the nitty gritty, ****** ****.

And everybody. I mean, back then at the Crestview contest, because that, you know, they started it all. Like it was the beginning of something. And hundreds of spectators with their kegs and their sound systems and their lounge chairs, and it was a gigantic party.

And when that crowd noticed where I was going,

just started screaming and roaring. I was just like, oh, my God. Like, this is crazy. And I paused before jumping this air. Because back then,

you know, they were strict on rules. But not like today. If you were to take a pause, like, you would totally get dog points. But I just took a pause, and I'm just like, this is so cool.

Jumped my air, made it. And I'm on 200 GS skis with Derby Flex with my GS vent race poles.

And then I ski down to the bottom. And everyone surrounded me. They're like, we've never seen a girl do that. And I was just like,

oh, my God. And that. You know. And Shane,

he's like, wendy, after the contest was over, he's like, you gotta keep doing this. I'm like, no, no, no, Shane. I'm on a road trip to never ski again.

I'm. I'm just gonna keep.

I'm done.

And then, you know, the high of that just stuck with me for a few days. And then I started dating,

Hanging out with this guy who then became my husband,

now ex husband. But anyways, hanging out with him.

And I woke up one day, I'm like, I'm out of here. I'm driving back to Tahoe. I'm gonna do the rest of the contest.

So I went back to Tahoe, won all those contests, flew to Alaska, won that contest,

went to the SIA show because everyone told me I had to do that to promote myself. Which was awful. Like, the most embarrassing thing I'd ever done. Cause I didn't know how to promote myself.

And I thought it was cheesy. I'm like, oh, my God. These are all racers. Like, racing is on this pedestal, and I'm doing this free skiing thing. Like,

how I just felt so little and embarrassed and.

But anyway,

got picked up by sponsors again and then never quit skiing. And.

And it actually just kind of. I feel like, saved a part of my life because I was so rock bottom that that whole transition, and I'm like. I actually felt more like me.

I'm like, oh, my God. This feels like so me. We're racing.

That was just such a tough environment.

Like, I wasn't mentally strong enough to be in that type of platform.

I was growing up. It's so much fun when you're little and skiing with friends and you do have that competitive, nasty stuff at points, but really, when. When I hit the free skiing thing and no coaches, no teammates, you travel with who you want,

just that toxic environment was gone.

So it was just so freeing. It totally did save my life because I was just in such a bad place,

and a lot of it was so about my brother. The whole entire time, conversations about my brother and trying to perform for my brother. It so only, like, eight years ago did I actually go through this healing process to finally get rid of this over this weight that I've carried for,

like, 40 something years.

Sarah: Well, we have definitely spoken to a number of people that loved skiing.

Ski racing kind of squashed that in them,

and then they find their love again for it. So I love that you were able to get out there. I just. I would love to see a video of this, of you on these GS skis.

No training. I love this. Like, I can picture it so well in my head and that you just get to the bottom and feel.

You must have just kind of felt that amazing high and that, like, love of it all over again.

Wendy: Yeah, it was perfect timing. It's. It's what I needed. And I think just the struggle that I had so much to then feel that. And, you know, and I used to talk to my brother all the time, like, send me a sign.

Like, I want to believe in ghosts. Like,

aren't you ever gonna pop up for me? And, I mean, I had just a gazillion conversations,

but when I did the world extremes, so I did Crested Butte, Kirkwood Squaw, flew up to Alaska,

and we had three runs, and I was. I was in first place,

and I'm at the top of my last run,

and I was super not a cocky, confident person, which just doesn't help in ski racing.

And I was at the top, and all of a sudden, I'm standing up there, I'm like, I'm gonna win this thing. Like, in my head, I was like,

where'd that come from? I don't ever think I'm gonna win. For me, who's always, like, reaching for some spiritual moment, I was like, oh, my God. I felt like that was my brother like, plugging something in that confidence that I've never had in my life.

And then I end up winning, and I've never felt anything since. But he's like,

come on, send me a sign. Those ghosts are stingy.

Nicole: Let me tell you.

Wendy: They. I know. I know when people talk about. I'm like, I don't believe in them. I'm like, come on. I've been begging to see.

Nicole: Well, I mean, there's also the belief that they've been telling you things all along. Like, you just haven't been listening. You know, that. That there were probably many ski races, and maybe it wasn't what you wanted to hear.

You know, when you were back on, like, the World cup days. You know, they. It may have been a message that was exactly against, like, what you were doing. And then do the movies start coming right away?

Like, you win the Extreme Skiing Championship, and then do people, like, do you get a call from Warren Miller Productions immediately, and they say,

okay, we want to have you in our next movie?

Wendy: No, that's a funny story.

Well, first, start with I.

You know, I was just one of those people that I was taught to write letters to my sponsor. So when I used to travel to Ski Racer, I would send postcards to all my sponsors.

Hey, I'm in Europe. Thanks so much for sponsoring me. I really appreciate it. And so I always, you know, wrote my dad. You know, my parents instilled it with me that, you know, you have to write thank you letters and stuff.

So I. I did that a lot.

Um,

and then I. That summer, after all my contests, I wrote Matchstick, I wrote tgr, and I wrote Warren Miller, like, hey, I would love to ski in your movies if I can.

And, you know, trying to be very professional.

And my response back from Warren Miller is, just because you're a ski racer doesn't mean you know how to ski in movies.

And so I was like, oh, okay.

Um,

anyway, then the next year, I'm in Europe. I did a contest there,

and I was getting ready to pack up, or I was packed up, ready to go to the airport with my boyfriend. And we just had a great trip, and I did a contest,

and then there's a knock at the door, and it was Steve and Murray from Matchstick Production. And they were like, hey, Wendy, do you want to stick around and go travel with us and ski, you know, film?

And I was like, oh, my God, yeah.

And anyway, I looked at my boyfriend. I'm like, I'm staying.

He flew home.

And then that's how that started. I started traveling around. My first film trip was in Chamonix with Chris Davort, Kent Kreitler, Dean Cummings and Stephen Murray.

And,

yeah, I was in heaven. I'm like, this is the best thing ever.

And then it just kept going. And then eventually, then Warren Miller did come in,

and that came in more. I don't think they really sought me out, but they came to film a Crested Butte, and I was the Crested Butte ambassador.

And they're like, we want you to film, Wendy. So they did two films here in Crested Butte, and then I did one,

um, in Europe.

Another movie. I think it was in Journey. I believe that was the title. So.

Sarah: So you were saying something. Well, that is funny what Warren Miller's response was about you're a ski racer. Doesn't mean you know how to ski to a movie.

Wendy: What.

Sarah: What does that mean? Like, what does it mean to ski in a movie? Like, I never really thought about that perspective from the skier. I just assume you're just doing what you feel like.

Wendy: I know.

You know, I think back then there was a style for skiing in ski movies. Like I said,

my first contest and stuff, I was being trained to, like,

chill out. You know, like, you're skiing too aggressive, Wendy. You look too,

you know, I. I don't know, too dynamic.

Where. So I don't know. I guess, you know, maybe you don't know how to ski down to a camera and look right. I don't know. It's. It's not that hard to learn.

I do have to say I. I was much better skiing for film than for photos.

I.

When I look back at all the stories that I did that were, like, magazine based.

I just. I don't think I knew how. I wasn't great at, like, smiling and really cheesing it up or hamming it up. I don't want to say cheesing, but, you know, I didn't know how to put on that.

That smile or like, I am having the best time. I mean, I was always, like, so focused,

like, do this turn or I had too much going on in my head to actually add into the p. That when I go by the camera guy, I had to throw on a smile.

And a photographer mentioned that. He's like, you don't smile enough. I'm like, I'm skiing. Do you say that to men? Do you tell men that they don't smile enough? Or is it just a thing that I need to smile more?

Like, I don't know. I'm. I'm just I'm just out skiing. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy it, but I'm happy for sure.

I just don't know how to add that smile. And while I'm making the turn, I guess I wasn't coordinated enough.

Nicole: So you. You made a profession out of this for a number of years, and then what. What made you decide to kind of put down roots more?

Wendy: Yeah, I mean, I was filming a lot, and I loved traveling. I mean, I'd come home across the butte, and I just be ready to go on the next trip. And so I really did love traveling.

I loved all the adventures I loved. I guess I want to say my teammates. I mean, I. There's a lot of trips I did with the same guys,

and it felt very comfortable. And especially when you get in those environments of heli skiing and you're skiing off piste and where there's avalanches and cliffs and all that stuff that can happen.

It's. And they also knew me. They know, like, what kind of skier I am when. When I mentally break down.

So it's really nice to kind of ski with the same people over and over because just kind of feel like you could read each other. You're on the same page.

So I. I definitely loved the group of people I skied with. I mean, most often, I was the only girl. And after being on the US Ski team with a bunch of girls I like, I really enjoyed being with a lot of guys and just different mental connection or camaraderie.

Camaraderie.

And so,

yeah, I mean, I really loved it. But I remember my last trip was in Cordova. The snow conditions were awful. We were there for a long time. Everybody was getting edgy.

We couldn't really. You know, you're spending a lot of money on this,

and so we're just not getting the greatest con conditions. And people are just. The energy was coming off. And I'm an energy person. Like, I just want to have fun.

I want us to all get along and let's go ski something cool.

So when the energy started kind of take a turn,

I was like, hmm, maybe. Maybe I'm kind of done with this. I don't know. I don't know how many more years I can do with people bickering and getting.

I don't know, just not everybody having as much joy as I was hoping they would.

And not that I planned on having kids.

It was never a thought in my mind.

And it was a time when a lot of other girls who I was kind of skiing with her at that age. And they started talking about kids and asking if I had thought about it.

I'm like, not really. I mean, we don't really talk about it.

But I did say, well, maybe it's time to do something new. Maybe it is time to have a child. I don't know. So I talked about it with my husband.

Like, well, I guess let's just,

like, not try, but try. Like, we don't really care and stop birth control, all that stuff.

And next thing I know, I was pregnant. I was like, oh, okay. I guess.

I guess this is what's happening next.

So it. And I have to say, it was very, very hard after I had my son. I was like, what the hell did I just do?

I'm like, oh, my God. You know, I'm. I.

I'm to be home more often now.

I love traveling. I'm missing out on all those easy ski adventures.

So it was another chapter in my life that was very hard because I did miss being on the road. I hadn't. I had been on the road since I was, like, 13, traveling for ski racing all over the world,

and then I came to a hard stop,

and I didn't realize how that was going to affect me emotionally and mentally to let go of so much.

And, you know, I'm the mom, so I definitely have to stick around more. I can't be the dad who's like, okay, I'll. I'll come back in a month, or good luck.

And so the best thing that happened to me, that really, really saved me was my parents when they said, well, when you have a kid, we'll come help. They're in Tahoe.

And so after I had my first son, they spent every winter for 17 winters in crested Butte. And they were my nannies or our nannies.

And so whenever there was a skiing opportunity to go travel,

they were like, we got it. We'll help,

you know, Woody with the kids. And they would let me go off, and that really was just amazing.

So they were really, really helpful for me to still have snippets of the ski life and to keep kind of doing that kind of stuff.

Sarah: I. I think we'll have to give them grandparent of the year for sure for doing that. That's pretty incredible, right? Like, that they did that.

Wendy: So tell us about.

Sarah: About the boys now, how old they are. And do you all get to go out skiing as a family at Crested Butte? Do they race? What. What's. What's it look like?

Wendy: Yeah. So my youngest just turned 18, and my oldest is 19.

And, you know, it's so funny. I was like, you know, both Woody and I were like, we want them to be skiers. We want to have a family that when we're 50, 60,

we can go around the world and ski with our kids.

So when it came down to, like, what kind of program are we going to put them in? And. And my.

And Woody, he ran the mountain sports team is what it's called the local ski club for skiers, snowboarders.

So he, you know, he's in the system of managing that whole group and.

But we're like, what. What should we put them in?

And even though I was so burnt out on racing and, I mean, I actually cut the umbilical cord from the racing world, when I left, I just,

you know, I never looked back. I was horrible at staying in touch with anyone. I mean, I. I'm back in touch with people now, but I was just so,

I don't know,

sadly, just really, really had a bad turn of events there. So anyway, when it came to, you know, trying to figure out what we're gonna do with the kids, I'm like, well, the one thing in my free skiing world that gave me so much confidence when I'm standing on the top of a run with the best guy skiers in the world,

like a Seth Morrison was they wouldn't ask me to be here if they didn't believe in me. And I have the best training in the world than anyone that I'm even traveling with.

Like, I've been, you know, dedicated and have had skied so much with the best in the world. Like, I.

That. That was my confidence. So for sure,

my ski racing held me through my whole free skiing career.

And so we were like, we're going to put our kids in the free skiing program because we want them to ski more, you know, properly. And not to say that kids who don't go in the racing program don't become amazing skier.

I mean, there's so many film,

you know, athletes who don't have the racing background, but we decided that we wanted them to get that foundation.

And so both boys ski raced and, you know,

so I helped coach and. And they. But we also let them be, you know, in ski school and all that stuff.

And the one thing, though, that I was really adamant about is that they do everything.

So we would free ski a ton.

I would let them hit jumps whenever they wanted when they were babies and could barely ski or even when they. Their legs just couldn't, you Know, sustain the energy to want to ski any more runs.

I would take them in the terrain park, and I'd always hold them, and I'd hit all the jumps, I'd hit all the boxes.

I encourage them to hit, you know, any rocks that they saw.

And so as they were growing up, I would send them to Woodward and to Wendell's, and I'm like, you know, they're going to want to learn backflips. I wish I, you know, did all that stuff.

We got them a trampoline.

So some parents were like, they didn't encourage their kids to free ski a lot, but we were just like, oh, no, we.

That's what we're going to do.

So my oldest, he became, you know, a pretty decent ski racer. He was really into it.

And just like me, you know, when you're in a small program in a small town, if you want to continue your racing career, you have to go away.

And it's nothing against the resort or the coaches or whatever, but it's just too small here in Crested Butte. So I became friends with the owner of the school, apex 20, 20, 100.

That's in Teen France. And he's like, hey, have you ever thought of sending your kid here?

And I'm like, I don't know. I just don't know if my, you know, Woody would want to send Axel to Europe. We don't know anything about your program.

We don't know anything about your coaches. And it was brand new.

And I came home to Axel because I was doing trips in Europe, and this is where I met Mark.

And it's like, so there's an opportunity where you can go to a school in France.

And he's like, right away,

the first thing he said is, like, I could live in Europe. I'm like, yeah. And he's like, I want to go there. And I'm like, oh, my God, you're so my kid.

Like,

I would just do anything that anyone offered, and I wouldn't even think about the outcome or what. Anything about it.

So we sent Axel to.

To Apex, and he's the first American kid. I mean, I think they just got the building built.

Knew nothing about anything.

And his racing improved so much.

And now he's in Chile training. He missed the US Ski team just by, like, the smallest,

smallest margin,

which is fine. He's 19,

and so this is his first year.

That was his first. Last year was his first year for a gap year. And he just trained and he did so well,

and he just loves it. And I remember telling him one time, like, you know, you don't have to do this. This is a few years ago.

And because you see the roller coaster, I'm like, you know, I don't care. And he goes, mom, this is my dream. And I was like, oh, yeah. I mean, this is his dream.

It's not me pushing it on him, But I do realize the fact that, you know, they've grown up with me, and they know my history,

and I was always just hoping that that's not, like, the driving force or the pressure that they feel and. But no, it's his. Truly his dream. He's totally like me.

He trains all the time. He's really, really focused.

And so, yeah, he still loves ski racing.

And then my youngest guy, he is just a beautiful racer, and. But he just didn't have that aggressiveness and drive to, like, create that more energy.

And then one day he came to me, and he's like, mom, all I want to do is park.

And I. I was a believer in. Even before I had kids, I would always tell people I'm. If I have kids, I'm sending them away to school like Burke was.

I. I just loved it. It was the most amazing thing. One of my favorite parts of my life.

And so when he came to me and said, all I want to do is park, I'm like, I'll find you a school for that,

because, again,

our program's too small. We don't even have a park program.

So I found him Y East, which is up in Oregon,

and they specialize in slopestyle as one of their disciplines.

And so he's a senior.

He leaves Saturday, and we'll go back up there.

And my thought in my head of raising. When we're raising our kids is I just want to get to the point where we can ski the world together.

And I think when they were 14 and 12,

or maybe 13 and 11, something like that,

the winters were amazing. Over in Europe, they had a great winter. And so our spring break is really late, but it's like, hey, maybe we should all try to go to Europe and ski.

So we flew to Europe. We went to Chamonix,

skied those areas. Then we went to Verbier,

and, you know, the skiing was okay.

Then we went to Paris, and then we came home.

And the thing that I remember with Axel was we were driving from another place back home,

and he's looking up at Mount Crested Butte, which is, like, kind of a standout mountain in our town, and he's just looking out the window looking at him like, what are you thinking about?

He's like, how small our mountains are.

And I'm like, oh, my God, that's so cool that he noticed it. So then when I did tell him he could go to school in France or in Europe,

that's why he was like, oh, my God. I mean, that. That trip that we took really had an impact on him.

So. But yes, they both love skiing,

and I wasn't. It wasn't meant for them to go off and have a ski career,

but that's what they have fallen in love with, and we totally support it.

Nicole: And tell us now about your.

So you've got. Your nest is somewhat empty, it sounds like, but you. And you've always kept your.

A little bit of your career going. It sounds like even during the busiest times of parenthood, your. Your mom's would. Mom would help you out.

And then you do work at Crested Butte. Are you still continuing that where you do, like, clinics and camps and experiences for people who travel there?

Wendy: Yeah, so I was the ambassador here for about 18 years. And yeah, I got to do my own thing, and we organized clinics that I could do.

And then now we're a Vail resort. So we're on the Epic Pass.

And they don't really believe in clinics. I don't know. You know, they.

The money saving options got eliminated.

So I am part of the ski school system,

no longer the ambassador.

And. But I do my own.

I still have my own. They call it Ski with an Olympian. So you can come here and hire me. I'm not in the ski school lineup necessarily,

and, you know, and I can teach at any Epic resort. Like, you can hire me to go to Whistler or Vail, all these different places. So I am. I'm an instructor.

And you can come and ski with me here and still find me.

It's a different,

you know, I guess different vibe.

But I appreciate that I still can do that here.

But it's just, you know, my winter gig is very part time.

My other thing is, is we have a hotel right at the base of the resort.

And so when I had kids, you know, there's this moment of like, well, what do I do now? Like, I'm home a lot.

I still had this energy of needing to do something,

and I got into DJing. So,

you know, I'm. I'm now hanging out with other moms. And I think just being at Burke, we'd have these wild, fun dance parties. And I just kind of missed dancing and dance parties.

And it Wasn't really happening in Crested Butte.

And I became friends with a guy who, you know, ran a restaurant. And he'd have a DJ there. And I get all feisty him and stomp my foot. I'm like, I can do a better job than him and all this stuff.

So one day before New Year's, like 10 years ago, he's like, hey, Wendy, we're gonna do a New Year's party. You wanna be the dj. And I'm like, I don't know what to do.

And anyway, he helped me. He's like, I have all the equipment. You get a controller, you learn how to, like, switch songs,

whatever.

So I did. And I did New Year's and then I did Halloween and then the next New Year's and Halloween and other February party and all this stuff. And then he and I were like, let's do weddings.

So then we started promoting ourselves as weddings. So then I became a wedding dj.

And so I came known as a dj. For people who didn't know who I was, a skier or anything,

they would know that I DJ parties. So my DJ name is DJ Red.

And so even now people see me like, hey, DJ Red.

So that became a really fun new outlet for me. I would, you know, have a day of DJing and I'd get total butterflies. Just like a ski race or a competition, like, what am I going to play tonight?

And are they going to like it? And, you know, can I keep them moving? Because that's obviously, as a dj, what you want is the dance floor full all the time and.

And figuring out the vibe.

And I, you know, I work on planning it. And so now the hotel at the base of the ski resort,

the Beckwith, or it's going to be called the Beckwith, but it used to be called Elevation Spa.

And they came to me and like, well, we want to start having DJs and music at the hotel. Will you start booking them?

So now I book all the music for the hotel and I. And I do apres djing for the hotel as well.

So that's been really fun. I have now a new little outlet and I've always.

Skiing has always held me. And I would keep thinking to myself, I'm like, I need to get a real job, like at some day. I need to be done with skiing.

I felt like a child that I was still just grabbing onto any skiing opportunity because I didn't want to let go and.

But now that I have this other side, it's really fun. So in the summer, I also do events. My best friend's an event planner, so we do tons of weddings and fundraisers.

And then a lot of times, if it's a wedding, I also DJ the wedding.

So I have my hands in a bunch of different stuff here.

Sarah: Well, that sounds like so much fun. I hope we can come out and,

and get on the dance floor and listen to the music you play. But that leads us perfectly into our question we always love to end with, which is,

what does apres ski look like for you?

Wendy: Well, when the kids are younger,

I didn't do a lot of opera. Like, I just came home, I hung out. The kids usually just exhausted. They're exhausted. You know, I didn't want to be that parent that,

you know, had to have my cocktails and drinks and hang out while my exhausted kids are kind of begging and wanting to go home. And I just didn't, I just didn't do a lot of that.

But.

And oh God, even before kids, I, I just never operate ski. I,

I didn't drink a lot then and stuff. And then once I had kids, I'm like, I need a cocktail. So,

you know, kind of started getting into my life now. But yeah,

I got super into opera because I was playing the music. And then even when I'm not playing, obviously, I try to hire great DJs that are fun to hang out and listen to and it's really social.

I,

I, when I came here in my beginning years of living in Crested Butte and stuff, I was very antisocial. I just mountain biked, ran, hiked, trained.

I was still kind of had that racer mentality of just, I, I just need to work out all the time and stay fit.

And then once I got kids,

you know, there was a blend. Cause I started focusing on them more.

And then now I'm like, yeah, I've already done a lot in my life. I don't have to feel like I need to get home and,

you know, do exercise as much. And I do, I'm, I'm way more social now and hang out, listen to music and then I like to make sure the music's good.

So, yeah, I definitely am more of an apres person now as an adult,

a much older adult than I ever was during my younger years.

Nicole: And you mentioned the Beckwith. Where else would we be likely to find you in Crested Butte after a ski day?

Wendy: I don't know. I mean, really just there.

Sadly, the base area of Crest Dubuque has changed a lot.

And you know, we have other establishments that don't really have anything going on. So the Beckwith is the apres area.

So if you're going to do any apres, it's going to. You're going to find most people there.

Um, otherwise,

yeah, then I go home, I'm gonna relax,

plan meals, do laundry, kind of boring stuff.

Nicole: And if we want to find out more about either hiring you as a DJ or skiing with you or find your movies, what's the best resource to keep up with what you've got going on?

Wendy: Wendy?

Yeah, I have a website. It's Wendy Fisher me.

And yeah, you can see me.

I have my DJ page,

Ski with Wendy Page.

And then I also do public speaking.

So that's where you can find my, like, did little offshoots that I do.

And then, oh, you could definitely just reach out to me. And that's on my website as well.

I'm also on the Vail Crested Butte website if you want to try to hire me and for skiing, but you definitely still have to go through me. I'm not on any, like, regular schedule,

but yeah, and I still, I love skiing with people and making them feel better. When it's like, oh, you probably just only take the more advanced people. And I'm like, actually, I love taking the intermediate skier who just wants to get better.

They're not looking to ski the extremes off the T bars and get into all the rad stuff. I mean, quite honestly, it's. It's scary up there. And if you don't know what you're doing,

I can't handle taking you down there. I'm a super honest skier. I'll be like, okay, let's go take a few runs and we can work on technique. Like, no, no.

I just want you to show me around to the gnarly stuff. And I'm like, honestly, if you don't ski the way I want you to ski or how I think you should ski, I'm not taking you there.

Like, it is slide for life. Sometimes it's really, really gnarly.

So I almost sometimes like the more intimate intermediate skier who just wants to get tap into that.

Because sometimes when you get the more advanced gear, who haven't. Who has an ego,

then that is where I. I just was like, yeah, I don't feel comfortable taking you there. I'll show you where those lines are. But until you know how to get out of the back seat and ski on the ball of your feet and know how to use your edges,

I. I won't take you in that zone. So I'm kind of,

you know,

strict with that.

Nicole: Good policy,

I think, all around. Well, Wendy, thank you so much for all of your stories that you shared with us today and for really reminding all of us that there's so many ways that we can ski and enjoy the mountains and it's okay to pivot.

And I love all of your very interesting pivots that you've done over the years. So thank you so much.

Wendy: Yeah, no, thank you so much for having me. I've enjoyed talking with ladies.

Nicole: Hey ski moms.

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