TOP TO BOTTOM “Untracked and inbounds, Hilaree making each turn count for something in Telluride, CO, circa 2010.” Photo: Lee Cohen “Hilaree looks out the window of our flight to Clyde River on Baffin Island. Clyde River was our last stop before getting snow ma-chines to take us into the Kangiqtualuk Uqquqti. This was Hilaree’s second time to Baffin Island and she stayed busy pointing out the window at features—like a kid in an Arctic candy shop.” Photo: Drew Smith Hilaree has been called an inspiration for women. That is true. She was an inspira-tion, a friend and a sister to me. Yet she was an inspiration for all of us, and maybe even especially for the men among us as they now know what it can be like to have a powerful and benevolent woman lead her athlete team, break trail, dream bigger, climb higher, raise beautiful children, love deeply, advocate fiercely and, let us not forget, be open, vulnerable and supportive. But above all, Hilaree taught me that in the mountains we just are ourselves. It’s true that, in the end, those peaks don’t care who we are. It’s also the reason Hilaree loved them so much because there she could be free. 046 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume 16, Issue 4: Page 46
