“I grew up seven minutes from Sun Valley Resort, started skiing at age 2, and my whole family skied every day after school and every weekend. By the time I was 4, I viewed the mountain as my source of freedom, especially when I realized I could ride the chair by myself. I had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle headband, a million-mile-an-hour snow plow, and a ‘see ya later’ attitude.”— Lexi DuPont Photo: DuPont Family Archives “The DuPont family Christmas card. Growing up, my mom made jokes about needing a punch card at the emergency room because we all got hurt so much. Whenever we would complain, my dad would say, ‘Life sucks and then you’re dead, so you might as well go for it.’—” Lexi DuPont Photo: DuPont Family Archives L exi and her two sisters might as well have been born with skis strapped to their feet. That’s partly because they grew up in Sun Valley, ID, two minutes from the site of the world’s first chairlift, and partly because skiing is simply in her blood. “My grandfather on my mom’s side, Wes Diest, lived for ski-ing and for coaching,” Lexi says. “There is a memorial race named after him now at Kelly Canyon [a small ski resort east of Idaho Falls], and most of my coaches in Sun Valley were coached by my grandfather at one point or another.” With that passion for snow came a penchant for daring as well. Lexi’s mom, Holley, was one of the first women to do a backflip in competition when she skied for the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team. Growing up DuPont, it seems, means growing up in a world where skiing is a way of life. But for Lexi, that didn’t necessarily translate into fame. As a racer on the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation team, Lexi wasn’t a star; she was diligent about the training, but in her years on the circuit, she never once podiumed. For the young DuPont, however, it was more motivation than discourage-ment. Instead, watching her friends take home medals gave her perspective. “My ski racing gave me a foundation,” she says. “It wasn’t about winning for me. I learned how to suffer, to work hard, to be a part of a team and to set my sights on things just out of my reach.” Having spent her winters on snow since childhood, Lexi also spent every summer learning to sail on Cape Cod, MA, a skill that earned her a full-ride sailing scholarship to Endicott College in Boston. But the mountains eventually called her home, and a year later she transferred to University of Colorado Denver. During a study abroad program in 2010, Lexi circumnavigated the globe with retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a renowned opponent of apartheid in South Africa. She ended up earning a degree in fine art in 2014, and in the years since her work has even been featured by the American Indian College Fund. Yet Lexi remained compelled by powder, and when friend and classmate McKenna Peterson suggested she enter a freeride event in Telluride, CO, Lexi went for it. She told her mom about her plans, and Holley dug out her old freeskiing pants—“skintight, bright orange with stars on the butt and white stripes down the side,” according to Lexi—and gave her middle daughter some words of advice. “Wear these so the judges can see you,” Holley said. “But before you go, make sure you introduce yourself to the judges, look them in the eye, tell them your name, and then show them what you can do.” The day of the competition, she followed her mom’s in-structions and introduced herself to the judges. As she turned to leave, one of the judges said, “OK, Little Miss Hotpants!” The moniker would follow her on the freeride circuit, but at that first event she proved she could back up her flashy attire with a third-place finish. Lexi had a new nickname and new direction, but still wasn’t sure she could make a career out of the sport she loved. In the Sun Valley area, a few names stand out as skiing royalty, and the Crist siblings are definitely among them. The brothers, Reggie and Zach, have played a pivotal role in Lexi’s path. For her dad’s 60 th birthday, her family headed north to Haines, AK, where Reggie [a former U.S. Olympic ski racer, X Games gold medalist, and eldest of the Crist brothers] was working as a heli ski guide. At that point, Reg-gie—20 years her senior—hadn’t seen Lexi ski. Once he did, he pulled her parents aside and said Lexi should stay on in Haines for a bit. Photographer Will Wissman was working with Reggie, and he wanted to get Lexi more time in the Alaskan mountains and in front of a camera. It came at a cost, though; Lexi had to make a few promises to her parents. “My mom and dad said if I got a job teach-ing sailing the next summer to pay them back for my time in Haines, I could stay,” she says. “For the next week, I slept in Reggie’s closet, underneath his stinky clothes. I was the only girl around, 19 years old and taking any seat in the helicopter that was available.” After a week of shooting, Lexi had an impressive portfolio. Little Miss Hot Pants was suddenly living her dream as a pro-fessional skier, with a reputation as one of the most promising up-and-comers on the scene. But for Lexi, this success was an opportunity to do far more than just ski. Lexi Dupont 059
The Ski Journal Volume Eleven, Issue Two: Page 59
