Hi Lynsey,

My name is Sophie Howell and I am 9 years old.

I found out about you when I was looking at the Jackson Hole website a few years ago when my dad was getting ready to go skiing there.

I saw the video clip of you skiing and I thought that I want to ski like you someday. My dad told me to Google you and I found lots of other stuff about what you do. Since then I found your shejumps website with all of the jumpers. I want to be a jumper too.

This summer I was talking with my dad about skiing Tuckerman's Ravine on Mt. Washington this coming spring. He told me that it would be a tough ski but that he was sure I could do it. But he was not sure if I was strong enough to hike all the way up there. So he suggested that we hike this summer to the very top so I could prove to myself that I could do it. He also said I had to carry 10 lb of stuff in my pack. I only weigh about 50 lbs.  I was excited to be able to try this but when we got there that morning I was nervous about what I was about to do. Everyone was a grownup and there were no kids. I could not see the top and there were lots of people with big packs and ropes and all kinds of stuff like that.

I started hiking and 1 1/2  hours later I got to the hut which my dad said was about 1/2 way to the top. I had some food and then we started hiking again. Before long we were going above the tree line and I could see the cliff which my dad told me was the bowl we would ski in the spring. It was pretty much straight up and there were a bunch of waterfalls coming off of it. My dad pointed me towards the trail up and from that time on I was the leader. First I had to climb on lots of giant boulders and then it got even steeper. At one part I had to climb on my hands and feet and was holding rocks and roots to keep from sliding down. The edge of the cliff was right next to me. I just began climbing and before I knew it I was at the top of the cliff and in the clouds. I stopped for one more snack and then I lead my dad up through the last part which was nothing but a huge rock pile on the side of a mountain. Just when I was just about at the top of the trail, these four guys, who had been hiking the AT for a long long time, stepped to the side of the trail and clapped for me as I passed them and reached the summit. It was really tough to climb that mountain and I was a little bit scared to do it at first. It took me 3 1/2 hrs to get to the top but it felt really great once I got to the summit. There were no kids and there were not very many girls. I did something that not that many people would do. Now I just have to keep skiing so I can hike up there and ski that bowl in the spring.

My dad is going to take me west to ski. He might just pick Jackson Hole because he likes it there a lot. If I go there, maybe I could ski down tower 3 with you because I read that you really like that run when there is fresh powder.

-Sophie