Hannah Whitney,  25 years old

Residing in Salt Lake City, UT

Hometown: Vienna, ME

Skiing the 09/10 season at: Alta

Quote: “I’m still a total weenie all the time!” – Hannah on small cliffs

I first met Hannah when she walked into Vanessa Pierce and Jessica Kunzer’s house in Salt Lake City. I had arrived the night before to embark on an adventure with 13 girls I had never met before. We were coming together for the SheJumps Planning Retreat in Zion National Park over Labor Day ’09. What would happen over the next four days was unknown—except that we were anticipating a really good time and 13 new people that would soon become life long friends.

My first impression of Hannah was of her calm quiet presence. That first impression changed quite a bit as I got to know her more. I learned to find out that we have a lot in common…except that she’s a Big Mountain Pro Skier… and I just like to ski big mountains.  

Hannah and I share a couple other similarities, which is why I like her so much. She is an environmentalist not only through education, but through her love of the outdoors and desire to protect the places that she plays. We also share a common friend, Monica, who grew up with Hannah in Maine, but went to college with me in Vermont!

During the last day of our retreat—Hannah, Vanessa Aadland, and I—all decided to get to know each other by each writing one another’s profile to be featured here on shejumps.org. I am so honored to be representing Hannah on the interweb and hope you all get a better sense of this amazing new friend of mine!

Enough back-story already! Who is Hannah Whitney??

Believe it or not, Hannah didn’t know much about big mountain/free-skiing until she went to college. Growing up in a small town in Maine with a population of about 500, three television stations, and rolling 3,000+ foot mountains—she was somewhat limited to what she was exposed to. She spent her childhood in the vast wooded area surrounding her home—building forts, picking blueberries, hiking, biking, and horseback riding. In the winters, starting at age 3, her family skied at Titcomb Hill—a small family resort that was just enough. Although you wouldn’t call them a ski family, Hannah’s parents were still supportive and open to her giving it a go. 

In 7^th grade, Hannah thought she might have a career as a basketball player. But after one basketball camp, she decided that it wasn’t for her. When winter rolled around, she made the decision to join the ski team. Hannah admits she was never the best racer, but it made her a better skier.

Time went on and college application time arrived. She quickly realized after applying to all her “top” schools, that none of them really interested her. It wasn’t until April of her senior year that she headed west to look at schools—and that is when she stumbled upon Western State College of Colorado. With its home mountain being Crested Butte, and the amazingly large vast of wilderness surrounding the area, Hannah couldn’t help but fall in love.

Hannah skied around Crested Butte with lots of friends but loved going with snowboarder Sara Kay and skier Abby Perone. Together they jumped off five footers and pushed each other to ski better! Fellow Jumper Pip Hunt became a friend and was a part of Hannah’s introduction to big mountain competition. Hannah says that it was so cool to see someone whose life was all about skiing. Throughout her four years, she dedicated all her spare time outside of homework and the classroom to skiing and search and rescue.

And then it was time for her first competition….

During Hannah’s senior year, she entered the Crested Butte Extremes. On the first day, she qualified…woohoo! On day two, she dropped a cliff called Bodybag and double ejected. So of course, she didn’t place. Regardless of placing or not, she really loved the supportive community and had a ton of fun skiing and meeting great people, which is all that really matters!

Since then, she has had more excitement every season! She decided to dedicate a winter to try more competitions. Here is her 2007 run:

Telluride – Top 10 = STOKED!

Crested Butte – 2^nd! = Podium! = $$!

Jackson Hole – made it to the finals, and got into 1^st after a double drop!! 2^nd run – tried the same line… fell, and ended up in 4^th = STILL AWESOME!

Kirkwood – had a sweet line that put her in 1^st!! Super Final… fell…. Ended in 4^th!

Overall she nailed it! She took a jump…or a giant leap at something that she wasn’t sure what the outcome would be. If you ask me, she has succeeded in everything that she has done.  She has been competing, shooting photos, and pursuing the life of a professional skier ever since.

Hannah, like many others, expresses her passion through skiing. But skiing isn’t just what it's about. Skiing has led her to meet an amazing community of people and organizations where she can give back. She has worked with the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation and encourages everyone to get involved with an organization that is working toward something they believe in. She is super excited to be a part of the SheJumps community so that she can teach others the importance of being and environmental steward, while also challenging yourself physically in the beautiful outdoors.