The best female skiers of all time

While every female pro skier is a legend in their own right, some have majorly elevated the game along the way and progressed skiing as a sport. This might be through seizing world-firsts, rallying for women’s progression in the industry, or simply showcasing their insane skills. So, which heroes are just pure inspiration 24/7? Lucky for you, Dope Mag has rounded up ten of the best right here.  

This isn’t a conclusive list, of course! We’d include every pro out there if we could. This also isn’t in any particular order. Oh, and speaking of orders, why not check out our women's ski clothes and bag yourself some pro-worthy style? 

The top 8 most influential women in skiing 

Mikaela Shiffrin

Nationality: American

Discipline: Alpine

Claim to fame: Winning the most World Cup races — like, ever!

If Mikaela Shiffrin wore her 101 World Cup-winning medals at once, we don’t think she could stand! Yep, Shiffrin is the most decorated skier in alpine racing history and has dominated more World Cup races than any other competitor (including men). She’s the epitome of fire!

By the way, Shiffrin won her first World Cup race at just 17 years old! In 2019, she became the first skier ever to achieve four consecutive World Champion titles in a single discipline (slalom). And she’s the first US skier to win a race in each of the World Cup’s six disciplines. Boom!

If that wasn’t enough of a flex, Shiffrin has two Olympic medals, secured seven consecutive World Championships wins, and was named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2023. Woah! And, thanks to her podium-topping finish at the Sochi 2014 Olympics, she’s also the youngest slalom gold medalist in history. How is there not a picture of Shiffrin next to the word ‘unstoppable’ in the dictionary!?

Sarah Burke

Nationality: Canadian

Discipline: Freestyle 

Claim to fame: Five-time X Games gold medalist

When you think of pioneering pros, it’s nigh-on impossible for Sarah Burke not to come to mind. Burke raised the bar on slopestyle and convinced the Winter X Games to add a women’s superpipe discipline to their 2005 event. From 2007 to 2011, Burke won five Winter X Games superpipe gold medals. She also claimed the halfpipe world championship in 2005 and was the first woman to land a 1080 in competition.

After X Games, Burke set her sights on lobbying for halfpipe and slopestyle events to be added to the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. And she made it happen. When Burke wasn’t in the pipe, she was obliterating perceptions of what’s possible in ski films such as Focused (Matchstick Productions, 2003).

However, in a heartbreaking tragedy that shocked the world, Burke died in a superpipe training accident on January 19th, 2012. In 2014, Burke was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Today, her legacy lives on through the Sarah Burke Foundation (helping young athletes with monetary scholarships) and her lasting mark on skiing’s progression. We’ll never forget you, Sarah — there’s no way women’s freestyle skiing would be where it is today without you!

Lindsey Vonn

Nationality: American

Discipline: Alpine

Claim to fame: Winning 82 World Cup gold medals 

There are ‘great’ skiers — and then there’s Lindsey Vonn. Yep, Vonn is legendary, reaching an almost mythical status, thanks to claiming an insane amount of World Cup victories (82 to date). In 2019, Vonn’s 82nd victory saw her become the first woman to win that many World Cup races (later surpassed by Mikaela Shiffrin in 2023). However, Vonn still holds the record for the most World Cup victories by any skier in downhill and the super-G.

Vonn also secured an Olympic gold in downhill (the first American woman to do so) and two bronze medals alongside eight World Championship medals (two gold). Although officially retired, Vonn is rumored to be making a comeback — even potentially making a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics US Team in Cortina d'Ampezzo — and we’re totally here for it.

Vonn even came out of a six-year retirement with a new knee — and a new record: she’s now the oldest woman to finish in the top three in any World Cup race. That’s the epitome of impressive. Vonn doesn’t like to do things the easy way; she is courageous, defies the odds, and is a true inspiration to everyone (even if you don’t ski!). Vonn, we salute you!

Kristen Ulmer 

Nationality: American 

Discipline: Freeriding

Claim to fame: The first female descent of Wyoming’s Grand Teton (with two turns a minute!)

Cast your mind back to the ‘90s (or imagine it if you’re Gen Z). Enter Kristen Ulmer, arguably the first female big mountain rider to make the ski community stand to attention. How so? Well, by casually stomping a Superman off a super gnarly Alaskan face, for example. Yep, Ulmer was no stranger to pushing the freeriding envelope, showcasing her skills in over 20 ski movies. And before she was dropping jaw-dropping cliffs, Ulmer competed in moguls for the US Ski Team.

The world sure did pay attention. Well, how could it not? In 1997, Ulmer skied the first female descent of Wyoming’s Grand Teton, with pretty much every turn triggering a slab or avalanche. That same year, POWDER Magazine crowned her one of the best pro women skiers of all time. Then, in 2019, she was inducted into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.

Throughout her career, Ulmer seemed to show no fear, and after retiring from skiing, Ulmer became a fear and anxiety expert and thought leader, which is totally fitting. She had already published The Art of Fear: Why Conquering Fear Won’t Work and What to Do Instead in 2017 (which is now in our Amazon cart!), so it seems like she’s now found a new passion in life, something we all hope for ourselves once we’ve hung up our skis.

Eileen Gu

Nationality: American and Chinese 

Discipline: Freestyle

Claim to fame: The first freestyle skier to win three medals at a single Olympic Games

Eileen Gu (also known by Gu Ailing, her Chinese name) has stomped the industry as hard as she’s stomped her signature cork 900 with a Buick grab. Yep, Gu is now synonymous with dominating slopestyle — a reputation cemented by her multiple medals for China at the 2022 Beijing Olympics (gold in Halfpipe, gold in Big Air, and silver in Slopestyle).

Those games made Gu the youngest Olympic freestyle champ at only 18 years old and the first-ever freestyle skier to claim three medals at a single Olympic Games. Stratospherically impressive, right? These feats established Gu as a ‘triple threat’ across slopestyle, big air, and halfpipe. Pre-Olympics, Gu dominated the 2021 Winter X Games, becoming the first rookie to win gold in women’s ski superpipe. Mind-blowing.

And Gu’s accomplishments don’t end there! She was the first woman to land a forward double cork 1440 in competition. Plus, she’s currently studying at Stanford, has over two million Instagram followers, and is an international model. Oh, and Time named her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022, while Forbes listed her as the third-highest-earning female athlete in 2024. She’s achieved all this, and she’s only 22, by the way. We can’t wait to see what this icon does next! 

Ingrid Backstrom

Nationality: American 

Discipline: Freeriding 

Claim to fame: Her four-turn Bella Coola descent in Yearbook (2004)

Ingrid Backstrom dropped in to the freeskiing scene and upped the ante, effortlessly charging insane lines and reaching the podium of 12 big-mountain contests. POWDER Magazine paid attention, including her in their list of 2002’s ‘Future Big Mountain Heroes’ (Backstrom was the only female).

From there, Backstrom formed a close relationship with Matchstick Productions, becoming one of the industry’s first legendary screen queens in titles such as Yearbook (2004) (her breakthrough performance), The Hit List (2005), and Claim (2008). Backstrom showed young female riders what was possible and paved the way for future female-athlete-focused ski movies. She later made The Approach (2023), a women’s ski and snowboard movie.

Backstrom skied first descents in Baffin Island, Greenland, and China (from the famous 20,050-foot Reddomaine Peak). She also topped POWDER Magazine’s Reader Poll as the most influential woman on skis from 2005 to 2015. Backstrom is — without a doubt — a pioneer in opening the door for women to dominate the freeriding landscape. Her support for women doesn’t end there. She co-founded SAFE AS, clinics made to empower women to feel confident around avalanche safety.

Justine Dufour-Lapointe

Nationality: Canadian

Discipline: Freestyle and freeride

Claim to fame: Claiming medals across the freestyle and freeride circuit 

The Freeride World Tour has a new champion — the iconic Justine Dufour-Lapointe, who stomped into first place. Dufour-Lapointe’s eyes weren’t always set on freeriding, though. In fact, moguls were her thing. Yep, she tackled bumps professionally alongside her two sisters, collectively known as the ‘3SDL’ (short for the ‘three Dufour-Lapointe sisters’).

At only 16 years old, Dufour-Lapointe became the youngest female winner of a FIS World Cup moguls event. Then, in 2014, she won the event’s gold medal at the Winter Olympics, becoming the youngest freestyle skiing champ at just 19 years old (surpassed by Eileen Gu in 2022). The accolades didn’t end there — in 2015, Dufour-Lapointe claimed the lead mogul title at the World Championships. She then cinched a Moguls silver medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

In 2023, Dufour-Lapointe switched things up, bringing her freestyle game to big mountain lines on the Freeride World Tour. This magic combo saw her secure the FWT23 and FWT25 World Champion titles. You have to watch her 82-point win at Baqueira Beret. Her mega floaty backflip off the windlip is certainly one for the history books. 

Michelle Parker

Nationality: American 

Discipline: Freeriding 

Claim to fame: Winning ‘Best Female Performance’ at the POWDER Video Awards for MSP’s Superheroes of Stoke

Michelle Parker sure is a jack of all trades — and master of each one! Parker initially competed in racing before participating in huge freestyle events, such as the US Open and the first-ever X Games women’s slopestyle. However, after a knee injury dashed her Olympic hopes, Parker dipped her toe into the backcountry. The result? She fell in love with freeriding and claiming those big mountain lines.

Parker has shown off her skills with Red Bull Media House, Matchstick Productions, and Teton Gravity Research, appearing in films such as Superheroes of Stoke (2012) and Nexus (2022). In 2024, Parker co-created All In, the industry-changing ski movie that championed gender equality by showcasing balanced male-female representation. Alongside Ingrid Backstrom, Parker also co-founded SAFE AS, boosting women’s confidence around avalanche safety. Her most recent venture? Linking seemingly effortless, technical turns and smooth cliff drops at the first-ever Natural Selection Tour, where she got on the podium with a super-close second to Manon Loschi.

Off the mountain, Parker is a fierce advocate for the inclusion of women in sports. One such example of this is Parker’s 2018 pitch for Red Bull to host a women’s Red Bull Rampage, a historically male-only freeride mountain bike event. Lo and behold, in 2024, a women’s category was added for the first time in the event’s 23-year history. We think Parker should definitely make ‘icon’ her middle name.

Wrapping up 

Wowsers — is anyone else feeling super stoked and full of inspiration? Talk about raising the standards for skiing as a whole! And that’s before we mention other incredible riders, such as Vreni Schneider, Angel Collinson, and Wendy Fisher! Trust us — we wish we could keep on writing and cover them all!

Want to drop in on a deep-dive discussion with fellow shredders? Join our Dope Snow Community Facebook Group. It’s open for chatting about anything mountain-related — from pro riders to fave shred spots and more. We might keep you on your toes with some exclusive collection previews, too. 

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