Lynsey Dyer, 24, already has her own TV show, a self-designed T-shirt line, and a budding career as a big-mountain freeskier. But that’s not enough. This past summer, she spent two weeks with a crew of snowboarders in New Zealand, learning freestyle moves that she hopes will enhance her repertoire. “Before I call myself a professional,” she says, “I want to master all of it. But I’d need a couple more lifetimes.”
The Bottom Line
Guidelines to make the most of winter: Preseason boot-pack the runs at Silverton () or Aspen’s Highland Bowl () and they’ll give you a free lift ticket. » Don’t tell the lift operators that they’re missing an epic day. They know. » That smell on the lifts? If you’re in Whistler, it’s probably pot. If you live in Whistler, it’s probably yours. » Formula for a winter road trip: Add your estimated drive time to your estimated departure time, then tack on 30 minutes for each person in your group.Lynsey Dyer
LOOKING AHEAD: Dyer is juggling three successful careers.Seen Next: Furthering her ski-porn cred in Warren Miller’s Off the Grid and Teton Gravity Research’s Anomaly, both out this fall. She’ll also be hosting Freestyle Files, a new action-sports show debuting next year on a yet-to-be-determined channel, in which she’ll try to keep up with stars like kayaker Tanya Shuman, surfer Layne Beachley, and wakeboarder Melissa Marquardt in their respective sports.
Learning Curve: Dyer grew up in Sun Valley, Idaho, sharpening her skills with a six-day-a-week training regimen that led to downhill gold at the 1996 Junior Olympics. But leaving the discipline of racing for the anarchy of the park and pipe made her feel like a beginner again. “These days, you don’t really get love for knowing how to arc a great turn,” she says. “So now I’m playing catch-up, even though it hurts my ego.”
Double Duty: Bucking the ski-bum stereotype, Dyer juggled her on-slope career with a full classload at Montana State University, where she majored in graphic design, then found a way to combine her passions. In addition to doing the artwork for her T-shirt company, Evensong, she designs ski topsheets for Rossignol and Liberty.
Snapping Back: On her second day of filming with TGR in January 2004, Dyer, eager to impress during her debut, launched off back-to-back cliffs with a blind landing and heard her ACL rupture, with an audible pop. After a year of rehab, she returned to win the New Mexico Extreme Skiing Championships at Taos, in February 2005, then blew her other ACL a week laterand was still back filming with TGR last winter.
Second Opinion: Dyer’s transition to big-mountain star was eased by following in the tracks of her cousin, pioneer female freeskier A. J. Cargill. “Lynsey is so wide-eyed and eager,” says Cargill. “She’s always proving that women can jump off 30-foot cliffs, too.”