Photo Credit: Copper Mountain Resort photographer Ian Zinner
COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. – Mikaela Shiffrin has barely had time to reflect on her season. Since returning home to Colorado, the most decorated alpine skier in history has been jumping on planes for media commitments around the country. This April, she made time to spend a few hours skiing with a group of girls ages 11 to 14 from elevateHER, a nonprofit that empowers girls through outdoor adventure. The program is partnered with Share Winter, an organization with a mission to get more kids out on the slopes, for which Shiffrin has raised about $500,000 through MikGives.
It was the first time Shiffrin, 31, had spent time with kids involved in the program. Most of the girls live in or near Salida, Colo. Only a handful were ski racers (on Team Monarch). A few were beginner skiers and snowboarders. Shiffrin spent a solid 20 minutes with one 12-year-old girl, teaching her how to make turns.
“I feel different at this time this year than I have any other year. I am thinking about what life has to offer beyond the sport and what can be done maybe simultaneously, things like this where I connect with the snow sports community on a different level,” Shiffrin said.
“Up until this point it’s been, come watch me race and maybe I’ll get to an autograph in the finish. The snow sports community, what it actually is, is celebrating everybody’s uniqueness and all of their different passions and lifestyles — a shared experience in one place.
“When you see these kids out here, it’s a perfect example of this. Nobody said they wanted to become a professional ski racer. That is what our sport needs.
“We don’t necessarily need ski racers; we need to develop the pipeline. We need people to just enjoy the sports for what they are, to get outdoors in the open air and move their bodies in that way.”
There wasn’t a single person in the group who wasn’t enjoying the day with Shiffrin.
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A role model for reaching dreams
“She’s just such a cool person,” said Zia Ziaknaer, 14. “I just admire her determination and how she brought herself to this level and worked so hard for that.”
Although none of the girls said they wanted to become the next Mikaela Shiffrin, the 31-year-old still serves as a powerful example of what it takes to pursue a goal at the highest level.
“Mikaela inspires me so much because I love to ski, but I’m also really passionate about mountain biking,” said Amalia McNeirney, 13.
“Watching her pursue her dreams from such a young age reminds me of myself. I’ve been on my bike since I was 2 years old. Now I’ve been racing Enduro, and next year I’ll race on the high school cross-country team. Maybe one day, I’ll be in the World Cup.”
She added that Shiffrin’s humility stood out just as much as her success.
“Some celebrities are more about the money and the fame, but she still has that local connection.”
Shiffrin seemed to win over everyone there, even those who didn’t know who she was beforehand.
“I think she’s awesome,” said Aolani Cook, 13, who had never been on a chairlift before that day.
“Now I know who Mikaela is and what she does. It inspires me to just live your dream.”
Trading slalom for GS and SG?
The day also left Shiffrin thinking about what comes next in her own career. Although she has already achieved more than most in the sport, she said she is still motivated — but in a different way.
“I think I’ve reached my ceiling in how fast I can ski slalom,” she said.
She explained that while she continues to win, the level across the field is rising quickly, and she no longer feels she can meaningfully push her slalom speed beyond where it is now.
“I just can’t ski it faster than I have been,” she said.
“I used to think you can always get faster, but I don’t know that I personally have the capability to do that anymore.”
That realization, she said, can make motivation more challenging.
“The feeling of hitting your ceiling — that’s the most limiting thing for motivation.”
In contrast, she said giant slalom and super-G still present unknowns — and that curiosity could shape her focus moving forward.
“I’m really curious to see where that can go.”
Still processing Olympic hurdle
That evolving mindset also connects to how Shiffrin is still processing the emotional weight of the Olympic season.
“You know, I haven’t cried since the Olympics,” she said.
She described a sense of emotional numbness at times, something she linked to the intensity of what she experienced.
“I think when you go through something traumatic and unexpected, everything else just doesn’t bring the same emotion.”
Throughout the season, she said, the pressure of expectation remained constant — not just internally, but externally through media and public perception.
“The toughest thing was that the whole world expected me to win,” she said.
“And the downside is the criticism that comes if I don’t.”
To manage that pressure, she leaned on structured support from her team, including sports psychology sessions, where she confronted fears tied to both past successes and failures.
“At the Olympics, it kept me from looking at social media at all,” she said.
Looking back on four Olympic appearances, she said her perspective has completely changed.
“If you asked me in Sochi, I wouldn’t recognize this version of myself,” she said.
Her key takeaway was a deeper appreciation for the people around her.
Shiffrin said one of the biggest accomplishments of the season was building a strong, unified support system within her team.
“At the Olympics, my big fear was feeling isolated,” she said.
“I thought nobody would understand the weight of it.”
Instead, she said, the team created what she described as a “supportive bubble,” which helped her navigate the pressure.
“It was a really big growth moment — a growth season for all of us together.”
About the Author: Shauna Farnell
