Published December 20, 2000 01:20PM
We boldly pick the top 25 skiers in North America. Meet this year’s gods of the ski world. Includes skiingmag.com’s expanded interviews with the top 25!
We boldly pick the top 25 skiers in North America. Meet this year’s gods of the ski world.
There are a lot of terrific skiers out there — hell, we bet you’re pretty darn good yourself. There are also quite a few scarily great skiers, the folks who make your jaw drop watching them straight-line an Alaskan face or fly through the air in a tangled configuration Rube Goldberg couldn’t make heads or tails of. But what makes these 25 skiers the best is their consistent greatness, their ability to dazzle every time they touch ski to snow.
When we hatched the idea for this list, we knew it would spark controversy. “Just think how many people we’ll piss off!” Well, that clinched it. So, we surveyed hundreds of skiers, Skiing contributors, photographers, coaches, ski-film makers, and other ski-industry types; we argued the merits of skodeos versus switch back flips; we sat on the sidelines of World Cup races; we watched ski movies. Ultimately what hit us was not the preposterousness of the task, but how simple it was. When it comes to godlike skiers, there is a surprising amount of consensus; these 25 big-mountain freeskiers, ski mountaineers, jibbers, racers, freestylers, and telemarkers just bubbled to the top of almost every list.
So here they are, separated by skiing style, yet in no particular order, the 25 best skiers in North America today.