W2W Inspiration

We skiers all know this line, radioed from every athlete in ski movies just before shredding an Alaskan spine, artfully arcing above the slough spilling down the troughs. But only those born relatively recently have the experience of a ski hero being female. Caite Zeliff is one such hero, and her influence on girls and women worldwide is impossible to overstate—which is exactly what W2W intended.

An W2W athlete since its inception, Zeliff is known for her unrelenting work ethic to push herself higher, farther, and faster.

She’s at the apex of the professional freeriding world—and every step to get there has been a sweaty slog postholing through a male-dominated industry, her own self-doubt, and the burden of being one of few women on the bootpack. W2W has been there to support her through all of it—a partnership that has been incredibly important to her.

Zeliff grew up ski racing, using unisex gear because that was the only option. She is 5 feet 4 inches tall, and she succeeded in boots and skis made for men. She is only now getting used to a lower cuff made for her body. Imagine, she said, a world in which girls get the right gear from the very beginning.

“Maybe they’ll be able to progress quicker,” she said.

“If we give the youth the gear they need, they’ll show us what they’re capable of. Anatomically, we’re different.”

But W2W has helped pave the way not only for gear, but for women to think about the sport differently, to make their own tracks, she said. It has helped transform skiing into a sport in which women don’t need to ski like men in order to succeed, like they did in previous generations.

“I put this pressure on myself, because I want to make sure my level of skiing represents women well,” she said during a recent interview. “But when I watch the footage, I’m comparing myself to my counterparts, who are men. And I am not a man.”

Now, however, she feels a shift both in the industry and in her own confidence: “This sport is for me,” she says. “I don’t have to do it like a man. More people are watching women’s basketball because the game is different. The way I ski can be a feminine expression of creativity. I'm leaning into that.”

In the backcountry, for example, she finds that women tend to be more observant of their surroundings. “That’s a superpower in the mountains,” she said. This evolution has been fueled, in part, by the W2W program, she said. The focus groups have given women a voice where they had none before.

The gear gives women ownership and a sense of belonging. The community encourages them and makes them feel safe to push themselves—or to just have fun without fear of judgement. “W2W created a space for me, and I'm taking that baton to help the next generation,” she said. “We’re now being motivated by joy and beauty.

It’s a really interesting time, and W2W is bringing something refreshing to the snow sports space. But we can never take our foot off the gas.”