New Zealand’s latest skiing sensation, Jess Hotter, may just be the most daring of them all.
Photo from Sustain Health Magazine
The Ohakune native has become the world champion in freeride skiing – essentially being able to pull off the gnarliest tricks on the hardest terrain, all while trying to stay in one piece.
“This season, in particular, has been pretty close to having a couple of season-enders,” Hotter chuckled.
“I just got super, super lucky this year.”
But it hasn’t all been pure luck. This year Hotter has been on fire, becoming the first Kiwi to win the Freeride World Tour.
It’s an amazing achievement, and one she hopes will inspire the next generation of young women.
“I want younger females to not have that internalised misogynistic voice in their head saying they can’t do it because they’re a girl,” Hotter told Seven Sharp.
She is cutting a track now, taking out the North Face Frontier four-star competition at the Winter Games.
“She is an absolute inspiration to the next generation,” head judge Dion Newport said.
“The junior girls are really starting to sign up and step up, it’s epic.”
For Hotter, that’s the ultimate accolade in a community she adores.
“There’s something about New Zealand and the way we do things. It’s fast and loose and we figure it out,” Hotter said.
