Whitefish's Maggie Voisin drops into new career

How about retiring only to dive whole-heartedly into a few new careers? That’s just what Whitefish’s Maggie Voisin is doing. 

The three-time Olympian and X Games champion announced her retirement last month from a 10-year career as an elite slopestyle and big air skier – but the 25-year-old is not nearly ready to pick up knitting or golf.

Rather, she’s jumping into the next chapter of her career – from a helicopter.

Voisin is taking her skills from the park to the wild mountains, most recently, to the Chilkat range in Haines, Alaska. Skiing the big mountains presents a “circle of emotions” to Voisin as she accepts the fear that comes with the sport, trusts in her ability, and lets it rip.

“Let's say you make it to the bottom of a really cool line and it's just the best adrenaline rush ever,” Voisin said. “And you’re so excited and then you start that process all over again – looking at a line, being really nervous, getting on top, being extremely nervous, getting to the bottom and it's like the most ultimate, amazing feeling ever. It's pretty wild.

“It taps my nervous system because it's super intense and but it's so addicting,” she added. “I love it.”

For the last two seasons, Voisin has filmed ski movies with Teton Gravity Research, one of the biggest producers of epic mountain ski films featuring stellar skiers on wild, massive peaks, carving lines in pristine snow. The stuff of dreams.

While the athletes often access slopes with snowmobiles, helicopters bring them to the top of their bigger lines. Before they take off, guides familiar with the terrain and conditions assess whether it is possible for the helicopter to reach the drop zone. The landing as well as the runout are given careful consideration.

Voisin said runs don't look the same from the top as they do from the bottom, so she relies on a photo on her phone for last-minute analysis. Guides also talk with the athletes prior to the run to establish a plan B, should things head south in a hurry.

“Generally, for me, by the time I’m up in the helicopter and we’re going to drop on a line, we’ve already talked through everything,” Voisin said. “When you’re skiing in Alaska, you’re on glaciers, so we know the run looks good but what’s below?”

A bergschrund, a crevasse at the edge of a glacier, might be below the surface, adding a layer of excitement to the run. 

“There's an extra element when you're skiing that type of terrain,” she said. “We always wear harnesses so if you do fall in a crevasse, they have a way of getting you out or you have a way of saving somebody else.”

Voisin described the feeling of riding a helicopter to the top of her line and the moments before dropping in:

"You're at the bottom. You're kind of getting excited. You're nervous. But then you get in that helicopter, which is definitely a loud environment and you're flying up there and most of the time you're being dropped alone. There's that adrenaline of finding your place to get out. Sometimes heli drops can be really scary – super sharp ridges and you have to have your footing. You have to get your skis out of the heli. It's kind of a slow, steady process but it's also intense because the helicopter is moving. Most of the time the heli isn’t landing, it can't land, it's just hovering there. Not all heli drops are necessarily intense but some are, and when they are, it’s exhilarating. That can almost be the scariest part – getting out of the heli and putting your skis on. The second you give that pilot the thumbs up that he can fly away, and he flies off, and then it’s just silence and all of the sudden it's just you on top of a mountain. You can’t hear the heli anymore. You're just zoned in. It goes from that chaotic experience and then it's just you up on this insane mountain."

Aside from making sure the conditions are skiable and safe, filming adds another aspect to the day because lighting is a concern. The skiers hit the slopes early in the morning and take runs in the evening to capture the best light.

Working with the film production company suits Voisin. 

“I love putting my attention on one thing and really putting my heart and soul into it,” she said. “I actually don’t fully know what my plans are for this coming season. Still a little bit up in the air.”

WHAT IS CERTAIN is Voisin’s work as a commentator for the X Games. She is the color analyst for female freeski events.  

“It was very nerve-wracking, but once I got into the mix of it I had an absolute blast,” Voisin said of her foray into broadcasting. “And it was really, really special to still have my tie within the competitive world and also be a voice for the absolutely incredible females who continue to push the sport.

“I never want to turn my back and walk away from that, because that side of the sport means so much to me,” she added. 

In addition to keeping a foot in the competitive freeski world, she is also staying linked to the Olympics by serving on the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Board of Directors as a freeski athlete representative.

VOISIN battled through several injuries during her competitive career, including a broken ankle in 2014, an ACL tear and multiple surgeries. She dealt with the setbacks by shifting her perspective. Instead of asking “Why is this happening to me?” Voisin thought, “OK, this is happening for me.”

“Having been able to have the incredible career I did have because of all the things that I had pushed through – it’s shown me how resilient I am and how much I really love the sport.” she said.

It is that love of the sport that is at the heart of her career. 

“The reason I could push the sport and try these scary tricks is because I absolutely love what I do. That’s the most important thing,” Voisin said. “The second that I knew that I didn't love what I was doing, that my heart wasn’t in it anymore, was the time to step away.”

Voisin is stepping away from the competitive freeskiing portion of her life with no regrets and is already meeting her next epoch head-on with the attitude of a champion.

“I never let anything stop me from what I knew I was capable of and what I wanted,” she said.

    Maggie Voisin retired from slopestyle but continues to ski big mountains. (Josh Bishop photo)
  

    Voisin in 2014 with her first X Games medal in Aspen, Colorado. (Photo by Josh Bishop)
  

    Voisin took this iPhone photo while skiing in Haines, Alaska, this year. (Photo by Voisin)