The popularity of freeheel skiing has been steadily increasing over the past decade. There have been many freeheel stars that have pushed telemark skiing to the forefront. One person that has maintained a strong presence in the tele world has been Leslie Ross, founder of Babes in the Backcountry. Babes is an outdoor education program for women, enabling them to gain knowledge, skills, confidence, self-reliance and pure enjoyment in the backcountry. Recently, Telemark Skier showcased women of the sport and gave Leslie the distinctive title as the “teacher”.  In our opinion Leslie is also an ambassador, pioneer, and guru as she has shared her energy, knowledge, and love of the outdoors with hundreds of women. She has turned them on to the turn of two centuries as well as the fun and solitude of the winter backcountry. In addition to the Babes, Leslie has won the National Telemark Free Skiing Championship three times. She has been involved with public events on behalf of women and written for magazines such as Couloir, Backcountry, and Mountain Gazette. Telemark Nation recently caught up with Leslie for an interview:

Telemark nation: Where did you grow up and when did you start skiing?
Leslie Ross: I grew up in Ossining, New York, a suburb north of NYC.

TN: At what age did you start skiing and where?
LR: I started skiing at age two. I skied mostly at Jiminy Peak, Brody, Bromley, Mt. Snow, and Killington.

TN: When did you become interested in teaching?
LR: After high school I went to Union College in Schenectady, NY. from '87 to 91'.  On the weekends I became an alpine ski instructor at Mt. Snow in Dover, Vermont. It was a way to ski since I could not afford the lift tickets. In the summertime, I led outdoor trips for teens.

TN: When did you start telemark skiing?
LR: With thoughts of becoming involved in outdoor education I took a NOLS two week winter camping course in Jackson, Wyoming when I was twenty. This was my first introduction to freeheel skiing. I had never even cross country skied before and never even considered telemark skiing. However, with sub zero temperatures at Grand Targhee and the remainder of the course I was hooked and I never looked back.

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