Tatum Monod On Injury, Tricks, And Design

One of the few female professional skiers incorporating big tricks into her backcountry skiing, Banff native Tatum Monod, 25, first garnered attention by landing a double back flip on her third try. Monod has since won awards like Best Female Edit at the International Freeski Film Festival and Freeskier Magazine’s People’s Choice Skier of the Year, along with coveted contracts from companies like Red Bull. Her family, a line of mountain guides and ski racers who own Canada’s oldest and most iconic outdoor shop—Monod Sports—describes Monod as determined, athletic, and passionate. Especially when it comes to…fly-fishing?

- Tess Weaver

I was home for a while dealing with my first real ski injury. It was painful. The MRI results showed that I had a bone bruise in my tibial plateau and a minor crack in the back of my kneecap from a high-impact crash somewhere along the line. I think it was in Japan. I was trying to do a three [360] off a cliff and I foolishly decided not to pack out the takeoff. I landed with skis going one direction and my body the other. I’m surprised it didn’t break right then.