Bombs Away

Backcountry Bombshells was about bringing together female skiers & snowboarders from different disciplines. Here's a closer look at the lineup and their background...

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KRISTI LESKINEN:
On skis and off, Kristi Leskinen is spectacular. Let her loose on a pair of twin-tips and she’ll stomp urban rails and launch high over the pipe in breathtaking style.

A sporty girl from the start, Leskinen showed skills in almost everything she tried, from pole vaulting to basketball to swimming. A fateful day in 2000 helped her reach a decision. Attending the U.S. Open, Leskinen spotted some skiing pros sessioning on a rail with the kind of freedom she’d always looked for. She joined in with the likes of Olympic hero Jonny Moseley, and he was so impressed that he gave the 19-year-old her first pair of twin tips. That kind of encouragement, and the freedoms he found in freeskiing led Leskinen to choose a career on the snow.

While Kristi has excelled in her sport and been integral in progressing freeskiing into events like the X Games and U.S. Open, she is definitely not a tomboy. With her classic cheekbones, blonde tresses, and lanky frame, she has also become something of a pin-up girl in sponsor posters, and she was even named to FHM’s “100 Hottest Women of 2005” list. “I can’t knock it,” she says philosophically. “If modeling gets me noticed, that helps me promote the causes I care about. But I’m a skier first.”

In 2005, thanks in large part to Leskinen’s prodding, not only was women’s Superpipe part of the X Games lineup, but women also boosted at their first-ever FIS World Halfpipe Championship. Leskinen stood on the podium at both events – taking bronze at the X Games and silver at Worlds (not to mention gold at the Gravity Games and silver at the U.S. Open).

Today, she lives in Mammoth Lakes, California. She explains that she wants to bring freeskiing to a whole new audience. In 2006, she added third place in Powder Magazine’s “Reader’s Poll” and an appearance on the Fuel TV’s Daily Habit, and even the Arby’s Action Sports Awards “2006 Skier of the Year” to her list of accolades, but she’s hungry for more.


ANNE FLORE-MARXER
A self-proclaimed heartbreaker, Anne-Flore Marxer is turning lots of heads these days. Whether it’s because of her blonde Swiss locks or for having rails and kickers on lockdown, the 22-year old is certainly making herself known.

Filming and contests have taken her from Japan to Chile to the States and back. But if you ask her which mountain holds her heart, she still claims her hometown spot of Samoens, France. “ She has sported strong contest results and with major video parts like the recently released Ro Sham Bo, her career is just beginning.

Anne-Flore may be a burgeoning star on the snow, but she is still the girl everyone can relate to. She loves to dance (you may even catch her in some funky 80’s gear if you are lucky), and she likes to design clothes. nd weknow this sassy gal will be at a contest, and on the dance floor, all winter long.

Anne-Flore has won the 2005 TransWorld Snowboarding Rider’s Poll - Rookie of the Year, was 2nd at the Vans Cup at Tahoe B.A.R. Finals, 2nd Vans Cup at Tahoe Rail Jam Finals, and 2nd Abominable Snow Jam Quarterpipe. SHe has also won the O’Neill Pro Freestyle Slopestyle and FIS Big Air contests.


MARIE FRANCE-ROY
Usually when young girls talk about chasing boys, they are referring to a crush they had on the playground. In the case of Marie-France Roy, the chasing she did was on a snowboard, and it led her to the pro ranks by the time she was 20. Hailing from the chilly and often snowy town of Les Eboulements, Quebec, she watched her older brothers shredding down the hill on snowboards, which quickly changed her life.

Marie-France (or MFR to her friends), began snowboarding on her local mountain and soon entered contests with her impressive spinning ability. Her early competition days involved long trips, but her skills got her noticed. After continuously strong contest results, it was no wonder she was nominated for TransWorld Snowboarding Magazine’s Rookie of the Year.

These days MFR lives in Whistler and is one of the few female slopestylers to be able to land a 900. With major video parts coming out and her continued presence on the podium at competitions, the 22-year-old Marie-France is turning from the small hometown girl to a big time shredding star.

MFR has placed 3rd at The Session @ Vail, Colorado (2006), she has a major part in the Misschief Films movie Ro Sham Bo and she was a Winter X Games Slopestyle Finalist (2006). In 2005 she was a Nominee, TransWorld Snowboarding Rider’s Poll - Rookie of the Year and won both the Nikita Showdown Slopestyle and Abominable Snow Jam Slopestyle that year, and placed 4th at the US Open Rail Jam.


ANDREA BINNING:
One of the pioneers of big-mountain freeskiing, Andrea Binnins is a fearless Aussie, renowned for her speed, determination and daring, as well as for her mischievous smile.

After spending several seasons contending in Alpine races and training in both Australia and the United States, she had switched to freestyle moguls when participation in New Zealand’s 1997 World Heli Challenge provided a hint of things to come. In that first foray into the relatively unknown sport of big-mountain freeskiing, Andrea placed third. Over the following years, as she transitioned from freestyle to blaze trails in freeskiing, she would win the World Heli Challenge outright (twice) and stand at the top of the podium at the World Extreme Skiing Championships, the Rip Curl Mountain Challenge, and Red Bull Snowthrill of Chamonix.

It was in Chamonix that Andrea met her boyfriend, freeskier Stian Hagen, who shares her passion for big mountains and big adventure. She still calls those epic French slopes home today, although she returns to Australia annually to ski at spectacular Mount Hotham.

Andrea has continued to accumulate freeskiing honors, including wins at the World Tour Freeskiing Finals and the Engadinsnow Freeride Contest; but her current obsession is filming, which most recently resulted in her 2006 Powder Video Awards nomination. She feels fortunate to have the opportunity to explore some of the planet’s most amazing and remote places, and she take inspiration from others worldwide who share her passion. At 30, Andrea Binning is a role model who just keeps finding new heights in her sport, and in life.