Backstrom to the Future
Ingrid wins Best Performance by a Female, Breakthrough Performer
It took only four turns for 26 year-old Ingrid Backstrom to slaughter Bella Coola's 1,500-foot Harrison Hotel and catapult herself into ski superstardom.
Ingrid stole the show in her first year of filming, tackling the hairiest of lines throughout B.C. and Alaska for Matchstick Productions and Warren Miller and delivering for MSP's Yearbook not only the most impressive women's segment in a ski film to date, but also one of the best segments of the year—gender aside.
The Seattle native moved to Squaw Valley in the winter of 2001 after graduating from Washington's Whitman College. Backstrom entered her first big mountain contest in April 2001 and was ranked second in the IFSA's world rankings a year later, a position she's maintained (without ever finishing the three-event Freeskiing World Tour). Last season she won the Canadian Freeskiing Championships and took third at the U.S. Freeskiing Nationals in Snowbird. Backstrom has finished on the podium in 11 of 12 career freeskiing contests.
Her impressive contest results aside, 2004 was the first year Ingrid skied for a film company, and her ability to step right onto the main stage earned her Best Performance by a Female and Breakthrough performer at the 2005 Powder Video Awards. He prowess was not lost on the readers or Powder, either, as she debuted on the Powder Reader Poll in 2nd, behind only last year's winner, Sarah Burke.
Ingrid's hard-charging style, effortless finesse and unwavering enthusiasm—combined with the best attitude in the biz—ensure this big mountain hero's career has only just begun.
Click here for the DANGER KITTY article on Ingrid from the December 2004 issue of POWDER.
