Ingrid Backstrom (born August 21, 1978) is an internationally ranked professional

skier Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (I ...

from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, United States. Backstrom graduated from

Highline High School Highline High School is a public high school in Burien, Washington, United States, located about 3.5 miles from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport. Highline High School, the flagship high school of the Highline Public Schools district, open ...

Burien, Washington Burien ( ) is a suburban city in King County, Washington, United States, located south of Seattle on Puget Sound. As of the 2020 census, Burien's population was 52,066, which is a 56.3% increase since incorporation in 1993. An annexation in 2010 ...

as a straight-A student, three-sport varsity athlete, and co-

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...

. In 2000, Backstrom graduated from

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacifi ...

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...

. Her brother,

Arne Backstrom Arne may refer to: Places * Arne, Dorset, England, a village ** Arne RSPB reserve, a nature reserve adjacent to the village * Arné, Hautes-Pyrénées, Midi-Pyrénées, France * Arne (Boeotia), an ancient city in Boeotia, Greece * Arne (Thessaly), ...

, died in a skiing accident in 2010 at the age of 29. Backstrom established herself on the

freeskiing Freeskiing, or new school skiing, is a specific type of alpine skiing, which involves tricks, jumps, and terrain park features, such as rails, boxes, jibs, or other obstacles. This form of skiing resulted from the growth of snowboarding comb ...

scene through her performances in Matchstick Production's 2004 ''Yearbook'' and 2005 ''The Hit List''. Since then she has been featured in several other ski films, including Warren Miller's ''Impact'' (2004), Mark Obenhaus's

Steep Steep may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Steep'' (2007 film), a film about extreme skiing * ''Steep'' (video game), a 2016 video game Places England * Steep, Hampshire, a village in central Hampshire, England * Steep Hill, a popular to ...

(2007) Matchstick Production's ''Seven Sunny Days'' (2007), ''Claim'' (2008), ''In Deep'' (2009), ''The Way I See It'' (2010), ''G.N.A.R. (2011)'', ''Attack of La Nina'' (2011), and ''Superheroes of Stoke'' (2012). Backstrom was the only female to be featured as one of Powder Magazine's ''Future Big Mountain Heroes'' in 2002. She has gone on to win several other awards for her performances in ski films, including "Best Female Performance" and "Breakthrough Performance" at the 2005 Powder Magazine Video Awards.

References

External links

ingridbackstrom.com
* Whitman College alumni American female freestyle skiers Skiers from Seattle 1978 births Living people American freeskiers Highline High School alumni 21st-century American women {{US-freestyle-skiing-bio-stub