{"id":806017,"date":"2020-04-03T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=381330"},"modified":"2020-04-03T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T16:00:00","slug":"freestyle-skier-keri-herman-talks-about-finding-her-tribe-and-proving-the-haters-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/freestyle-skier-keri-herman-talks-about-finding-her-tribe-and-proving-the-haters-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Freestyle skier Keri Herman talks about finding her tribe and proving the haters wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"615\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers-sdn-040320-1024x615.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers-sdn-040320-1024x615.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers-sdn-040320-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers-sdn-040320-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers-sdn-040320.jpg 1146w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Peak Performers winners, from left: Trygve Berge, Alpine skiing; and Keri Herman, freestyle skiing. Nordic skiing will be announced April 10, and snowboarding will be announced April 17.<\/strong><br \/><em>Allison Seymour \/ aseymour@summitdaily.com<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>DILLON \u2014 After longtime Breckenridge local Keri Herman won the 2007 Aspen Open, the only major freeski competition for women at the time, the mother of pro skier Meg Olenik had a question for the Bloomington, Minnesota, native.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho are you, and where did you come from?\u201d Olenik\u2019s mother asked Herman, then 24 years old.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was like, \u2018I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m a hockey player, but I\u2019m skiing today,\u2019\u201d Herman recalled saying.<\/p>\n<p>The truth was, Herman was a Minnesota hockey star turned Breckenridge park rat who shocked the small, tight-knit freeski world on that fateful day in Aspen in 2007. Reflecting on how her life evolved from a heart for hockey, to studying to work in pantsuits on Wall Street, to Breckenridge ski bum, Herman said it all really fell into her lap.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation sd-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/sdn-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>After a successful youth hockey career where she played on trailblazing all-girls hockey teams in Minnesota, Herman moved to Denver for college having really skied only on spring break trips. Throughout college, she went from being someone who skied a few days to pay off her pass to someone who fell in love with the sport after she stumbled across a terrain park at Beaver Creek Resort.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI accidentally went through the park and was like, \u2018What is this?\u2019\u201d Herman said. \u201cAnd there was no turning back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two decades later, Herman is remembered in Summit County and globally as one of the female freeskiers who laid the foundation for the opportunities so many young women have today. The 2014 Olympian won several gold medals at U.S. Grand Prix World Cup events, five silver medals at X Games and four medals at Dew Tour, including her crowning achievement on home snow at the 2014 Dew Tour at Breckenridge Ski Resort when so many told her she was too old to keep competing after losing several sponsors.<\/p>\n<p>Still a Breckenridge local who loves skiing as many days as she can each season, Herman is the freestyle skiing winner of <a href=\"http:\/\/summitdaily.com\/peakperformers\">the Summit Daily\u2019s Peak Performers project<\/a>, which honors the greatest athletes and most influential figures in Summit county ski and snowboard history.<\/p>\n<p>Receiving the highest total of the freestyle fan vote, Herman edged out accomplished Summit County freeski figures such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/qa-with-peak-performers-freestyle-skiing-runner-up-chris-hawks\">runner-up Chris Hawks<\/a>, moguls legend Scott Rawles and slopestyle and big air champion Bobby Brown for the honor. At the strength of Herman\u2019s legacy is a driven attitude and trailblazing path she set for other female freeskiers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-3.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-381335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-3.jpg 1009w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-3-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-3-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-3-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1009px) 100vw, 1009px\"><figcaption><strong>Breckenridge local Keri Herman skis a cliff at Breckenridge Ski Resort.<\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy Joe DuBois<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>But for Herman, that legacy was supposed to be on the ice \u2014 not the snow. The member of a hard-working hockey family, Herman played on all-girls teams that were so good they were kicked out of boys leagues because they won too much.<\/p>\n<p>Her zest for competition and drive to always learn more aided Herman once she stumbled upon that Beaver Creek terrain park. Eventually finding her way to Breckenridge in 2003, Herman took to the slopes the edge control, athleticism and I\u2019ll-prove-you-wrong attitude she had in hockey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was so determined to learn things,\u201d she said. \u201cI could hike a rail all day until I learned it, and it was just no big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The former finance and marketing major at Denver University said she found her people at Breckenridge\u2019s Freeway terrain park. They were the friends she\u2019d work with in the deli at City Market in Breckenridge, one of many jobs Herman had through the years to make the ski-bum lifestyle work. On most every day before she\u2019d go into her job at City Market or Christy Sports or Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., among other gigs, Herman and the park-rat tribe at Breck would be out there cheering each other on to try to progress their skills, feeling more like camaraderie than competition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know that music video by Blind Melon, \u2018No Rain\u2019?\u201d Herman said. \u201cThat bumble bee that felt lonely by herself? That was me in Denver. So moving here, I found all of my bumble bees. \u2026 We were living in a house in Warrior\u2019s Mark with 10 people, sharing rooms. People were sleeping on the couches, floors, tables. We just squeezed everybody in to make rent as cheap as possible. We couldn\u2019t afford TV. We could barely afford heat. We all slept in our ski clothes and just survived.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Little did Herman know the skills her friends helped her learn on the big Freeway jumps would seamlessly transition once a representative from Spyder sponsored her and got her contest career rolling. It was a career, Herman said, that culminated after the 2014 Sochi Olympics.<\/p>\n<p>Around the time of the Olympics, Herman said people in the ski industry began telling her she was too old to keep competing. By the time the 2014 Dew Tour rolled around, she\u2019d lost sponsors and was doubted. That\u2019s why the win at Dew Tour on the Freeway jumps she was so familiar with and the silver medal a month later at X Games in Aspen meant so much.<\/p>\n<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-2-1024x683.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-381334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Breckenridge local Keri Herman competes in a big air competition at Nine Queens in Serfaus Fiss Laudis, Austria.<\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy Keri Herman<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI was like, \u2018You know what? Screw you,\u2019\u201d Herman said. \u201cYou are not here, just because of your insecurities, to tell me I should be insecure about my ability and what I\u2019m doing. And those wins with no backing, hardly, I am most proud of. It\u2019s like, \u2018You know what? Stop telling any kind of person that this isn\u2019t for them. Or they are too old to do this, too old to do that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The win at Dew Tour also bookended the journey women\u2019s freeskiing had gone on, how far it\u2019d come since Herman\u2019s first podium at Dew Tour when her winnings consisted of a lunch box with shampoo and conditioner.<\/p>\n<p>Though her competitive career has wound down due to chronic leg injuries, including&nbsp;a partial femur replacement, the 37-year-old is at peace with her ski journey. Her goal, ultimately, is longevity. If she can do switch 540s for the rest of her life, that\u2019d be sweet.<\/p>\n<p>Her larger focus, though, is ensuring women, young and old, are never discouraged from attempting what they know is possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m inspired by them because they are paving their own path, trying to do things for themselves,\u201d Herman said. \u201cIf you know you can do it, you can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-4-1024x681.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-381336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-4-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-4-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-4-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/PeakPerformers1-SDN-040320-4.jpg 1276w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Breckenridge local Keri Herman competes in a big air competition at Nine Queens in Serfaus Fiss Laudis, Austria.<\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy Keri Herman<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/freestyle-skier-keri-herman-talks-about-finding-her-tribe-and-proving-the-haters-wrong\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Peak Performers winners, from left: Trygve Berge, Alpine skiing; and Keri Herman, freestyle skiing. Nordic skiing will be announced April 10, and snowboarding will be announced April 17.Allison Seymour \/ aseymour@summitdaily.com DILLON \u2014 After longtime Breckenridge local Keri Herman won the 2007 Aspen Open, the only major freeski competition for women at the time, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-806017","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-17 08:52:54","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806017\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}