Lexi duPont

Alexis "Lexi" duPont (born February 16, 1989) is an American professional big mountain freeskier. She is a Freeskiing World Tour contender^[1] and former Junior Olympics competitor,^[2] who has been featured in several films such as Warren Miller’s Wintervention^[3] and Tracing Skylines.^[4] Her mother, freestyle skier Holley duPont, was one of the first women to land a backflip on skis.^[5]

Personal life

One of three daughters of Holley and Chris duPont, duPont was born in Sun Valley, Idaho,^[2] After graduating from the Community School in 2007,^[6] she moved to Beverly, Massachusetts, to attend Endicott College on a sailing scholarship,^[7] but after a year decided to enroll in the University of Colorado Boulder where she majored in fine art.^[8] In 2010, duPont circumnavigated the globe with Archbishop Desmond Tutu on the MV Explorer through the study abroad program Semester at Sea.^[9] Since graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2014, her artwork has earned a permanent display at the American Indian College Fund in Denver.

Career

Lexi’s parents put her in her first set of skis at the age of two.^[8] Growing up, she pursued ski racing, competing on the Sun Valley ski team and even qualifying for the Junior Olympics two years in a row.^[2] During college, she was a member of the University of Colorado Free Style Team, and entered the Freeskiing World Tour, placing in the top 10 overall in 2009 and 2010.^[10] After that, she went on to qualify first at Revelstoke,^[11] and finished fourth place at the "Red Bull Cold Rush",^[12] in 2012.

duPont was signed to Eddie Bauer’s First Ascent team in 2010.^[13][14] In 2013, she was featured in the ski film “Tracing Skylines,” for which she was nominated for “Best Female Performance” at the Powder Awards,^[15] and was also featured in National Geographic’s “Powder Highway Webisodes.”^[16]

Philanthropy

In 2007, she participated in a six-week volunteer program at M’Lop Tapang Center for Street Children in Cambodia.^[6] Two years later, she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, to raise funds for children in Tanzania, Africa.^[17] She has also volunteered for Beadforlife,^[18] and participates in Play Hard Give Back for Higher Ground, helping people with disabilities experience competition and the outdoors without limitations.^[19]

Films

• 2010 | Warren Miller’s “Wintervention”^[20]
• 2012 | Two Plank Productions’ “Because”^[21]
• 2013 | Doubsatch Collectives’ “AK Our Way”^[22]
• 2013 | Poor Boyz Productions’ “Tracing Skylines”^[23]
• 2013 | National Geographic’s “Powder Highway Road Trip” Webisodes^[24]
• 2014 | Poor Boyz Productions’ “Twenty”^[25]
• 2014 | Unicorn Picknick’s “Pretty Faces”^[26]

Awards and nominations

• 2010 | 3rd Place Freeskiing World Tour, Telluride, Colo.^[27]
• 2012 | 1st Place Freeskiing World Tour Revelstoke Qualifier^[11]
• 2012 | 4th Place Red Bull Cold Rush^[12]
• 2013 | Nomination for “Best Female Performance” at The Powder Awards^[28]

References