Share

Scene

10 of the best female snowboarders

We put the highlight on 10 Badass Women past and present

It’s International Women’s Day, which means we get to hark on about some of the badass ladies who rock the boat in the snowboard world. There are so many more lovely ladies we would have liked to include, but alas, we’ve cut the list down to just 10. We’ve got 5 wild women who blazed the trail for those ahead of them, and 5 badass babes who are doing the absolute MOST right now.

The first 5 are women who we grew up watching pave the way for us all today, they’re the legends who fuelled our passion. They’re the ladies who covered our bedroom walls on posters and magazine cutouts, and who’s video parts we watched over and over. They’ve all had a huge impact on the sport itself, and particularly resonated with the progression of the womens industry.

The second 5 are a rad bunch of girls who are killing it right now, some might be big names already, some are ones you’re gonna want to keep a close eye on. Either way, these chicks are role models, ambassadors and insane athletes and they never fail to get us hyped.

Check out our list, and of course just because you don’t see your favourite rider on here it doesn’t mean that she hasn’t had an influence on us or the sport, we really did just run out of space. Here come the girls!

1. Karine Ruby

Karine was the first woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal for snowboarding which is an iconic feat in itself. Karine dominated the giant slalom and boardercross event circuits for years, winning a more than 65 Snowboard World Cup events, plus an impressive 2 Olympic medals. Ruby was in the process of becoming a mountain guide, when a tragic accident claimed the lives of her and 2 others in 2009. A Chamonix legend, Karine Ruby showed the world just how dominating a woman could be within the sport, and her legacy as an athlete and woman lives on.

PC: edubilla.com

2. Jess Kimura

Jess Kimura is one of the coolest chicks out there, snowboarder or not. Her ferocious attitude toward street riding is what caught peoples eyes initially, but over the years Danger Pony has shown that she’s no one trick pony. While she certainly wasn’t the first woman to make a name for herself in the streets, she’s definitely the one who has brought the most recognition to it, and has busted her ass trying to open the field for other women looking to dip their toes in the pool of street. Check out her project The Uninvited if you’re looking for something to froth over. It’s an all girl movie, produced, directed and funded by Kimura herself, she wasn’t happy with the lack of representation within the industry so literally went out and made her own movie just to highlight the boss chicks of snowboarding. Now that, is what shoots her up to legend status in our eyes.

3. Janna Meyen

Janna Meyen made her mark on snowboarding in the early 90’s, storming to victory as a 13 year old in the halfpipe at the 1991 Burton US Open, beating out reigning champ Tina Basich. Janna seemingly decided that bossing one discipline wasn’t enough, so entered the 1997 X Games for boardercross, and then jumped over to Slopestyle in 2000. Still not content Janna went on to make history by becoming the first ever winter athlete male or female, to win 4 back to back X Games gold medals. She dominated slopestyle from 2003-2006, and won a spate of other comps in between.

PC: allisports.com

4. Shannon Dunn-Downing

Dunn has done it all, literally. She was the first ever American woman to win an Olympic medal for snowboarding when she claimed the halfpipe bronze in Nagano in 1998. Dunn was the also the first woman to have a pro model snowboard, teaming up with Sims in 1994 to churn out her namesake board. Shannon has done so much for the progression of the sport, and was constantly becoming the first chick to land complex tricks in competition. Through the 90’s and early 2000’s she managed to stomp the first comp frontside 720, McTwist, and frontside rodeo 720. Not content with smashing the competition circuit, in 1996 Shannon was one of a group to set up the now huge charity Boarding for Breast Cancer, with the mission statement of making breast cancer awareness and breast health a topic of conversation among young people.

PC: Jeff Curtes 1994

5. Victoria Jealouse

Victoria Jealouse is isn’t the female Jeremy Jones, he’s the male Victoria Jealouse. Jealouse made a name for herself riding comps in the mid 90’s, and soon picked up sponsorship from Burton, she podiumed 4 times in the Burton US open including a Super G win in 1995. These wins however, are not why she’s counted as a bonafide legend- it’s her backcountry prowess that brought her mythical status. She headed to Alaska and spent time stacking footy for TGR and Standard Films, and carved a name for herself amongst the throngs of male riders up there. Her big mountain lines are the stuff of dreams, and still no woman has come close to achieving her notoriety in the backcountry.

1. Jill Perkins

Jill Perkins seems to be popping up absolutely everywhere these days, and with good reason. She’s racked up an impressive list of sponsors, rides with a super rad crew, and consistently churns out exciting and impressive content. Her happy-go-lucky attitude is infectious and you can’t help but get pumped when you watch her riding. Not only a smiley gal, she’s got the sauce to back it up- her technical riding skills are insane and just keep getting better. We’re stoked to see more of Jill in the future and to see what she’s gonna bring to the table in 2019.

2. Mia Brookes

Cast your mind back, try to remember what you were doing when you were 12… I’m fairly certain I was still trying to move up from velcro shoes to lace ups. Mia is 12 years old and is already waaaayyyy doper than we could ever hope to be. She absolutely drips with style, watch her ride and you get real Yung Doli vibes, she’s just a lil bit shorter. One of the coolest things about her is you don’t get the polished comp-kid vibes at all, if anything she screams punk rock dirtbag. She’s already stomping cab 9’s so we’re amped to see what her teenage years are gonna bring to the table.

3. Miyon Yamaguchi

34Miyon is one of the most stylish riders you will have the pleasure of clapping your eyes on. Her riding is impeccably loose and flowy, yet somehow still super technical. She rides with the Dirty Pimp crew, had a super rad feature in The Uninvited and galivants around the world shredding with her homies. Possibly one of our favourite riders to watch, you should 100% keep an eye on this chick.

4. Anniina Perhovaara

Lil Anniina is gnarlier than you. And me. And everyone. She’s already had a part in the sickest all-female snowboard movie to date, and she’s just getting better each day. The little Finnish ripper seems to have no fear when it comes to smashing features which are almost as big as she it, she’s definitely got a bright future ahead of her. If Anniina is anything to go by- the future is female.

5. Anna Gasser

You can’t have a list of female riders who are slaying without mentioning Anna Gasser, she’s put down more first landings than I’ve had hot meals. She was the first woman to stomp a triple cork- on her first attempt as well. She’s won a bagful of medals over the years including a gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics for her mega impressive Big Air performance. Gasser is still only 27, so there’s plenty of life left in her career, and although she’s already a big name, we foresee her going astronomical one of these days.

Have a look at our Highlights of Women’s Snowboarding 2018/2019 story here!

If you want to get involved with International Women’s Day 2019, have a look at our essential guide to snowboard events for women!

Share

Newsletter Terms & Conditions

Please enter your email so we can keep you updated with news, features and the latest offers. If you are not interested you can unsubscribe at any time. We will never sell your data and you'll only get messages from us and our partners whose products and services we think you'll enjoy.

Read our full Privacy Policy as well as Terms & Conditions.

production