DolomiteSport Telemark skier Susie Sutphin

Skiing corn beneath the Tre Cime di Lavaredo

The Elegant Telemark Queen Susie Sutphin

A good friend of our’s from the US, Susie Sutphin, just stayed two weeks with us here in the Italian Dolomites. Together we pushed the limits of our legs and motivation, managing to ski every single day of her visit, 2 weeks solid. Included was Austria’s Silvretta Tour, a few days in the Zillertal Group, numerous days in the Dolomites, including three doubles where we skied during the day, finished at a hut, and then maximized our ski time by skiing out under fullmoon with a slight grappa buzz. The weather was at its absolute best behavior, favoring long days and lots of mileage.

Susie making tracks upward

Susie is the former Patagonia Athlete/Ambassador Coordinator from where we came to know her years ago, but now lives and works in Truckee, California for the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival. She is, simply put, one of the best telemark skiers around. Where people just should not be dropping their knee, she does, with grace and power at the same time. More than a few Austrians are likely singing songs about her right now. Susie’s primary goal in skiing is one thing, skiing steep, narrow, and mightily long couloirs.

This was Susie’s first visit to the Dolomites, I asked her some questions about the skiing.

I know what is coming, but what are your thoughts on the Dolomites?You have expectations from places, from the media, videos, etc… then what a place really is becomes focused when you arrive. The Dolomites are like the Eastern Sierra times 10. Turn everything up 10 notches and it is the skiing here. There are so many visible lines, so many things I look at and know I can go ski, the Dolomites are raining couloirs.

Here it is GO TIME. My telemark skiing really improved in two weeks because the terrain required me to improve. Back home we have training grounds, then the Dolomites are the olympics. The Dolomites make you show what you’ve got.

And it is just so beautiful, the scale is massive, to be up high in the mountains at night and see the tiny villages shimmering below – fantastic.

Why the love of couloirs?
You always hear climbers describing being a part of nature when they climb. For me, being in a couloir, I feel connected to something so big, to actually be inside a mountain where not everyone can go is a great experience. And to stand on the top, looking in, seeing your ski tips sticking out above the drop, feels so good.

Explain the quote of the trip, “I love Europe”.

And not just for skiing, for everything. This trip was special, spending all my time with people who live here and not being just a tourist made it feel even better. Seeing how people live here, seeing my friends living here and how to make it happen, I love this.

What is your perception of Europe’s Mountain Culture?

The sports are just part of the culture, it is what you do. I heard a girl on the Silvretta Tour who was learning to ski in the mountains say, “I am from the Tirol, I must ski.”

And all the older people out?

Great, to be in the mountains, on a tour, arrive at a hut and there are 150 people inside of all ages, amazing. It is so inspiring and motivating. There is so much depth to the culture.

Would you return?

The question is “How do I come back forever?”

Finally, in your group of friends back in the US, is there an awareness of the Dolomites?
They think, “They’re somewhere in Italy, right?” That is it. They seem to be known for just climbing. For skiing, Chamonix and the Alps overshadow everything. But the Dolomites are the most varied, the location and proximity to other incredible areas, the Ortler, the Silvretta, Stubai, etc… And then the Dolomites themselves, if you love skiing couloirs and love just real skiing, go to the Dolomites.