Kasha Rigby

Athlete to Athlete Interview:

Mark Synnott with Kasha Rigby

Bio

Kasha Rigby has skied since she could walk and began telemark skiing as a teenager. Her passion for skiing and traveling has been the driving force behind most of her adult life. She began traveling at age 19, leaving college to explore Africa. She then headed to Colorado, where she became involved in telemark racing and extreme-skiing competitions. Kasha joined The North Face Ski Team in 1995 and has since brought her skis all over the U.S., Canada, South America, New Zealand, Russia, Asia, Europe, India and even the Middle East, skiing first descents of some of the world’s most revered peaks, including the Five Holy Peaks in Mongolia. It seems as if Kasha is always packing her bag for a new adventure, a lifestyle that has its pros and cons. She never wants to lose the joy she gets from skiing, but she admits that at some point in the future it would be nice to be hanging out in her own garden of her own house, planning adventures with her own kids.

Home:

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Favorite Food:

Palak Paneer

Favorite Music:

Bob Marley

Favorite Places to Travel:

India

Career Highlights:

• Mongolia Women's Ski Expedition: first ski descents of the Five Holy Peaks, including Kuitan, the highest peak in Mongolia
• Mt. Waddington Ski Expedition: descent of Mt. Waddington and Combatant Couloir, British Columbia
• Yukon Territories to Dry Bay, Alaska, ski exploration, accessed from the Tatshenshini River
• Hannuman Tibba Women’s Expedition: first ski descent of RFHP, a 2500m couloir in the Himachal Pradesh region of India
• Kamchatka Women's Ski Expedition: first ski descent of Mt. Udina and Mt. Zimina, as well as the first female ski descent of Mt. Tolbachik
• Lebanon Ski Expedition: ski descent of Qornet as-Sawda, 3090m, traverse of the Mt. Lebanon Range
• Mt. Belukha: ski exploration and descent of highest peak in Siberia
• Cotopaxi (5897m) and Chimborazo (6310m) Volcanoes of Ecuador: ski descent of world’s highest active volcano

Film Highlihgts:

• 2001 Warren Miller's Extreme Winter
• 2001 Transworld Television: "Ski Nomads: A Traverse of Lebanon"
• 2001 OLN Adventure Series "Mystery Mountain"