Hilaree Nelson O'Neill

Athlete to Athlete Interview:

Mark Synnott with Hilaree Nelson O'Neill

Bio

Hilaree grew up skiing at Steven’s Pass in Washington state. She didn’t begin skiing competitively, however, until moving to Europe in her early twenties. She began with a few European extreme contests and derbies scattered throughout the Alps. After college graduation, Hilaree followed some friends to Chamonix, France, where she intended to spend the winter—a winter that turned out to be five years long. During this time, O’Neill slowly transformed from a lift-served skier to a big-mountain, backcountry ski mountaineer. She found she had what it took for extreme skiing: athletic abilities perfectly suited for the rigors of climbing as well as skiing and a spirit of adventure that would take her to faraway places and down many first descents.

Birthdate:

12/12/1972

Favorite Destination:

Hanalei, Kauai

Favorite The North Face Product:

The Women's Aconcagua Jacket. I like it as a down alternate to the Redpoint. It's a great layer, a great outer piece, and it fits well.

Proudest Moment:

Crawling into Camp ll on Choya after summiting and skiing.

Words To Live By:

Don't live a day like the day you just lived.

Most Recent Epic:

In Bolivia, on our last climbing day, we finished four packs but had to descend in the dark and did not know the route. I had no headlamp, but fortunately, the moon was out. After three hours of negotiating crevasses, scracs and massive boulder fields, we made it back to base camp.

Most Humbling Moment:

Feeling really small when in really big mountains (I feel that one a lot).

Ambition:

Get my pilot's license. Skydive.

Inspiration Within the Sport:

Everytime I see a new mountain range. It is different from the last. The more places I go, the more places I realize I have yet to see.

Three Things I Always Pack:

A big red hat, a Redpoint Jacket, and my favorite jeans.

Career Highlights:

• Skied from the summit of Cho Oyu in Nepal
• Kamchatka, Russia: exploring the region via helicopter and ski touring
• Cerro Mercedario Ski Expedition: first ski descent of the south face of Mercedario, from 19,500 feet, Los Andes, Argentina
• Mongolian Altai Women's Expedition: first ski descent of all five of the "Holy Peaks" of the Mongolian Altai
• South Georgia Island Ski and Snowboard Expedition: first ski descent of Mt. Norman
• Mt. Waddington Ski Expedition: first female descent of the northwest summit of Waddington and Combatant Couloir
• Hannuman Tibba Women's Expedition: first ski descent of RFHP, a 2,500-meter couloir in the Himachal Pradesh region of India
• Aconcagua Ski Expedition: summited via Polish Glacier Direct in Los Andes, Argentina
• 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 Qornet as-Sawda, 3,090 meters: traverse of the Mt. Lebanon Range
• The Monta Rosa via Grenz Glacier from Switzerland into Italy, ski descent of the Marinelli Couloir, longest couloir in the Alps
• Buck Mountain: first female ski descent of Bubble Fun Couloir, The Tetons, Wyoming
• 1996 European Wmen's Extreme Skiing Champion, Chamonix, France

Films/Media Hightlights:

• Warren Miller Film, 2004
• National ad campaign photos for The North Face, 2004
• Skiing magazine (February), "12 Stars Who Are Changing the Sport," 2004
• Outside magazine’s "25 Sports and Adventure Goddesses Who Rule," 2003
• Warren Miller’s Storm,2002
• OLN South Georgia Island Expedition, 2002
• Warren Miller's Extreme Winter,2001
• Transworld Television, "Ski Nomads: A Traverse of Lebanon,"2001
• OLN, "Outlaws of the Aconcagua Trail," 2001
• OLN adventure series, "Mystery Mountain," 2001
• NBC adventure series, The North Face's "Descending India,"2000