Two from Tahoe

Is there something in the water at Lake Tahoe? While Mammoth seems to be pro shred headquarters these days, some of the biggest up and coming names in women’s snowboarding are coming out of Tahoe. Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter recently decided to make South Lake Tahoe her home base. Fellow Olympian Elena Hight calls Tahoe home.

Since we were wondering exactly what it is that makes Lake Tahoe such a snowboard hotbed, we sat down with a couple of girls whose names you might not know…yet. But we’re sure you will very soon.

Do you have a pen handy? Well get ready to write a couple of names down…so that in a few years you can say “I knew about her before she got big.”

At age 15, Jamie Anderson can’t even drive yet but has already won both the Chevy Grand Prix Slopestyle at Mt Bachelor and taken third in X Games slopestyle.

Jamie started snowboarding at age nine, when her older sisters Stacie and Joanie took up the sport. She said that these days “I don't get to ride with them that often but when we are together we're a bit competitive for sure.”

That competitive spirit led Jaime to become the youngest competitor ever at the X Games two years ago. Jaime, once again the youngest competitor, competed in all three snowboard disciplines at Winter X.

Salomon’s team manager, Alex Pashley, is excited about Jaime’s future. “I look forward to the years ahead,” says Pashley, “Jamie is at a point where you see her progress on a daily basis.”

Twenty-one-year-old Joanna Dzierzawski moved to Tahoe from Chicago three years ago and has been quietly building a name for herself as one of the most daring women’s street rail riders.

Joanna started snowboarding when she was 12. She said that “I looked up to my cousin Rob and wanted to do everything he did.” So how does a nice midwestern girl end up in Tahoe? Joanna explained that she “moved here by accident after graduating high school early. I couldn’t go back, I love it here!”

Her move was rather serendipitous as she first learned to ride rails in Tahoe, and decided to try competing after being encouraged by her roommates. The prize winnings were enough to keep her going back to competitions. In the summertime, she works hard to save money for the winter. Joanna praised her current employer, The Block Hotel in South Lake Tahoe, for the support and help they’ve given her.

There is, of course, more to both Joanna and Jaime than just snowboarding. As a high school sophomore Jaime has to balance her schoolwork with her riding. She is home schooled so that she can travel and do her work on the road.

Joanna has been working on her physical therapist degree at Lake Tahoe Community College, but she admits that her degree is on hold because “I pretty much have run out of classes to take until I stop travelling and competing for snowboarding.”

In the past few years filming for snowboard videos has become a huge part of a pro’s career. With the recent launches of Chunkyknit Productions and Misschief Films, women’s snowboarding has had a new avenue in which to display it’s talents.

This year you can see Jamie Anderson in Chunkyknit’s Transfer, and she is filming this season with both Chunkyknit and Misschief. Joanna takes a different route, nabbing one of the only full women’s parts to be seen in a guy’s film this season.

Anthony Cupaiuolo, head of the Tahoe based First Tracks Productions, explained that “we didn't start the season thinking Joanna would definitely get a full part. Around halfway through the season I realized how much solid footage she had. She definitely put together a part that stands up well with the other parts in the movie, which are all of male riders.”

With their past histories of success and dedication to improving their riding, both Joanna and Jamie look to have bright futures ahead of them. So when you see their pictures with medals and tropies in hand, just remember...we told you so.

We also stopped to chat with both ladies about their plans, goals, and what they think of women's snowboarding today. See what they had to say for themselves in the ProFiles below.

Jaime Anderson

2006 Results
1st Place - Vans Cup Slopestyle (Northstar at Tahoe, CA)
2nd Place – X Games 10 Slopestyle (Aspen, CO)
1st Place – US Grand Prix Slopestyle (Mt Bachelor, OR)

Sponsors: Salomon, 686, Dakine, Sierra at Tahoe, Windells
Home Mountain: Sierra at Tahoe
Age: 15

Have you done any filming?
Yes, with the Misschief crew this last year and a bit with the Chunkyknit crew as well.

Which do you like better - filming or competing?
Currently I like filming better.

What's the biggest accomplishment of your snowboarding career?
Being the youngest women’s winter competitor to qualify for X-Games.

What are your goals for this season?
Win X Games and film a good video part.

What are your long term goals?
Go to college and live in Fiji.

What’s your favorite discipline to compete in?
Slopestyle and Boardercross

What do you enjoy most about snowboarding?
Sunny park days with friends & going out with the crew on our sleds into the backcountry after a nice dump to find my own lines.

What’s your favorite event to compete in?
Rail jams seem to be the most fun, just feels like your jibbing with your friends.

Did you do any filming last season?
Some here, some there… watch Creative Differences by FirstTracksProductions.com

What women are pushing the sport right now?
Priscilla Levac, Leanne Pelosi, Alexis Waite, Erin Comstock. A lot more now then three to five years ago!

Who pushes you? What motivates you?
Myself, other girls that are killing it, and my friends.

What’s the hardest thing about being pro?
People expecting certain things out of you. I know snowboarding has influenced who I am, but I try not to let things get to me. Too often, I meet people who think they are better then the person standing next to them.

What’s the best thing about being pro?
I like to know that people support me and what I love to do.

What about being a pro snowboarder has most surprised you?
I’m always surprised when people have heard my name before.

What do your sponsors expect from you?
Ride the best I can and support their product. They are all great, couldn’t do it without them.

What advice would you give women looking to compete and be sponsored?
Have fun doing what your doing; I hear people say they are going to “train.” You can’t really train in snowboarding; progression is something that happens from riding a lot and pushing yourself.

What do you think you need to do to get to the next level?
Like I said, I’m out there to have fun. I never expected or tried too hard to get to where I am. I will continue to do what I do every year and that makes me happy.

What’s more important style or progression?
Progress with style.

How do you overcome fear?
Don’t sit there and think about it, just go for it.