Kasha Rigby

Catherine "Kasha" Rigby (born 1970) is a competitive skier who calls Utah home.^[1] She is most noted for her many achievements and first descents as "the pioneer of extreme telemark skiing."^[2]

Early life

Kasha 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.^[2][3]

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.^[1][4]

Outside magazine credited her as being: "the best female telemark skier in the known universe", when she appeared on the cover of Women Outside in Fall 1998^[5]

Career highlights

• Climb and ski descent of Choy Oyu 26,907 ft (8201m) (credited as the first telemark descent)^[6][7][8][9]
• Mongolia Women's Ski Expedition: first ski descents of the Five Holy Peaks in Tavan Bogd (including Kuitan, the highest peak in Mongolia) ^[10]
• Mt. Waddington Ski Expedition: descent of Mt. Waddington and Combatant Couloir, British Columbia^[11][12]
• Yukon Territories to Dry Bay, Alaska, ski exploration, accessed from the Tatshenshini River^[13]
• Hannuman Tibba Women’s Expedition: first ski descent of RFHP, a 2500m couloir in the Himachal Pradesh region of India^[14][15][16]
• Kamchatka Women's Ski Expedition: First ski descent of Mt. Udina & Mt. Zimina, as well as the first female ski descent of Mt. Tolbachik (all telemarked)^{[17][18][19][20]}
• Lebanon Ski Expedition: ski descent of Qornet as-Sawda, 3090m, traverse of the Mt. Lebanon Range^[21][22]
• Mt. Belukha: ski exploration and descent of the highest peaks in Siberia^[23] (photos)^[24]
• Cotopaxi (5897m) and Chimborazo (6310m) Volcanoes of Ecuador: ski descent of world’s highest active volcano^[25]
• Multiple First Descents along Gibb's Fjord, Baffin Island^{[26][27][28][29][30][31]}
• Ski and kite Greenland^[32][33][34]
• 21 peaks in 21 days Bolivia ^[35]
• Trek of Frozen Zanskar River – Ladahk, India^[36]

Films/Videos

• 1997 Scott Gaffney's Breathe
• 1999 Higher on the Mountain ^[37]
• 2001 Warren Miller's Cold Fusion^[11][38]
• 2001 Transworld Television: Ski Nomads: A Traverse of Lebanon ^[21][39]
• 2001 OLN Adventure Series Mystery Mountain
• 2004 Incognito: Total Telemark 4 ^[40]
• 2006 Shelter from the Storm^[41][42]
• 2009 Edge of Never ^[43]
• 2015 Ultimate Survival Alaska, Season 3 ^[44]

References

1. The North Face - Athletes - Kasha Rigby
2. Skiing: Give Me Liberty...and a Lot of Monster Air | Outside Online
3. Dandelion magazine, V.1, N.4
4. Meet The Crew
5. Outside Online Archives | Outside Online
6. The North Face - Cho Oyu, Tibet
7. The Power of Two | Outside Online
8. Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. - Bios
9. Biglines.Com | Cho Oyu Blog Update
10. The North Face - All-Women Mongolia Expedition
11. Mark Synnott :: Expeditions : Mt. Waddington
12. The North Face - Mt. Waddington Expedition
13. Paddler magazine online : Skiers Use Rafts to Access Tat Descents
14. The North Face - A Woman's Ski Descent of Hanuman Tiba
15. Alison Gannett
16. Skiing magazine, February 2002
17. The North Face - Kamchatka Expedition 2000
18. SKIING Magazine, Feb 2004
19. Off-Piste Magazine, Iss. XVII, March 2003
20. Muscle & Fitness France - FEMMES DE L'EXTRÊME
21. Ski Lebanon Adventure by Sarah Ferguson
22. British Geographical Magazine, Feb 2000
23. The North Face - Athlete to Athlete Interview - Kasha Rigby
24. MountainZone.com | Altai Ski and Snowboard Post Expedition Gallery
25. Stellar: Lifestyle by Adventure - Feature: Pregnant with Snow
26. The North Face - Baffin Island Kite and Ski Expedition
27. [web.archive.org/web/20061115131722/http://www.exploreepic.com/expeditions/aug06/baffin.shtml - Outdoor sports Resources and Information. Archive ]
28. OFF TO THE ICE: North Face Baffin Island expedition underway
29. South Pole, North Pole News and Guide
30. http://mountaingazette.com/index2.php?date=2006-01-01
31. NANUK! - Never underestimate the powers of an Inuit man and his snowmobile
32. Figenshau and Griber Kite Couliors in Greenland
33. A1 - Asia
34. Skiing magazine, November 2003
35. The North Face - Ultimate Bolivian Peak Bagger
36. The North Face - Zanskar - Chadar Ice Trek
37. Higher on the Mountain (1999) (V) - Plot summary
38. Cold Fusion (2001)
39. Lebanon
40. Telemark Movie Incognito Review
41. Vail Film Festival
42. Shelter From the Storm North Face Expedition - AOL Television
43. Edge of Never (film) cast (retrieved 1/16/2011)
44. National Geographic

External links

• Personal Website
• Inside Outside Magazine Interview
• Outside magazine story
• Ultimate Survival Alaska, Season 3