Chillfactor Podcast – Jess Hotter, 2022 Freeride World Champion

July 15th, 2023

 

Mountainwatch | Podcast Interview

In the latest episode of the Chillfactor podcast Reggae Elliss’ guest is New Zealand professional skier and 2022 Freeride World Tour Champion Jess Hotter.

While she lives in Wanaka now, Jess grew up in the small north island town of Ohakune, near Mt Ruapehu and her home resort Turoa.  Introduced to skiing by her parents at a young age, Jess has always been passionate about skiing and was one of those kids who was on the hill every day she could, rain, hail or shine.

Jess Hotter, relaxed on her winter home turf in Treble Cone

After finishing school Jess did a number of Northern Hemisphere seasons in Canada and then relocated to Wanaka in 2017 for the NZ season working on ski patrol in Treble Cone for three years before her pro skiing career took over.

Jess competed in her first freeride comp when she was 22 and spent a few years chasing the Freeride Qualifying tour and in 2019 she finished first in the rankings and qualified for the World Tour. She won in Kicking Horse in her rookie year and in 2022 she had two firsts and a second and won the world tour.

Jess celebrating the win in Fieberbruun in March 2022, her second win in a row. The follwing wqeek she was crowned World Champ after th eVerbier event. Photo: FWT/ J. Bernard

But sport can be cruel and on this year’s tour, after a couple of disappointing runs in the first three events, Jess missed the cut for the finals. After that, she decided to take a break from competition and did not enter the challenger events, which negated her chance of requalifying for the 2024 tour.

She spent time in Canada in film projects and trying to reconnect with her love and passion for skiing. It was a time of retrospect and taking time out but she’s now looking forward to a reset this NZ winter and competing in the NZ events the first step to requalifying for the tour.

The Chillfactor Podcast is available on  Spotify,  and Soundcloud