At the Speed of Life

Hitting the slopes at 42 weeks pregnant seems about right for an Olympic skier. “It always felt so refreshing to be out skiing, it’s so easy and natural for me,” says Resi Stiegler of her preferred activity in the days before welcoming her first child.

Resi has always lived at full speed. Her story sounds like the the stuff of a movie — bursting into a high-profile ski racing career as a teenager, traveling the world competing, the highs of exhilarating races and cheering crowds followed by lows of huge injuries, trusting herself through times where others thought she should quit, and all of it in a very public arena. 

Since her retirement from a successful 19-year racing career in 2021, her pace of life has not slowed, her world travels have not stopped — things have simply evolved. Resi took on her next adventure right away — she and husband David Ketterer welcomed their first daughter, Rosi, 10 months after Resi retired, and soon younger daughter Romi joined their growing family. Young Rosi had visited 12 countries by 18 months of age. David was still racing on the World Cup circuit, so Resi went directly from a season as a competitor, to the very next season being on the road while pregnant and then with a newborn.

It is fitting that her daughters joined right into the skiing lifestyle, as it’s what Resi has lived her entire life. The Stiegler name is known to any Jackson Hole skier — Resi’s father, Pepi Stiegler, was an Olympic medalist and the first Ski School Director at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, an integral part of the early days when the culture and community were forming.

 “I feel quite lucky this is where I was born and raised,” says Resi, “It’s a place that is so dear to my heart, anyone who lives in Jackson knows how special it is.” Resi spent her childhood exploring the mountain with other children of resort employees. She laughs fondly remembering, “Skiing was our daycare!” The close knit community, much smaller back in the early cowboy days of the resort, collectively kept an eye on the pack of young skiers as they roamed the slopes all winter. Resi’s first coach was Nathan ‘Nato’ Emerson, a long time instructor who can still be found at the resort, teaching the next generation. “He instilled so many things that got me going in racing. He was teaching me how to race, but also he made it so fun.”

What Nato passed on to Resi is what she now feels strongly about passing on to the next generation, viewing this new chapter in her life as an opportunity to motivate and inspire others, especially young skiers. “I get so excited for them — I love motivating people, it’s one of the things I love most.”

Since retirement, she’s been doing just that: coaching Stiegler Ski Racing Camps alongside her brother in the US and Europe, as well as doing private coaching. Her life lately has been a family affair. Her husband is German and comes from a large family, so being back and forth between Wyoming and Europe is a way of life for the couple. When coaching in Europe, David’s mother or grandmother joins in to help with the children, and family visits bookend work commitments. Resi happily notes that “It’s always a big chaotic adventure, and we love it.”

Resi is at an interesting place in life. She ponders that, “Mid 30’s isn’t a time when most people are retiring from a 20 year career, it’s young to retire. But starting a family at that age is called geriatric by the medical field.” She is currently in a phase of starting from the beginning in many ways, with starting her family as well as a new phase in life. “I’m starting from scratch,” she says. And she’s clearly looking forward to approaching the creation of her future with the same exuberance she brings to everything she does.

Resi has always lived a life outside of the mainstream, with all of the perks as well as challenges that entails, and enjoys the uncharted territory. “I like flying by the seat of my pants, it’s exciting to not know what’s next,” she says. “I enjoy painting my own way.” She’s been enjoying the wonderful way things have come together in the last few years, but is always on the lookout for other opportunities that feel like the right fit. This is just the beginning of designing what the focus of her career will be during the next 20 or 30 years of her life.

Resi was a teenager the last time she headed into the unknown, and it led to the US Ski Team, World Cup racing and three Olympic games. Recalling the early days of her racing career, she laments that her very first World Cup race is not regularly mentioned or listed online. “It was in Sestriere, Italy, and I did terribly!” she says. The results led her coaches to believe she wasn’t ready for racing at that level, but there was still another race happening before the next available flight back to Wyoming. Without any pressure, 16-year-old Resi headed into her second race, with one addition to her aerodynamic gear — a pair of tiger ears she and a friend found in a local shop in Lenzerheide, Switzerland while exploring before the competition. “Taking away the seriousness, I just had fun,” she says, “And I did so well that I qualified for the World Championships. From then on it was a fast track onto the World Cup, it was wild. It was such an experience.”

Resi still has the original tiger ears, and she also kept the feeling of having fun. “Success isn’t the only thing you take away from racing. It’s the adventure, the journey.” It’s interesting to note that in an individual competitive sport, camaraderie was a large part of her experience. Resi notes that the members of the US Ski Team had a different experience than skiers based in Europe. While those competitors had the opportunity to frequently travel a short distance home following big races, Resi and her team traveled together for months at a time. All of them enjoyed making the most of down days. “My teammates were always ready to go out and explore,” says Resi, “You end up at a random gas station with a merino wool boutique out back with a grandma sewing by hand, or a hole in the wall where you have the best steak dinner by the fire. I loved getting to know the tiny towns.”

Now as a parent, Resi’s still doing everything she loves, and sharing it with her daughters. Exploring, travel, and enjoyment of the outdoors, “I love doing something every day with that peaceful, wilderness feeling,” she says. Of course, she’s passing on her love of skiing. After skiing through the end of her first pregnancy, Resi did the same with her second — but this time, the mom-to-be had one-and-a-half-year-old Rosi skiing by her side.

Resi had spotted a pair of kids ski boots on sale during the previous summer and brought them home for Rosi, who was intrigued and immediately got into the habit of putting on her ski boots and wearing them around the house. By fall, Rosi was asking to give skiing a try. “It turned the season into something new for me, and it was so fun to ski together,” Resi says, also noting that while Rosi loved her first season, there were days when the family suited up in ski gear and the youngster chose rolling around in the snow instead of skiing. Yes, even Olympic athletes have this universal experience that all parents of young skiers can relate to. Resi approached it all with patience, and being present to enjoy the moment. “It feels so exciting to be able to raise the next generation here in Jackson, to be able to ski with my daughters in the same place where I grew up skiing.” Resi is at a special place in life, truly enjoying the exponential changes and evolution and ready for more excitement to come. Because life moves fast, but Resi moves faster.