The Sun Valley-native reflects on following in the right family members’ footsteps and continuing the DuPont family’s legacy of adventure.
WORDS • CRYSTAL SAGAN | PHOTOS • STELLAR MEDIA
The duPont corporation is as well-known for creating innovative technologies like GORE-TEX and Teflon as it is associated with environmental controversies. The lesser-known story is that of the duPont family legacy—with roots thick in adventure—that push Lexi duPont to find her edge.
The DuPont Corporation has had some serious environmental blunders, yet you’re an active environmentalist. How do you process this?
It has been a huge conflict my entire life, knowing that they’ve created these really harmful chemicals that have had a negative impact on the environment. Growing up, my parents always taught us to see both sides of the coin and a lot of positive innovation has come from the DuPont Corporation as well, like GORE-TEX and other things that we use as explorers. It’s also worth noting that when duPont realized they were putting out Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and [contributing to the] hole in the O-Zone, they immediately stopped production, something that a lot of big corporations don’t do.
I’ve accepted it and learned how to take some of those daggers and evil things and turn them into positives. Here I am coming from the family that invented plastic, yet I’m plastic free and about to be living in a fully passive home. There are no more excuses; we can all do the right thing.
Other members of your family are also known for their outdoor pursuits. How have they inspired you?
It’s pretty cool. [duPont] didn’t really—just to bring it full circle—know that it was creating these harmful things, it just saw it as full innovation, doing things for the first time and trying to make the world a better place. That translated into a lot of the adventures they were doing as well; my grandfather was the first person to land a plane in New Guinea, my uncle Richard invented the glider, my aunt Alice was the first woman to fly the Amazon [in an open biplane]. The whole family was just going out there, above and beyond, to do these wild adventures. I find that to be deep in my blood and almost in my molecular makeup to go out and adventure. And I think that’s a big reason why I’ve chosen to become an extreme skier, doing these first descents up in Alaska, and learning to fly airplanes. There’s something so beautiful and nuanced about exploring a place for the first time and I feel lucky that I’ve inherited this appreciation from my family.
Did your family influence your love and appreciation for skiing as well?
Skiing has always been really deeply rooted in our family. Being raised in Sun Valley, that’s what we did on the weekends. If we wanted to spend time together we were skiing, even with my grandparents. My mom was a professional skier, she was one of the first ladies to do a backflip on skis! She still probably skis probably more days in a season than I do, she’s up there every day. Skiing was the basis of my parent’s relationship as well, so it’s part of us.
What would you like people to associate the duPont name with?
I’d like people to think about innovation. Those are the stories I was raised on, adventure and discovery, not destruction. I want people to see this badass woman out there skiing, helping people push themselves and find their edge. I think duPont has been an example of that and I’d like to continue that legacy.
Where is your edge? What’s next?
I want to fly my aunt Alice’s flight path down the Amazon. She was the first woman to fly down it in an open biplane and my dad gifted me her journal, which really solidified getting my pilot’s license. I’ve always had this inner conflict of being a duPont and an environmentalist. Its definitely conflicting to fly an engine through the heart of Mother Earth, but there’s a lot of non-profits that need air support so I’m working on connecting with conservation efforts. Surveying the rainforest and working with some non-profits to bring awareness to the poaching that is happening— things that come from being able to see land from above, in the sky.
I’m so drawn towards using planes to go out and ski remote places, more expedition style. The dream is to fly me and a couple of girlfriends out to camp on a glacier and ski—that’s my plan for the seasons to come.
What would your Aunt Alice think about your passion for the outdoors, adventure, and the environment?
I feel like she would be so proud and that a lot of her energy is rooted in me, telling me to keep going. For someone who is such an inspiration to see me being passionate about issues the same way she was in her time and really caring and putting my energy behind it— I mean what greater gift could you want?
What are you working on with Protect Our Winters?
POW is amazing, I really enjoy working with them. Last year I got to go to Washington, D.C. where we met with several congresspeople. Being able to see climate change happening first hand in our ski communities and then going to the big dogs in D.C.—the ones that can change legislature—and telling these people what we have seen happening is powerful.
There’s also a program called Hot Planet, Cool Athletes and it features athletes going into classrooms to talk to kids about climate change and sharing our experiences with what we’ve seen. We’re inspiring the next generation to take action.
