When it started dumping in Montana, Monod joined Miller on a trip to Montana with Level 1, where it snowed almost every day for a month. The trip was as challenging as it was productive. Monod was learning to ride a snowmobile in the deepest conditions she’d ever been in. She spent hours digging her machine out of trouble. During her time in there, Monod met just one other girl.

“She worked at the gas station,” Monod explains. “I got to know her, and we’d bake together.”

Throughout the trip, Monod gained confidence on her sled and in the air. She built her own jump and landed a 7. She stomped a 270 on a hip. She spent an entire day trying to clean a 360 off a cliff and took many, many hits; she gave up for a couple of days before finally nailing it. In late April, during her second stint in Montana, Monod set off a miniature avalanche on a rowdy face and went over a double ice cliff. She landed headfirst in a pocket and was fully buried. She was shaken up after, and she took a moment to think about what happened, but she didn’t head back to the truck.

“That kind of showed her grit,” says Coty, who along with Darren Rayner, filmed Monod in Montana. “Tatum has it all—she’s confident, she can pick out lines on her own and she’s a great skier. She also has the personality—that’s huge when you’re hanging with someone for weeks at a time. She’s awesome, funny and fun. She doesn’t have an ego, and she looks out and cares for everyone around her.”

Miller first met Monod in 2011 at Camp of Champions in Whistler. Monod hadn’t ridden much park, and Miller could tell she was out of her element. When Monod told him she wanted to hit the double-kink rail, he recommended she learn the down-bar first. She ignored his advice and nailed it on her third try.

“She has an incredible sense of balance,” says Miller. “She’s super good on slacklines. I can barely stand on one, and she’s doing backflips off.”

In 2013, Monod showed him some of her favorite lines and jumps around Whistler. It was the first time he’d been shown around a mountain by a girl. “I was in love with her immediately,” he says. Monod and Miller spent most of last winter together. “She’s a really good big-mountain skier, and she has a drive to incorporate more freestyle into her skiing,” Miller says. “She wants to slide rails and wants to spin and hit jumps.”

When high pressure plagued the Wasatch early last season, Monod spent a solid month skiing park every day at Park City Mountain Resort. She worked on her 5s, 7s and even hit some street rails. It was humbling, but she says it was one of the best things she’s done for her skiing.

The video clip of the first female skier to throw a double back in the backcountry turned a lot of heads and arguably kicked off Tatum’s ski career. This season, Monod plans to work on her switch tricks and nailing her grabs.

With her gymnastics background, flipping comes easier than spinning for Monod. Back in 2012, on her second trip to Retallack with Orage, Auclair, Ager and Gilberti built a large jump and Monod mentioned she might try a double backflip. Auclair suggested trying a couple singles first. She watched him land a seemingly effortless double before he offered some advice that stuck: rather than starting high and ditching speed, start lower and really work the in-run.

“He literally walked me through every step,” says Monod. “He hiked up the in-run and told me where to start. He described the feeling of getting into the second flip, and he even raked the jump before I went.”

It took three tries before Monod put one to her feet. “It was the best feeling,” she says. “It’s definitely a trick I wouldn’t have tried if I didn’t have JP there.”

The video clip of the first female skier to throw a double back in the backcountry turned a lot of heads and arguably kicked off Tatum’s ski career. This season, Monod plans to work on her switch tricks and nailing her grabs.

“She’s not afraid to fall and eat shit,” says Izzy Lynch who skis with Monod in Revelstoke and filmed with her for Pretty Faces. “She crashes hard, gets back up and tries again.” Lynch says she sees Monod’s career skyrocketing.

“I hope to one day push myself and women’s skiing as far as I possibly can,” Monod declares.

This season, Level 1 hopes to bring Monod to some bigger terrain. There are talks of some heli trips—Whistler, Terrace … possibly Alaska.

“I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of her potential,” says Berman. “We’re really excited to put more time and energy into working with her. She has a perfect combination of skills, attitude, work ethic and fearlessness. It’s going to put her in a good position for a long, prosperous career.”

Related: Speak softly and carry a big medal: Joss Christensen’s humble rise to recognition

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