Jeannie Thoren - Class of 2025

(Marquette)

Jeannie Thoren is known and respected around the globe as the catalyst for women's specific, ski-related, anything. Before Jeannie, ski equipment was designed by men for men. Called a "crusader" for women's skiing, she had the courage to insert herself into an industry resistant to considering the differences in the female form. The Thoren Theory simply states: "Women are not small men, they need different ski equipment." From building the first women-specific ski with a forward binding location in Mittersill, Austria (Blizzard Skis 1986) or working with Dynastar in Chamonix to design their Exclusive Carve Ski (2007 Gear of the Year Award), Jeannie’s commitment to innovation for women-specific gear on the slopes has never wavered. In 2009, Jeannie Thoren's Women's Ski Center, the first women’s only ski resort in the US, opened in Vail, CO.