Women's History Month 2025: Highlighting Women's Stories
The Colorado Snowsports Museum is celebrating Women’s History Month by highlighting stories of women in snow sports. From pioneering athletes to behind-the-scenes trailblazers, we will shine a light on figures who have influenced the industry.
Kicking off our series, we wanted to recognize Allison Jones.
Allison is a Paralympic skier and cyclist. She was born with the birth defect proximal femoral focal deficiency (PFFD), which left her without a right femur. She underwent surgery at age 7 months to amputate her right foot, allowing her to more easily wear a prosthetic leg. She received her first prosthetic leg at 9 months of age. Allison moved from Amarillo, Texas, to Colorado Springs, Colorado, at age 2 and a half.
At the 2006 Winter Paralympics, she won a gold medal for slalom in the standing category. Before that, she had won silver medals in the super-G and the giant slalom in the 2002 Winter Paralympics. She still lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Allison is a celebrated athlete who has made significant contributions to Paralympic sports as both an alpine skier and a cyclist. Today, she continues to inspire, lead, and affect changes across various facets of her life and work. Her dedication to her sports and advocacy efforts demonstrates her unwavering commitment to making the world a more inclusive place.
Secondly, we want to take a moment to celebrate one of the often-unsung heroes of the Colorado Snowsports Museum, Pat Pfeiffer. Pat was a mother, historian, volunteer, author, and political activist. Pat discovered her passion for skiing in the 1940s at Winter Park while attending Colorado College. Pat and her husband, Bill, became part-time owners of the Pikes Peak Ski Area.
Her first and strongest love was writing. She published numerous articles on travel and history in both regional and national publications and chronicled her great awakening in 65 years of journal writing. In the latter half of her life, she focused her attention on the history of skiing and wrote a seminal book on the subject (White Gold). She was featured in the PBS documentary, Ski! A Century of Colorado Skiing.
For over 35 years, she was a tireless worker for the Colorado Snowsports Museum, serving on the Board of Directors, on the Advisory Board, and as a Historian. Her latest endeavors helped create the Resource Center outside of Golden. She also spearheaded the process of working towards accreditation for the Museum.
To this day, Pat’s impact is felt by the Colorado Snowsports Museum. We are grateful for her work in better preserving our shared snow sports heritage, creating a space to do this, and ensuring the next generation of skiers can learn where our sports come from and by who. Her spirit fills the Resource Center walls and inspires our staff.
Let’s celebrate Pat’s life and accomplishments with the “Skiers Toast” written by Pat in 1982.
Drink to the snow that’s coming down
Drink to the revelry in town
Drink to the mountain steep and high
Drink to the skier schussing by
Drink to friends that have gone before
Drink to the friends we are with once more
Drink to the skiers that will come here after
Drink to a life of love and laughter
Special thanks to Susie Tjossem for preserving much of this history on Pat.
Next up, Kristean Porter was the first U.S. female freestyler to win the World Cup overall title. In the early years of World Cup freestyle, Kristean Porter won not one but two World Cup overall titles as a pioneering aerialist who was among the first women to perform triple flips; her specialty was the lay-tuck-tuck. She was also accomplished in ballet (no longer a discipline since 2000) and strong enough in moguls to pick up the points to round out her résumé. She was the first U.S. female to collect the overall title in 1994, and just four others have won it since. She also tacked on four World Championship medals, culminating with gold in the combined at La Cluzas, France, in 1995. Kristean retired in 1997.
Kristean and her family now live in Farmington, New Mexico, and on weekends, with their two daughters, they drive an hour-plus north to Durango, Colorado, where they have a ski house at Purgatory. They enjoy all the superb turns Purgatory has to offer.
Finally, we wanted to shine a light on Dodie Post Gann. She was a prominent figure in both skiing and aviation and has connections to Colorado, including her time as a ski instructor at the 1950 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Aspen. This photo shows Dodie in her FIS 1950 sweater.
Born in Reno in 1922, Dodie started training with the Reno Ski Club in 1938 and became one of the top junior skiers in the West. She was named the captain of the 1948 United States women’s Olympic ski team in San Moritz, Switzerland, but a broken ankle kept her from competing that year.
In 1950, Dodie captained the American women’s team at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Aspen, Colorado, and in 1952, she competed in the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway. She did not medal, but her teammate, Andrea Mead-Lawrence, won gold in the women’s slalom competition.
She was appointed to the U.S. Olympic Team selection committee in 1956 and served as the team manager for the 1956 U.S. Winter Olympic team that competed in Cortina, Italy.
In conclusion, the Colorado Snowsports Museum’s celebration of Women’s History Month highlights the incredible achievements of women who have shaped the snow sports industry. From Allison Jones, whose perseverance in Paralympic skiing and cycling continues to inspire, to Pat Pfeiffer, whose dedication to preserving the history of snow sports has left a lasting legacy, these women have demonstrated resilience, passion, and leadership in their respective fields. Additionally, figures like Kristean Porter and Dodie Post Gann remind us of the pioneering spirit that continues to propel women in snow sports. Their stories serve as a powerful reminder of the lasting impact women have had and will continue to have in the world of skiing and beyond. As we reflect on their contributions, we honor their roles in creating a more inclusive and dynamic snow sports community for future generations.