#SnowStories: Lyndsay Strange on the freedom of skiing, the power of joy, and making Paralympic history

Lyndsay Strange and Alpine Skiing are synonymous with one another, almost like one cannot exist without the other. That is the reality of being born into something meant for her, from the minute she took her first breath to taking on hills at the age of two right up until where she is now: a coaching career written in the history books.

It is not necessarily a tale of sudden realization or a gradual journey to enjoying it, but rather a story that begins alongside her family. Any chance they could get would result in spending time on the snow, tiny skis strapped on and an early sense of freedom at her feet.

Skiing effectively became the backdrop to her childhood, something she loved and shared with the people closest to her. Her mother — a skier, an instructor, and a teacher in every sense — shaped those formative years on the slopes. She naturally taught her the basics, but above all else she taught her the importance of human connection that comes with the sport.

“She is my number one inspiration for being a skier and just having fun with it,” Lyndsay told FIS in an exclusive interview. “There’s a desire to have fun and connect with people through skiing, and she was my example for that [growing up].

“She was a teacher too, so I feel like my kind of sensibility of teaching and love of skiing went hand in hand when moving forward with coaching like she did. She taught me everything I know in the beginning, and she is just so proud of me.”

For as much as it is something shared, the sport quickly became her own thing when she started coaching during her college years. Lyndsay began on the East Coast where she was figuring out the kind of coach she wanted to be, moving across the country. Eventually, the pull of bigger mountains out West became too strong, trading Colorado for Utah.

It was there where she really began to understand what coaching meant to her. The athletes she worked with encouraged her to think differently, soon learning that coaching wasn’t just about drills or technique. It is equally important for her to push these athletes to a point where they can compete at the highest level.  

For Lyndsay, the core of her coaching philosophy is simple: effort, accountability, and the steadfast belief that being the best version of ourselves is non-negotiable.

“I think holding people to a fairly high standard [is something I’m unwilling to compromise on as a coach], especially at the World Cup level,” she explained. “But even regardless of the level of competition, we’re striving for greatness, right?

“It is not just about participation, it is about working hard. You’ve got to have that baseline of trying your best, then no one can take that away from you.

“Everyone’s best is different, obviously, but as long as you are trying your best then there are going to be breakthroughs in your own individual skiing. That is how you get better, that is how you be competitive.”

A smooth transition into Para Alpine Skiing

Lyndsay’s coaching ideas and approach made the transition into Para Alpine coaching smoother than expected. While she didn’t have a ‘tonne’ of experience in adaptive skiing, the principles of the sport remain the same in her eyes.

The terrain, the courses, the fall line, the pursuit of speed are all transferrable – what changes is how you support the athlete. Every competitor has different needs, communication styles, and ways of processing information, making for far more variables that a coach needs to take into consideration.  

One thing that doesn’t differ, is how she coaches: by building trust, creating space for joy, and finding human connection. Now it merely changes from athlete to athlete, beginning with the process of building a rapport with those she intends to grow as people and as skiers.

 “No matter who the athletes are, I am always trying to make it fun and have fun and freedom,” she tells FIS. “There can be lots of creativity and freedom when you’re skiing, it is like the most beautiful feeling of flying.

“So, tapping into that and enjoying that together, harnessing and experience that sense of freedom together on the mountain is a unifying experience for me and my athletes. Breaking it down in simplest terms, being open, vulnerable, and sharing my own experience and relating to them in a way that instantly bonds us. We’re sharing the love of skiing together, we have this thing in common right away.

But, as is the case with any sport, sometimes connection alone isn’t enough at the very highest level. As the Winter Paralympic Games approached – held in March 2026 – Lyndsay’s coaching adapted, with a heavy focus on emotional regulation and navigating the psychological weight of such a significant competition.

“I just tried my hardest to help them have a space to let it [all of their emotion] out to then be able to focus,” she added. “I didn’t want them to squash it, you know? We have feelings and they’re valid. It’s okay to be whatever you feel: nervous, scared, upset – let it out, you’re not wrong for feeling that way. To hear that from someone else is such a comfort.”

Among the biggest challenges was striking the right balance between sitting with such feelings, and still trying to find joy in what they are doing while also remaining focused on the task at hand.

It is in that sweet spot of all of these things where, for this coach at least, some of the best skiing happens.  

“I think when you’re having fun, you try harder,” she admits. “It’s beautiful and amazing and you want to be the best at it, at least that is what I think… so finding a deeper understanding for the sport through that enjoyment then allows, or inspires, you to want to be the best.”

Lyndsay Strange: Making history at Milano Cortina 2026

For all the places skiing has taken Lyndsay – across continents, through World Cup circuits, onto world renowned slopes – nothing quite compares to the opportunity she was afforded at Milano Cortina.

On the biggest stage in sport, she did something no woman has ever done before by setting the course for the second run of the women’s slalom. A first for her, a first for the Winter Paralympics, and a monumental win for women’s coaches across the globe.

It was the crowning moment of her career, she confesses: “That was probably the greatest opportunity of my career. I was so honored and so excited and nervous, although more excited. It was truly the greatest honor and opportunity of my career to be able to do that.

“Setting a course for your team is such a cool opportunity because you get to dictate their run, set the tone and the rhythm for everybody. To do that for [the U.S. women’s skiers] felt like an extra layer of support for them.”

To be able to have some semblance of control in a sport that carries variables, all while having plenty of time to set the course, made for a particularly special experience. Focused on getting it right, the significance of what she was doing in the moment was briefly lost on Lyndsay.

That was until the chairlift back to the top of the mountain. The quiet. The solitude. The moment of realization.

“This is truly the peak [of my career]. I was crying on the chairlift going back around to look at it again. I was by myself and I was crying,” she smiles, reminiscing. “I was just so happy and so overcome with the honor to be able to do this.

“In the bigger picture of competitive ski racing, at the highest level, there are less and less female staff and coaches particularly, especially on the Para side. So for me to be that person and get the chance to set was just the greatest honor.

“I was just overcome with that emotion, for how hard I worked and how much time and energy I had given to this team in particular… to be allowed to shine was the chance that I really wanted that I didn’t even know. It was truly the epitome of the three years I spent with the team and of my whole career.”

On the chairlift overlooking the course she had set, tear-stained cheeks and smiling in disbelief, she thought of her mentor and colleague Karin Harjo who became the first woman to set an Olympic Alpine course just a month prior.

She thought of the conversations they’d shared about being women in a male-dominated field, having to be extra strong to prove yourself in that environment. She thought of the athletes she had supported, the staff she’d worked alongside.

“It was such a reward for all of the hard work and sacrifice, the late nights and early mornings,” she continued, visibly emotional thinking back. “The experience of the Games alone was the longest and hardest days of my whole career.”

Having that moment alone was the exact clarity Lyndsay needed to reflect on a milestone achieved for not only her, but generations of coaches that paved the way and ones that will follow in the trail blazed. A slice of history that will be forever tied to her name.

Lyndsay Strange: “You have to love it in order to shine”

If it was not already clear, Lyndsay Strange is a coach hungry for more. Not even a history-making moment on the biggest sporting stage in the world could prevent the American from slowing down.

Her sense of purpose is as strong as ever, with her idea of fun being the pursuit of greatness and the act of getting better and better. In short, she wants to continue taking her career to new heights.

That is the kind of legacy she wants to leave when she eventually hangs the skis up – which is most certainly not anytime soon – but what she will practice from now until then.

“Everything I’ve done thus far and that sort of reputation I have cultivated, I want that to be my legacy – someone who leans into having fun, working hard, and whose joy of skiing shines through.

In many ways, this version of Lyndsay is an extension of her younger self. That little girl on tiny skis in love with the feeling of freedom and flying that the sport allows. Holding onto that has taken her from the East Coast to the world, with a reputation that precedes her. A coach that leads with joy, who demands the best version of her athletes, and someone who believes deeply in human connection.

What comes next is a desire to take her career on an upwards trajectory from here, with the promise of always coming back to that quiet moment on the chairlift in Milano Cortina where she realized exactly what she is capable of.