Catching Up With Justine Dufour-Lapointe
Justine Dufour-Lapointe has had quite the career as a professional skier. After winning a gold medal in moguls during her first appearance at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia back in 2014, and a silver medal at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the Quebec-born and based skier opted to transition away from moguls to big mountain skiing by competing on the Freeride World Tour (FWT), and was crowned World Champion on her first year on the FWT in 2023. We recently had the chance to sit down with her at a Peak Performance event in Toronto, where she relived her past accolades, discussed her decision to switch from moguls to freeride, and looked ahead to what’s in store for her future.
Photo by Paul Bolasco
Hi Justine. How was your summer? Any highlights?
My summer was amazing. I had a great time hanging out with family and friends, went to Portugal for a wedding, and did a lot of sailing and road biking. So it was an incredible summer back home, which was the perfect way to recharge my battery for the coming winter.
What plans do you have in the works for the season?
My plan for this winter is to go back to competing on the Freeride World Tour. I'm really, really excited to get back to skiing there, as there's few new spots like Val Thorens, France this season. So it will be really exciting to have a new event and a new spot to compete at, and my family is planning on coming to cheer for me there.
This year is the 10th anniversary of you winning gold in moguls at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Looking back, describe what that experience was like for you.
Knowing that it's already been 10 years since the Sochi Olympic Games and my gold medal feels almost unreal. It feels like time has been flying by so fast, because in a way it feels like a long time ago, but it also feels like just yesterday. That experience was one of the highlights of my career, and clearly one of the best memories I have. I think what's so interesting is to see how young I was, and now that I’m older, with a different perspective, how differently I see my career. It's just so fun and crazy to think that I was only 19-years-old winning an Olympic gold medal. I'm really, really proud of myself for how I handled all the pressure during and after the Games.
You then followed that up with a silver medal performance at the 2018 Olympics, and in 2023 competed on the Freeride World Tour (FWT) for the first time, which you ultimately won. What led to the decision to go all-in on the FWT?
I was ready for something new after 12 years on the World Cup circuit, doing the same thing, skiing moguls, and I felt like I was done after my third Olympic Games. I felt I had done all I could do in moguls, and what I've learned over the last couple of years by getting older, wiser and more mature is that I love to learn and I love to push myself and my boundaries. And that's where the idea of maybe being done with moguls but maybe not being done with skiing came from. Why not push myself even more in a different part of the sport? So the idea of trying something new like the Freeride World Tour was interesting, as it seemed so fun and was so beautiful to watch. So I thought it would be cool to be part of that. It came from a little dream of mine, and then a year later, I was World Champion, so it was a dream that really came true.
Photo by Dom Daher / Freeride World Tour
What was the transition like from competing in moguls to freeride?
It was a lot of work of course, and a lot of commitment, because after I competed in the 2022 Olympics, at that point, I had never skied on fat skis or done powder skiing, because when I was competing in moguls I didn’t have any time or energy left to go have fun skiing. It was just training, training, training. So it was kind of funny at first, but then I found a good trainer / coach and went to New Zealand that summer to see what it was like. It was fun and I liked it, but I didn’t have much knowledge about it, so I understood that I needed to surround myself with people who do. I met Stefan Häusl, an Austrian coach who did the Freeride World Tour for 10 years, and he kind of took me under his wing and taught me everything that I needed to know about freeride. So after that I started training with him, and found that the transition from being a mogul skier, and being committed and professional in how I train, was the same process of putting yourself out there, working hard, committing to and trusting the process. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be flawless at first, but it will pay off. So that’s how I approached the transition. With an open mind, while staying humble. Knowing I’m not the best at it, and being okay with that, because I’m open to learning and getting better, which is an amazing feeling.
Were you nervous dropping into that type of terrain, or was the mental side of it similar to any pressure you felt while competing in moguls?
Oh of course I was nervous. It’s such a different environment, which was was definitely something that I had to get used to. The snow is so different, and so unpredictable compared to moguls. But I was already used to being scared, because I got scared a lot in moguls when dropping into a course with icy bumps, throwing a backflip, and hoping I would land.
Walk us through when you were crowned Freeride World Tour World Champion, and how it felt to accomplish that on your first year on the tour.
Winning the Freeride World Tour in Verbier was, again, a dream come true. I went there with no intentions other than to just fall back in love with skiing, push myself, have fun, travel the world, have an amazing experience, and come back home proud of myself. I never expected to win it, which was beyond my wish, and such an incredible feeling. Because I am a competitor, and I’m really competitive, so to come back with the trophy was such an empowering moment for me, which was such a gift to myself, as it made me realize that everything is possible in life. I never thought I could win a title like that just by committing, working hard and really believing in myself, and it happened in less than a year. So it gave me a sense of confidence that will follow me for the rest of my life.
Do you see yourself primarily focusing on continuing to compete on the tour, or do you have any aspirations to film with a production company at some point in the future?
I will compete this winter for sure, and would actually love to do some filming. I don't know many people on that side of the industry, because I’ve been competing my whole life and have never really been surrounded by film crews. So I think that will be my next challenge, as I’d like to do more travelling along with sharing some content. There’s so many ways to showcase skiing now, so of course in the long term I would love to do that.
Photo by Paul Bolasco
How long have you been skiing for both Atomic and Peak Performance, and what it’s been like to work with those two brands?
I've been with Peak Performance for over five years and with Atomic since 2023, and working with those iconic brands has been a dream. For me, Peak Performance is about the design, and the style, because they create amazing clothing, but they’re also so smart. The technology behind their products is incredible, and it’s the best clothing you could wear, as everything is on point, graceful, tasteful, and beautiful. And for me, Atomic is the OG of skiing. They know how to build skis, and their head office in Austria is amazing, so I’m so proud to be a part of both teams.
Photo by Paul Bolasco
What are your go-to products from them that you would suggest people check out this winter?
The Peak Performance product that I would most recommend is my all-time favourite, the Helium Jacket. Every year I order a bunch of different colours in it, and there’s also the Helium Down Shorts. They’re so lightweight, so warm, and just the best for layering. You don’t feel anything on your skin, but it keeps you warm and dries so fast, which is great for me, because I’m always cold when I ski. Then for Atomic I would say the new Maven and Maverick skis, which are made for freeriding and really well-designed. The Maverick 115 is my favourite, and I’m really, really proud to ski on them, because I kind of helped with choosing some of the colours on it and how they were designed and built.
For more on Justine’s skiing and travels, follow her on Instagram at @justinedufourlapointe, and to check out the products she mentions above, visit peakperformance.com and atomic.com.