We Made The Right Choice
Steamboat Stories — Ann & Annabelle Battelle
Freestyle Mogul Skier & Steamboat’s First 4x Olympian — Mother & Daughter Duo
Ann Battelle competed in four Winter Olympics for the United States. Battelle attended Middlebury College, where she played center halfback on the women’s soccer team, but was not on the ski team. She had started out cross-country skiing as a youth, but turned to alpine in her teens, she never skied moguls until after graduating in 1989.
Battelle later moved to Steamboat Springs where she learned to ski the bumps from Steamboat local, former U.S. Head Coach, and the “Father of Freestyle,” Park Smalley. She considered retirement after the 1998 Olympics but returned and produced the best skiing of her career, winning the World Cup moguls crown in the 1999 and ’00 seasons; she also collected gold in moguls at the ’99 World Championships in Switzerland as well as the dual moguls bronze medal and six U.S. championships four in moguls, two in duals.
After retiring from competition in 2002, Battelle moved back to Steamboat in 2014. She continue’s to honor Steamboat’s freestyle skiing legacy, as the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (SSWSC) Freestyle Program Director. She’s enthusiastic about coaching her daughter, Annabelle Battelle, who compete’s as a SSWSC freestyle skier in her own right. When asked about what makes Steamboat such a special place, she remembers an evening at a local Italian restaurant, Mazzola’s, when someone exclaimed “Its snowing!” and the whole restaurant erupted in cheers. That’s when it sank in that moving back to Steamboat was “the right choice.” She admits, it’s fun to still learn new things about Steamboat, and play a part in its history. “It’s a special place in my heart.”
To help celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Steamboat Resort, we have complied stories of people who have shaped the mountain from its humble beginnings to the resort of today, sharing their deep roots, traditions, and memories.
If you would like to add your own stories and memories of Steamboat, please tag your social media posts with #steamboat60.
