She is the world's preeminent big mountain rider, laying down lines and accomplishing feats no other female--skier or snowboarder--can match. Through her work with Teton Gravity Research, and with the help of a girl-next-door hotness, she has gained a crossover appeal few in the snowsports industry have been able to pull off. Troll the message boards of Internet ski sites asking who the best or hottest female skier is, and Victoria Jealouse's picture unfailingly pops up--and she's a snowboarder.

Based in Whistler and often trekking through the mountains in her 4x4 camper van, Victoria initially comes across as a daintly, sweet mountain girl. But the cute-little-Canadian-girl façade doesn't last long. She greets you with an iron handshake and dark eyes that don't begin to mask her intensity. Her exploits in Alaska and Tulsequah speak for themselves. When Victoria showed up in our office to do quick stint as Guest Editor for our sister mag, SG, POWDER jumped at the chance to sit down with her for a few minutes, hoping to find out what lights the fire behind those eyes.

POWDER: Did you realize you have such cross-over appeal to skiers?

Victoria: Nope. Mostly when I snowboard, like when I'm filmed and taking photos, I usually just think, Am I making snowboarding look fun for women, and am I making them see that they can do this stuff too. I don't really think about what guys think.

I used to be a skier so the whole "skier-snowboarder" thing isn't a big deal to me, and it isn't for TGR either. It's cool to be with people like that, where we are all thinking the same. Whoever is having fun doing whatever it is that they do, it's all good.

POWDER: Do you just work with TGR or do you ride for snowboard-specific companies as well?

Victoria: I do most of my filming with them. Mostly because I like being with people who understand the mountains, are fun in the mountains, and safe at the same time. They're super good at what they do, super experienced, safe, and then they also make it as fun as possible. Some people are safe and good, but fun isn't on the agenda. It's a good vibe.

POWDER: TGR is one of a few companies still highlighting both sports together. How do you feel when the movies come out and you have skiers and snowboarders featured side by side?

Victoria: I just feel that's the reality. Cause we are out there doing it together, and it always has been that way. Even when I was filming and doing other photos shoots in Alaska it's always been skiers and snowboarders.

POWDER: Do you feel like magazines like POWDER and SG are missing the point by not covering the other side?

Victoria: There are a lot of people doing both and maybe there should be a magazine that mixes it up. I don't know if there's a big need for that, but a lot of people do both now—ski when the conditions are a certain way, and snowboard when there's more powder. The cool thing for me is when people see that snowboards and skis are tools. They are different shaped tools that you ride down the mountain with.

POWDER: You've been getting a lot of play in the journal magazines like Frequency and Snowboard Journal. Do you feel that mainstream titles like Transworld and SNOWBOARDER, tend to ignore your style of riding in favor of freestyle?

Victoria: Those magazines—Transworld and SNOWBOARDER—got super focused for a few years on rails and freestyle stuff, and weren't as wide of scope as they used to be, but I think it's changing because of [the journals]. I think everyone is realizing that when you pigeonhole yourself and focus on one part of snowboarding, whether it's big-mountain riding or rails or whatever, you're stuck. No one wants to see the same thing over and over. I just think that those new magazines are coming in at a perfect time and I think other magazines are realizing they need to broaden the scope. Most people who snowboard want to ride all over the mountain. If there's no pow people cruise through the park; if it's good snow, people usually go ride the mountain.