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Kit Deslauriers is well known for being an amazing skier - maybe one of the best - and for being the first person to ski the Seven Summits: Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Mount Vinson, and Mount Kosciusko. She's also the first female to win back-to-back Freeride World Tour championships; first female solo of the Grand Teton, first ski descent of Mount Isto (the tallest peak in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge), etc.

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Kit grew up in New England surrounded by farmlands. She was only familiar with Nordic skiing (skiing off-trail in valleys and less steep mountains than other types of skiing.)

"I would love to go out there and walk around in the woods in the winter. I immediately fell in love with the peacefulness."

After moving to Arizona at age 14, Kit experienced alpine skiing in Telluride, Colorado. She enjoyed the experience so much that she said she wanted to move to a ski town after college.

Kit received her degree in French and environmental politics from the University of Arizona in Tuscon. After taking classes Tuesday through Thursday, Kit would drive 12 hours to Telluride to do what she loved; skiing.

Once she graduated she did exactly what her 14-year-old self wanted: moved to a cabin in Ophir, Colorado, and started a new life in the mountains.

Kit became a ski patroller in Telluride where she volunteered for search and rescue. She also gained rock climbing skills that would prove helpful in the near future.

10 years into her adventure in Telluride, Kit knew she wanted something different, so she moved to Jackson, Wyoming, and started a new adventure in freeskiing.

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Kit said once in an interview on her competition career, "I decided I wanted to find out what it was like to win something." She then said, "I wanted to know what it was like to be the best. So I trained and trained, and waited until I felt like I had a good chance."

Kit's main motivation for going on her extreme excursions was to feel like she was the best and to inspire others to reach their full potential. She even wrote a book, "Higher Love: Skiing the Seven Summits."

To prepare for her competitions, Kit would rip 4,000 foot tram laps bell to bell, no matter the weather. Kit said she would "visualize that there were judges all over the mountain watching me" and would ski that 4,000 footer like it was a competition, over and over, until it was time to go home.

Kit once told TGR, "I like to be good at what I do."

In 2005, Kit began to think about how she could ski the Seven Summits. The first on her list being Denali. Kit had a book called, "Seven Summits," signed by Dick Bass (first to climb the Seven Peaks) at a dinner they had together at Cliff Lodge. A year and a half after this interaction, Kit dropped 29,035 feet on her first summit.

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Kit stated how difficult the conditions were in Alaska on her way to the peak. She clung to the 45 degree blue ice of the Lhotse Face, and spent about two years planning for travel and reaching the highest point in Alaska. In 2004, Kit and her travel group dropped into the Rescue Gully on Denali. She noted how steep it was, and how the ice seemed bulletproof.

"I made a plan in small, achievable increments and worked my way down turn by turn. The beauty of something like that is that there's very little in my head - I'm so focused that I'm not focused at all."

After this excursion, she briefly took a break from skiing. This break was followed by her trek to Mount Elbrus in Russia,  descent from Mount Kosciusko, Australia, Vinson Massif in Antarctica, Aconcagua, Argentina, Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa, and then, on October 18, 2006, Deslauriers skied Mount Everest, making her the first woman to ski all Seven Summits, the highest mountains on all seven continents.

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Of course, one major impact of Kit's grand scheme was that she became the first woman to ski all Seven Summits, but there's more to it than that.

In her book she wrote after a season-ending knee injury, "Higher Love: Skiing the Seven Summits," Kit's personal account of her experiences on all seven peaks is brought to life and gives insight to others on leading a life with intention, managing risk, and the partnerships and moments that make life worthwhile.

National Geographic named Kit "Adventurer of the Year" and Outside Magazine named her one of the women who has made the biggest impact on our world.

Her travels inspired many to do something similar. Kit is the mother of two daughters who follow closely in her tracks. At ten and eight years old, Kit's children have trekked to Everest Base Camp, skied in Japan, and begun exploring the back country in their home in the Tetons. Kit's daughters are inspired by their mother's excursions, as Kit says, "We're trying to let them do whatever makes them happy, but they've definitely got the bug for skiing."

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SIMILARITIES:

As Kit said in an interview once referring to her hometown, "I would just love to go out there and walk around in the woods in the winter. I immediately fell in love with the peacefulness."

Kit's passion for skiing was driven by her desire to reach a feeling of peacefulness in doing what she loved. This is very similar to Chris McCandless' drive for his main adventure into Alaska.

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality, nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit." (Chris, Pg. 57.)

Chris emphasized by this quote his feeling of peace as he lived a life of disobedience away from civilization. While Kit did not live a life of disobedience, nor a life separated from civilization, she found peace in what she loved, as did Chris.

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In an interview about her college life, Kit said, "It was an important realization...that I could just go anywhere and do anything if I really wanted." Kit was referring to her 12-hour drive to Telluride after college classes.

This quote shows the freedom Kit finds in her life and also seeks as she goes on these excursions, most of them by herself. Freedom can be a very addicting feeling, supporting the idea that she seeks freedom in every adventure she takes.

Chris was the same way. "I've decided I'm going to live this life for some time to come. The freedom and simple beauty is just too good to pass up." (Chris, Pg. 91.)

Chris was extremely driven by his desire for freedom, as freedom is one of the smaller themes in "Into The Wild." He knew he could go out and do anything, leaving everyone and everything behind, and he did. Similar to Kit, yet Kit knew she'd be back. None of Chris' excursions were influenced by anyone except himself and his desires.

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While Kit went on many risky outings alone, she enjoyed going on less exposed adventures with her family. As Kit said in an interview with TGR, "It makes me happy knowing my kids enjoy what I do and we can experience it together." Kit loves the shared happiness between her and her two daughters, and they go on many trips as a family.

"Happiness is only real when shared." (Chris, Pg. 189.) While Chris went on all of his expeditions alone, he shared moments with many people who were willing to drive him places and teach him things before he went into the wild. I believe Kit and Chris share the same belief on shared happiness.

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DIFFERENCES:

One major difference that is found not only in Kit Deslauriers and Chris McCandless but also in many other excursionists is preparedness.

Kit trained and trained for all of her major trips and made sure she was prepared for anything that might come her way. While she was going into extreme weather in frightening destinations, she knew what to expect and had readied herself for that.

Kit once said in an interview with TGR, "I wanted to know what it was like to be the best. So I trained and trained until I felt like I had a good chance."

There are major arguments that McCandless was not as prepared as he should have been.

"Extremely weak. Fault of Pot. Seed..."(Chris, Pg. 191.) This statement written by Chris in his journal suggests the fault of his death being the moldy potato seeds he ate to keep himself from starving. Some Alaskans have argued that Chris was not prepared to scavenge for food in the Alaskan wild as he had never done it before and he didn't have the proper tools in order to do so.

"Hence, he was not aware of nearby survival opportunities, such as populated areas." (Karuaker, Pg. 136.)

McCandless was also not worried about being the best. He had an idea in his mind that he wanted to escape civilization and live out his dreams in the wild. "God has placed it all around us (joy.) It is in everything and anything we might experience. We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living." (Chris, Pg. 57.)

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Kit said in an interview with CheapTents, "I'm very inspired by my father. He always pushed me to my limits and though I didn't like it at the time, it morphed me into a better skier and person."

Chris' and Kit's relationships with their fathers are contrasting. As made very obvious throughout the book, Chris did not develop into having a good relationship with his dad.

"I'm going to divorce them as my parents once and for all and never speak to either of those idiots again as long as I live." (Chris, Pg. 64.) This quote, along with others found in letters Chris wrote to his family, shows the hatred he felt towards not only his father but his mother as well, different to how Kit feels about her father.

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Kit Deslauriers once described her life as "doing what I love within my limits." Kit was well aware of what she was and wasn't capable of, though she did train thoroughly for anything she had planned to do that may have seemed out of reach. But she never put herself in extremely dangerous and risky situations.

Chris McCandless was the opposite. He was a smart man, yet ill-prepared and possibly a little delusional. Chris was the kind of person who thought of a plan in his mind and went through with it no matter the circumstances because he wanted the result so badly.

"Chris McCandless was bright and ignorant at the same time. He had no common sense, and he had no business going into Alaska with his Romantic silliness. He made a lot of mistakes based on arrogance. I don’t admire him at all for his courage nor his noble ideas. Really, I think he was just plain crazy." (Shaun Callarman, Pg. 129.) This shows that Shaun believes Chris had no common sense in his doing for leaving society for the wild.

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cheaptentsblog. “Exclusive Interview! Pro Ski Mountaineer, Kit Deslauriers.” CheapTents Outdoor Gear Blog, 30 Sept. 2008, cheaptentsblog.home.blog/2008/09/30/professional-ski-mountaineer-kit-deslauriers/. Accessed 5 Oct. 2023.

Krass, Lily. “Inside the Mind of a True Ski Mountaineer: Kit DesLauriers.” Www.tetongravity.com, www.tetongravity.com/story/adventure/inside-the-mind-of-a-true-ski-mountaineer-kit-deslauriers. Accessed 5 Oct. 2023.

Goodman, David. “Kit DesLauriers on Skiing the World’s Highest Seven Summits.” VTDigger, 27 Mar. 2022, vtdigger.org/2022/03/27/kit-deslauriers-on-skiing-the-worlds-highest-seven-summits/#:~:text=Kit%20DesLauriers%20is%20the%20mother. Accessed 5 Oct. 2023.

“Kit DesLauriers | First to Ski 7 Summits, Motivational Speaker, Author.” Kit DesLauriers, kitdeslauriers.com/. Accessed 5 Oct. 2023.

“First Person to Ski the Seven Summits.” Kit DesLauriers, kitdeslauriers.com/seven-summits/#:~:text=Let%20Kit%20Transport%20You%20with%20Her%20Book&text=When%20she%20finished%20the%20task. Accessed 5 Oct. 2023.