Delivering The Love

You know what I like about the Olympics? I love the vibe of the athletes who compete in individual sports. When they perform their skill for all to see, their underlying passion shines through.

As I write this, I’m watching the surfing finals in the Paris 2024 Olympics. I’m falling in love with the culture of the sport, and the utter stoke each athlete exhibits as they tuck into a barrel and then, seemingly without effort, perform cutbacks on the face of the wave. Each rider ends with some type of playful air out the back and a dive into the water. Their lighthearted spirit captivates me, as it’s apparent the athletes are truly in their element, with the ocean as their playground. The way they are able to block out the world stage and just be in the moment, having fun with friends, is what it’s all about—medals aside.

After talking with Jaelin Kauf—Alta, Wyoming, native, professional mogul skier, U.S. Freestyle Ski Team member, the fastest woman on the mogul World Cup circuit, and Olympic silver medalist—I felt the same vibe. After all, you don’t just become a decorated athlete with eight World Cup wins, several World Championship podiums, and an Olympic silver medal if you’re not deeply involved in your sport. But Jaelin taught me that being a world-class athlete is so much more than simply being a fierce competitor. For her, it’s about celebrating her true love for skiing just as much as—if not more than—celebrating her wins.

On Being a Career Skier

At twenty-seven years young, Jaelin is the oldest woman mogul skier on the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team by four years. But a “veteran competitor” is not something she likes to call herself. Even though her experience is vast, she feels like she’s only beginning to figure things out.

“I’ve been on the World Cup [circuit] for a long time,” Jaelin says, “but in a lot of ways it feels like I’m just getting started. After the last Olympics, I felt like I was just figuring myself out and learning how to be a better competitor. … I was learning a lot about myself and my skiing. So, it’s pretty crazy how far into it I actually am.”

To put things into perspective, being a U.S. Freestyle Ski Team mogul skier is a full-time job, twelve months out of the year. In the winter, Jaelin’s day consists of on-course training at Park City’s Deer Valley Ski Resort from 9 a.m. to noon, eating at home or at the training center, and then going to the gym in the afternoon for a recovery or strength workout. Then, she goes home to do schoolwork (she’s been chipping away at an under-
graduate degree in environmental and sustainable studies), before eating dinner and going to bed. Both in the summer and winter, her schedule consists of four days on and one day off on a continuous rotation, with planned weeks off here and there. Once ski season starts in early winter, it’s “game-on.” Jaelin travels every month of the season to national and World Cup competitions.

This hectic schedule requires a commitment to personal balance both inside and outside of skiing, and living a balanced life is a top priority for her.

“In the past—during summer training, especially—I’ve felt like I’ve missed out on a regular life,” Jaelin explains. “But now I’m in a different place; I’m at the point where I’ve developed a lot as a person and I feel confident in knowing what my body and mind need … really, the mental part  is more important than all the rest of it.”

Jaelin’s mom, Patti Kauf, a retired World Pro Mogul Tour two time champion, says she can’t even fathom what it’s like to train twelve months out of the year. She says back in the day, when she was on tour, the team barely had pre-season workouts in October.

Despite all of the physical aspects of being a competitive skier, Patti commends her daughter mostly on the grace she exhibits in tackling the mental component of competition. She praises Jaelin for being able to maintain focus while living with the pressure to perform, and then finding avenues to work through it.

According to Patti, “Being on the world stage, people constantly ask Jaelin: ‘Did you win? Were you best of the very best today?’ And she may say: ‘No, but I had a great day.’

“How do you compartmentalize that while managing the expectations? Everyone is gunning for her—they all love her. It’s such a hard balance—to maintain that focus and live with all the pressure. That’s the part I’m amazed by.”

On Girl Power and Being a Good Teammate

Landing a spot on the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team is hard; and, as a woman, it’s especially difficult. In other countries, young women can take their time developing on the World Cup circuit because there’s less competition for a spot on the female moguls team. But in the U.S., Jaelin explains, once you achieve World Cup status, you “hit the ground running.”

“We have seven women on our team with World Cup podiums, so it’s a different process for us,” she says. “For me, it was a lot about learning to compete and figuring myself out as a skier, and how to make that all work just to keep my spot on the team.”

Competing against peers and friends just to maintain position doesn’t seem quite fair, especially for an Olympic silver medalist. But there are other hurdles to being a female competitor that Jaelin doesn’t have to clear. For instance, the overall playing field for women is the same as it is for men: There’s equal footage and coverage, and the prize money is equal. (In contrast, Patti remembers the day when they only allowed one female skier in a Warren Miller film.) Jaelin says the women’s side of mogul skiing has progressed and grown immensely, and it’s gained the athletes a lot of respect.

“I ski faster than some guys,” she says. “So, it’s cool to see those younger athletes—both male and female—looking up to the girl’s side of mogul skiing, as well.”

Being a powerful and fearless female competitor is one thing, but where Jaelin truly shines is as a really great teammate, too. This quality makes her mom the proudest.

Patti explains that when Jaelin first got onto the U.S. Ski Team, the vibe wasn’t that great. “You were in this person’s camp or that person’s camp,” she says. “Now, the team is all one and focused on being the very best they can be.”

Patti attributes this to the fact that, as a sen-
ior athlete, Jaelin has helped change the group dynamic. She encourages team bonding by organizing trips in between events, or scheduling team massages. Patti explains that Jaelin is really invested in doing fun things together as a team, and apart from skiing. And she is committed to rising together, as one.

The first year Jaelin was a fully funded athlete on the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team, she saw her teammates struggling to foot their travel bills. So, she started a mogul-skier-specific fundraiser because she didn’t want her teammates to have the disadvantage of having to raise the funds on their own. Jaelin presented the idea to the U.S. Ski Team Foundation, and they ran with it. Now, there is a mogul-specific fundraiser every year.

Jaelin’s aunt and avid hometown supporter Misha Melehes explains the inclusiveness with which Jaelin navigates her position on the team, calling it “a huge testament of leadership—the way she brings everybody in.

“When she reaches a point—and before she goes any further—she reaches a hand back and pulls other people up. That’s how she climbs the ladder; she brings people up with her step by step as she goes. And that’s why every World Cup Super Final has at least three, usually four, U.S. women finishing in the top six.”

“Creating a legacy of bringing people up with you—that’s really hard to do when you have a bullseye on your back,” says Patti about her daughter. “I can’t put into words just how good she is [at skiing]. Still, the humility and grace she does it with is a gift for her, but also a gift to everyone else, reminding us of what’s really important.”

On Hometown Pride

As a family friend and huge supporter of “Team J,” it’s slightly heartbreaking for me to hear Jaelin say she’s getting toward the end of her career now that she’s entering her tenth World Cup season.

Still, for her, the spark has not dwindled. Nor has it for her dedicated hometown posse of supporters, including her mom and dad, five-time World Pro Mogul Tour Champion (and creator of the “Js” seen around town and in the crowds at events) Scott Kauf; her stepdad, Squeak Melehes; and her brother, Skyler. This family’s love of skiing is contagious and has created the wave of success that Jaelin continues to ride.

Skyler looks back on the moment when Jaelin first made the World Cup podium and wasn’t even on the U.S. Ski Team yet.

“I didn’t think, in those moments, ‘She’s going to the Olympics,’” he says. “The Olympics are great and all, but she’s doing it because she loves it. When the Olympics do come around, it’s like ‘Sweet, we’re here,’ but she does it for the day-to-day.”

And it’s Jaelin’s day-to-day that involves the support of her entire Teton Valley community, from her parents and her brother to friends who have not missed even one World Cup competition in Deer Valley, Utah, calling the outing their annual “J-cation.”

Her core of valley supporters includes Deb and Dana Mackenzie, Paige Melehes, Misha Melehes, Steve King, Liz Pitcher, Geno Forsythe,  Frankie Franklin, Goose Garrett, Mark and Nell Hanson and daughter Lydia, and Bill and Alice Boney, among others. Some attend the festivities in Deer Valley each year, while others travel abroad to cheer her on with the famous Js made by Scott, decorated in red, white, and blue, and poised upon a bamboo stick. You may also notice a patriotic “J” en route up Ski Hill Road to Grand Targhee Resort. (Then, once you make it to the resort, check out the black diamond run located directly under the Colter Lift, named Silver Jae in honor of Jaelin.)

Patti says sometimes there are over one hundred Js in the fans section and she’s heard the announcers say, “Here come the Js.”

“Competitors from other places around the world say how they love the Js because we cheer for everyone and we’re so loud!” Patti says.

Misha remembers one year in Deer Valley during the COVID-19 pandemic, when family and friends couldn’t get within six feet of the athletes. Since the crew missed hanging out in the condo with their beloved skier, they went down to the athletes’ lodge and called Jaelin out to the front door. Then, they serenaded her with the Neil Diamond classic “Sweet Caroline” to stoke her up for the next event, and to show her “how much she is loved.”

Misha says so much pride swirls around Jaelin, calling her “the best ‘sport’ she’s ever known.”

“Jaelin makes us so proud that she is one of us because she just embodies all the aspects,” Misha says. “She can have the most disappointing run, and then shake it off right away and smile and be ready for the next. And then also be available to take [from that loss or disappointing score] whatever it offers her. She’s always learning.”

Jaelin feels the support of her Teton Valley community whether she’s on the road, training in Park City, or freeskiing at Grand Targhee Resort during a down week. Yet, she says, it used to come with self-imposed pressure. At her first Olympics, she felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders and was concerned her hometown supporters would be disappointed if she didn’t medal.

“But then I quickly realized they really didn’t care,” she says. “My friends and family were just so excited that I was actually there, and to watch and support me.”

Jaelin references a quote from the song “May We All,” from the artists Florida Georgia Line:

“And know that fifteen minutes of famous

Ain’t gonna be what makes us or breaks us but

We’ll all be watchin’ the TV the day that it comes.”

“At this last Olympics, I felt that,” she says. “If you watch the video of my last run, I smiled, because I knew everyone was watching at home, and I had so much fun skiing that event because I knew it didn’t matter [how I placed].”

Jaelin’s motto is “Deliver the Love.” It’s written on the back of her ski helmet, and it’s set as a daily reminder on her phone. Well, it appears she’s done just what she set out to do: She’s letting her passion and love for skiing shine through as she reaches the top, while bringing everyone around her up in her infectious wake.

“It makes you really proud that she is part of your ‘inner world,’” says Misha. “It means you have a pretty cool ‘inner world’ to have someone like her coming out of it. She’s a true testament to the values of her village.”