BIOGRAPHY:
Speed ace Chelsea Marshall followed her two older brothers, Cody and Jesse, into ski racing as a kid (younger brother Tucker is an up-and-comer to watch). A former swimmer, she’s in a pack of young speed talent for the U.S. Ski Team and piling on the World Cup mileage needed to become a consistent podium contender.

Things were looking up for Marshall with a pair of scoring results at the opening two World Cup downhill races in Lake Louise, until the back trouble that's been haunting her for three seasons came back with a fury.

She went toe-to-toe with it until January, then said "no mas' and headed stateside to get things figured out for good. It didn't involve immediate surgery, but she did rock a traction device and then had a microdiscetomy on two levels at the end of May. During the down time, she worked on her blog and in a Park City bakery. Definitely check the blog if you want to get instantly hungry. Baking quickly became a passion, and she and teammate Megan McJames started their own catering company called Sister Sweet Tooth.

By spring, she was cleared to start sliding around again and kicked things off by doing some skinning on a new telemark setup put together by her dad.

CHELSEA SAYS:
Ski racing is a unique sport in many ways. Travel as a team and compete as an individual. I have a lot of respect for my competitors and I am drawn to certain personalities with different energies. Happy, hard working, supportive, energetic, carefree, encouraging and positive attitudes is what attract me. As I practice patience, I try to accept things I cannot change. I start to realize you have to be selfish and take control of your future.  I'm always learning and right now I'm putting all my energy into getting my back healthy again. One day at a time.

I love watching people come into the bakery and be taken aback by the amazing, comforting, homey smells that are rising from the ovens. Smiles emerge on their faces and they seem to become more at ease. I am surrounded by hard working positive energy and I am in awe of everything that is going on around me. The Bakery makes all the breads and desserts for five amazing restaurants here in Park City. Between the endless sheets of rosemary focaccia bread and the chocolate decadence cake, I have a lot to learn and I'm looking forward to every minute.

FIRST TRACKS:
Older brothers Cody and Jesse, who eventually would make the U.S. Ski Team, too, gave Marshall the impetus to try ski racing. She was their shadow as a youngster at Vermont’s sprawling (six peaks) Killington resort. “I followed them all around the mountain trying to keep up,” she said. She swam in summer because her mother, Barb, coached a local team, but winter was for skiing. She enrolled just up the road at Green Mountain Valley School and was into Super Series racing with the 2002 season. Marshall raced in the 2005 and ’06 Junior World Championships and made her World Cup debut in 2007.

OFF THE SNOW:
Like her Park City roommate, Megan McJames, she can see herself becoming a baker after retiring from skiing; the business has already been launched at www.sistersweettooth.com. But photography may also be on the list. Her blog is a constant illustration of Marshall's life in frame. From fresh bread to Lady Gaga, it's in there. She's also now taking classes at Westminster College in Salt Lake City.