Olympic Hopeful: Callan Chythlook-Sifsof

Christina Johnson

Small town native Callan Chythlook-Sifsof is not your average winter athlete. Originally from Aleknegik, Alaska where the nearest resort is over 300 miles away and only accessible by boat or plane, she has proved that location does not make dreams impossible.  Callan is a Yupik/Inupiaq Eskimo and was raised under the watchful eye of her family.

Callan got her start in snowboarding in the backcountry of Alaska by way of snowmobiles and hiking. She later moved to Girdwood, Alaska and then made Alyeska her home mountain at the age of 12.  She proceeded to participate in the Mighty Mites snowboard club at the mountain that year which lead to her start in boardercross racing on the weekends.

This snowboard star is more than your average boarder. Callan graduated high school in three years and favored the subjects of math and science.  She hopes to one day become an astronaut. Until then, she is enjoying her time on snow.

This past summer Callan worked at Home Depot in Alaska through their athlete program as well as at the Alyeska Round House.  When not working, she enjoyed spending time with her family and friends. Callan took advantage of that time by spending the month of July on her families fishing boat with her grandfather in Dillingham.  As if her life isn’t busy enough, she always finds time to stay in shape with a trainer at Alyeska and even keeps her blog up to date.

All of her hard work and dedication paid off in 2006 when she earned a spot of the US Snowboarding C team in boardercross.  She proved herself again a year later when she was named to the A team in 2007, after winning the Visa US Snowboarder cross Championships and taking third in the first World Cup of her career.  Callan started of the ‘09/’10 season with a bronze in Argentina at the South American Continental Cup.  She will be competing in the first of the Jeep of the Mountain competitions coming up in Telluride.

Her sponsor list is a bit out of the ordinary: Callan is backed by Ocean Beauty Seafoods, The North Face, Orthopedic Physicians of Anchorage, and Go211.com.

With the Olympic season under way, the competition is fierce for placement on the boardercross team. No more than two Americans will make the team and Callan is well on her way.

Posted by Christina Johnson on 12/16