Jaelin Kauf

Freestyle Mogul Skiing, the World Cup Circut, & 2026 Winter Olympics!

Jaelin Kauf has spent more than a decade on the World Cup moguls circuit and is now heading into her third Olympics as one of the most consistent and dynamic skiers in the sport. She’s a two time Olympian and a silver medalist from Beijing 2022!

In this episode, we chat about what it means to grow up in a ski family, with parents who were professional skiers themselves, a brother who is just as psyched on skiing, and how that made “pro skiing” feel like a real career path from a young age. Jaelin breaks down the progression from local comps to the Nor Am tour to a last minute World Cup start that opened the door to the next level, and how taking one year off before college gradually turned into a full season, then a full career on tour.

We get into the Olympic cycle as well: her first Games in 2018, the pressure of going in as a favorite, finishing seventh, and the heartbreak and perspective that came with that. Then we fast forward to Beijing 2022 — qualifying early, trying to add a new trick, navigating difficult off snow stress, and ultimately choosing to ski purely for herself. That shift led to her motto, Deliver the Love, a reminder to focus on joy, intention, and the parts of skiing she can actually control.

Jaelin also walks us through some of the technicalities of mogul skiing: what courses look like, how single versus dual moguls work, what judges are scoring, and why duels, making their Olympic debut this year, are such a chaotic and fun spectator event. We talk about the places this sport has taken her, from Finland’s dark December training blocks to World Cups in Japan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Chile, and home stops at Deer Valley, and what it is like to spend most of the year chasing winter across continents.

Outside of competition, we talk about burnout, building a life beyond results, and the small anchors that keep her grounded: journaling on the road, finishing her degree in environmental and sustainable studies, and knitting hats and fish sweaters for friends and family. She shares what it feels like to be more than ten years into her World Cup career and still feel like things are just starting to click, mentally and technically and emotionally, as she heads into another Olympic year with a deep love for the sport :)!

Hope you enjoy this conversation!