“Inclusive and creative; open, loving, sharing.” —Madison Ostergren’s vision for the future of outdoor recreation.
BFF of the BTNF Athlete Ambassador and Content Creator Madison Ostergren’s introduction to the Bridger-Teton National Forest came when she was a high school ski racer based in Salt Lake City. “I would come to Snow King to alpine ski race,” she says. “That’s when I initially fell in love with the area.” From high school, Madison moved on to race NorAm Cups, US National races, and skied NCAA Division I in college. As fun and challenging as racing was for her, Madison discovered she preferred exploring mountains to crashing gates. In 2019, after nine years in the Wasatch Mountains, where she began a career as a professional big mountain skier, she moved to Jackson Hole.
Madison can still be found on Snow King, one of the three ski areas on the Bridger-Teton National Forest, and has been a Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Athlete since the start of the 22/23 season. (JHMR is also on the BTNF; the third ski area on the forest is White Pine Resort, near Pinedale, Wyoming.) Madison and her aggressively fun big mountain skiing have been featured in Warren Miller Entertainment movies and also on the covers of Outside and Backcountry magazines.
She joined Friends of the Bridger-Teton because, “exploring and recreating on the BTNF is important to my physical and mental health,” she says. “I want to do anything I can to help protect and take care of the forest, and to inspire others to do the same.”
Our message of responsible recreation resonated with Madison. “Recreating responsibly is so important,” she says. “I try to always clean up after myself, leave campsites better than I find them, stay on trails, am kind to other users, leave no trace, and read and follow signage. I want future generations to experience how special the Bridger-Teton National Forest is.”
Madison doesn’t just enjoy skiing and ski touring on the forest. “In the spring and summer the BTNF expands and blossoms,” she says. “The snow melts and the mountains become more accessible to a wide variety of activities. I have a passion for trail running, climbing, biking, and packrafting and I love that I am able to do these activities (often a multi-sport day/ multiple activities in a day) just outside my doorstep. That being said, the BTNF is so big and encompasses the Wind Rivers Range, which is one of my favorite places to climb, camp, and run.”
In addition to Friends of the Bridger-Teton, Madison works with Völkl skis, Helly Hansen, Osprey Packs, and Leki Poles, among other brands.
Connect: @madisonnnrose