After taking more than a year off for pregnancy and having her firstborn, and then standing down from the 2024 X Games in January, 33-year-old Jamie Anderson competed in the 2024 Natural Selection Tour (NST) — and podiumed.

At the backcountry snowboard competition, athletes descend unmanicured terrain with sizable, gnarly features from cliffs to spines and pillows. Each athlete chooses their own line in the zone — often with a blind or limited line of sight on the approach.

Anderson won the first NST DUEL competition at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, besting Emma Crosby, in early February. Next, Anderson took the crown in round two: a DUEL against Elena Hight, who carried the 2022 NST title.

Ultimately, Anderson competed in April’s NST finals — in the Selkirk Tangiers zone, in British Columbia’s Revelstoke mountain range — against Mary Rand, landing in third place overall. Both her husband, Tyler, and their daughter, Misty, were there to cheer her on.

We sat down with Anderson to learn more about her journey as a mom and a professional athlete and what’s on her horizon.

Jamie Anderson Q&A: 2024 Natural Selection Tour Podium

Morgan Tilton (GearJunkie): How has it been for you as a high-level athlete and a mom, and what are the greatest challenges you’ve experienced?

Jamie Anderson: The hardest part has been the massive lifestyle shift from being at that top elite athlete level to being a full-on stay-at-home mom for the last 2 years. I decided when I became pregnant that I really wanted to be the most involved as the primary caregiver, and I was going to put my career secondary to being a mom. As much as I love and want to pursue my snowboarding, I felt like the most important thing was to be as present as possible and really be there for my daughter.

It’s hard to change your lifestyle and slow down, but so necessary and such a natural way to evolve in life. It’s such a gift to be a stay-at-home mom. Nowadays, women don’t get a lot of time to be a mother. It’s not a career. But the most valuable thing you can do in life is raise your children.

What was your physical and training process like post-pregnancy?

I really took my time recovering and didn’t try to rush back into athleticism or fitness. I rested and nurtured myself and slowly got back into it. My first time snowboarding was 9 months after birth because my daughter was born in March [2023], and I didn’t really get on snow until December.

You got back on snow for the first time in December 2023 and competed in Natural Selection a couple of months later — did you ever doubt that NST was a good idea?

I definitely doubted doing Natural Selection. They asked me in October if I was interested. At that point, I was not feeling super strong or working out. I was walking, but I still felt pretty in my mama mode. After a month, I decided, why not? What an opportunity and a privilege. I had to do the qualifying series, so I felt I might as well do the DUEL, and I was already going to Colorado to support the girls at the X Games.

I kind of went from the couch and it was really, really hard for me to get back out and shred.

During that transition, how much help did you have with taking care of Misty?

At home, I had the opportunity to get a nanny, but I didn’t really want one. I was loving being a mom, and she wasn’t even one year old. I had one friend in Whistler help look after her for a couple hours every once in a while, and I would go snowboarding. And throughout the season, Tyler would take care of her, and I would go shred for maybe a half day. So, we would trade off, even though we love to do sports and activities together, because we really just loved enjoying that time with our little one.

At the Crested Butte NST DUEL, one of my girlfriends, Mary Beth, came out to help with Misty because I really wanted Tyler to support me and help coach me through that DUEL, which was super helpful. Then, at the NST finals in Revelstoke, my older sister — I’m the fifth of eight kids — came out to help, and I just love and adore her so much.

How did the Crested Butte Mountain Resort NST DUEL go as your first competition after having Misty?

I was really nervous to qualify and make the tour but focused and grounded — it was a 50/50 chance. The terrain was pretty technical, and I had a total of 30 days on snow last year, which is significantly less than when I am at my prime competitive level.

I really felt proud of myself. Emma Crosby, who I competed against, rode really well, and we had fun.

It reminded me how much I love sports and competing because I really dive into myself and try to harness my own best energy and mindset — whether that’s eating really well or taking care of my body. It helps me be accountable for all of my actions and prepare [myself] so that I can do my best.

You had a challenging day at your third Winter Olympics in 2022, taking falls and missing the podium. What derailed you, and how did you get back on track?

A big part was all the chaos of COVID-19. I was really struggling, and it was stressing me out — how it was managed with health departments and closing mindfulness spaces. I knew I was very capable of winning another medal. But I was also a little tapped out on ego-fueling achievements.

I was drinking and partying a lot, as opposed to dealing with the things that were making me feel overwhelmed, and I wasn’t taking care of my body. I wasn’t really doing yoga, because all the studios in my hometown had shut down through COVID-19. There wasn’t as much of that sense of community.

Going into that Olympics, I knew I wasn’t in a good space. Part of me didn’t even want to go. I’ve been able to perform at my highest elite level when I’m taking care of my mind, body, and spirit.

But also, I learned so much from that, and I’m still very thankful for that experience. I’m really proud of the girls who did do well. It took me a little while to get there, because I was so upset, but my sadness dissipated when I saw Julia Marino absolutely kill it at the Olympics.

Maybe I needed that ego check and reality check of sharing the love and sharing the stoke, and knowing I’m only human. Now, I would choose a different approach to overcome those obstacles than what I did when I was younger. And for that, I’m thankful.

With so much in the back of your mind, how did you process and overcome that fear at the NST DUEL?

I decided to do what I learned a really long time ago, which is to tap into my heart, be mindful and aware of the stress and fear, and work through and overcome them. Bless or give the rest to above.

I tried to really let go of expectations. Of course, I really wanted to win and do my best, but at the end of the day, I was just proud of myself for being out there.

Physiologically and mentally, how did being in an early post-pregnancy stage influence your athletic experience?

I was still nursing, so I think my fear factor was a bit heightened. I didn’t have as much adrenaline to send it like I normally would.

Thankfully, it’s beautiful and [those are] natural instincts to want to protect yourself and your offspring — you don’t want to put yourself at too much risk. I felt I did a good job at balancing getting out of my comfort zone but riding a bit reserved.

In hindsight, I wish I had sent it harder, but I wouldn’t change anything. I wouldn’t have chosen to stop nursing my daughter earlier to be at a better athletic performance. I’m still nursing her at 18 months.

Since I’ve had the privilege of competing and being at the top of my sporting career for so long, I have a lot less attachment to results and awards. My main focus and goal is to be the best mom I can be. Snowboarding and projects are still high up, but they’re definitely secondary to that.

Have any followers thrown shade, or has there been 100% support from square one?

I didn’t really pay attention to whatever people were saying, but most of the comments I remember shared appreciation for making Misty a priority and bringing her everywhere with me. She kind of lived on my chest and did everything I did, whether it was film premieres or events or even going to the mountain at X Games to watch the girls.

When I got back into competing at Natural Selection, I felt a lot of love and support, which was great in Crested Butte.

Do you have competition staples that helped ground you during NST?

No food. If I have a lot of nerves and I’m going into focus mode, I have to use so much energy that I don’t have the energy to digest food. I have juice (the Dragon Herbs Tonic Alchemy Superfood Greens Powder), chia seeds in water, or bone broth for brain focus, but not a whole meal.

I use breathing techniques, and I love having essential oils on me. Especially if I have a crash or feel really nervous, I bust out the lavender or frankincense to shift my mood and vibe. After I ruptured my spleen as a teenager and was in the ICU for a few weeks, I learned about yoga, Chinese medicine, and holistic wellness, which is great to mix with action sports.

What projects are in the pipeline?

We have a cool family film project coming out called “Jamie and Ty’s Great Alaskan Adventure,” which was filmed in the spring. 

From Revelstoke, we headed up to Alaska to do a fun adventure. My partner and his buddies love flying bush planes, so they flew. Aviation was a big part of the project. We brought our little one, Misty, and flew to beautiful glaciers and riverbeds. We heli-boarded, went fishing, enjoyed big bonfires and barbecues, and shared the beautiful mountains and scenery.

It’s not core snowboarding and relates to everyday people who are having families and want to find the motivation to get out and keep doing the things they love. Everyone who’s a new parent knows it can be a little challenging, but once you do, it feels so good.

What do you hope your daughter might take away from this story — of you going back to compete while she’s still on your hip?

She will probably think her mom’s pretty badass, but most importantly, she will value that I put her first and that my snowboarding wasn’t more important than being with her.

And when I did choose to have support, it was mostly really close friends or family — I really valued their energy around her.

I think she’ll be stoked looking back on this Alaska project. She’s a big part of it. Almost everything we did, she was there for it, except for the heli-boarding. But the snowmobiling and the flying to glaciers and making it all the way up to the base of Denali, she was with us for each of those experiences.

What are your goals or competitions that you’d like to focus on for the 2024-2025 winter season?

I’d love to ride some powder. I’m feeling a lot less inspired to do Slopestyle events.

I definitely want to give Natural Selection another run. I got really humbled at Finals when the girl I was competing against, Mary Rand, got a higher score … I’m definitely motivated to hopefully win it one day.