During the summers, Kalen Thorien works as a firefighter. In the winters, however, she's got a different kind of job: she's a sponsored skier. The 24-year-old originally from Boise, Idaho, now lives and skis out of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Last winter, Thorien shifted her focus to more backcountry and ski mountaineering missions and the many days she spends shooting with ski photographers is now paying off: In October, Thorien appeared on the cover of Powder magazine. This winter, she'll be filming with Sweetgrass Productions and Soul Ryders Productions around Canada, Alaska, and elsewhere.

On learning to ski at a young age, Thorien says, "I never received any formal training, so I had to teach myself by watching ski movies and trying to mimick skiers like Ingrid Backstrom and Hugo Harrison."