In Outside TV’s second season of Ultimate Mountain Athlete, four men and four women are competing for the chance at a hard-earned title and a $20,000 grand prize. The contest: Find the athlete who’s the most well-rounded skier, rock climber, and mountain biker. Each contestant competes in a series of judged, timed, or scored events—ranging from a ski-mo uphill to a speed climb to a freeride contest—and the winner is the one with the highest overall score.
The show was filmed last spring over a 10-day period in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains and is appearing online now in eight episodes, with the final one airing on July 20. Tahoe’s Kelsey Wittels, a big-mountain skier, is our vote for the women’s title. The Flylow athlete and structural engineer is a former winner of Red Bull Raid and her proficiency across the three sports makes her a clear favorite in the contest. We called up Kelsey to chat about behind-the-scenes surprises and how she fared—no spoiler alerts allowed.