Get to know Carina Otero, avid skier and the founder of She is Not Lost

Hi, I’m Carina!

I’m the creator and curator of She is Not Lost, an online community for celebrating and inspiring female travelers. My personal love of travel and belief that women should be writing their own rules for how they explore the world have led me on adventures around the globe. The insights I’ve gained from my travel experiences have greatly influenced my relationship with skiing, a sport that I love and dream about all year long— even after the last snow has melted.

As a solo female traveler, I’ve developed a familiarity with planning and taking my own trips to near-and-far destinations, regardless if anyone else is able to join me. I’ve since cultivated a similar approach when it comes to skiing— and to date, a considerable majority of the days I’ve spent on the mountain have been solo. I’ve written at length on the subject here, and am grateful that the skill and experience I’ve gained from my solo ski trips have contributed to me having more fun, more confidence, and less stress any time I go skiing.

And now, my deep passion for the sport and love of writing and photography have led me to create a blog dedicated to my experiences on and around the mountain: Ski is Not Lost.

The mountains call my name..

Similar to my philosophy that it’s never too late to start traveling, I firmly believe that it’s never too late to learn how to ski. I personally got a late start compared to many skiers that I know, and never attempted the sport until the age of 26.

As a Southern California native I always spent more time at the beach than in the mountains, and never had much experience with cold weather growing up. I first tried skiing in 2015 after my sister moved to Colorado and she invited me to visit the mountains with her. I picked it up relatively quickly and enjoyed it, but over the years that followed I was only able to try it just once or twice a year. When I started planning trips that allowed me to ski more days consecutively, I noticed my skills really started to improve and I would become more and more enamored with the sport, the adventure of exploring new destinations, the excitement of experiencing different conditions, and the magic of fresh snowfall. I’ve since made a personal commitment to make skiing a priority, and thanks to my remote-work lifestyle I’m grateful to have skied 30+ days every season over the past few years.

Discovering various regions, experiencing different cultures, and navigating new terrain while skiing has been an exciting way for me to travel the world, and I look forward to continuing to broaden those horizons— whether it’s with friends or family, within a group, or solo.

On setting goals..

While I mostly played organized team sports (soccer and volleyball) growing up, I never really experienced the satisfaction of reaching individual, physical achievements until I started skiing. Being able to tangibly quantify and really feel how much I’ve improved over the days, weeks, and seasons I’ve spent skiing is a personally rewarding experience, and each day that I head to the mountain I have a goal in mind. Some days it’s to experience a particular run or see a specific view point, sometimes it’s to rack up vertical feet if conditions allow and I’m already familiar with the station, and other days it’s simply to take it easy, have fun, enjoy the fresh air, or explore a new place.

My goal for this Ski is Not Lost blog is to hopefully provide valuable, informative, and inspiring content that will help you achieve your personal goals and aspirations while skiing.  

Where I’ve skied..

A quick Q&A with Carina..

Favorite run:
Sarenne, Alpe d’Huez, France

Favorite station:
Tignes, France

Station I’d love to visit again:
Whitefish, Montana— I’ve improved a lot since I visited in 2021, so it’d be fun to explore more of it

Favorite country:
Currently France! I’m learning to speak French so it feels like I get to improve multiple skills at the same time

Favorite view while skiing:
A total cloud inversion “mer de nuages” while skiing Alpe d’Huez, and the Nacreous/Polar stratospheric clouds I saw while skiing Tignes

Favorite pre-season workout:
Reformer pilates for strength, balance, and toning

Ideal pre-ski breakfast:
No breakfast

Favorite post-ski snack:
Apples and Justin’s Honey Peanut Butter

Favorite mountain town:
Val d’Isère, France

Station I was most surprised by:
Northstar, California— I guess I had always associated Tahoe skiing with Heavenly, but Northstar became an immediate favorite and I skied 23 days there during the 21-22 season. It’s also where I saw the most improvement in my skills

Proudest moment:
A few come to mind: Backflipping off the bungee ramp at Tignes, charging Le Tunnel piste at Alpe d’Huez, and every time I check my stats after a fast run and realize I’ve set a new personal top speed record

Top speed:
67.2 mph on my Black Crows Divus, Campanules piste at Alpe d’Huez

Tallest run:
6,580 feet from Aiguille Rouge summit to Villaroger, at Les Arcs, France

Most vertical skied in a day:
42,767 feet at Northstar, California

Favorite app for tracking ski stats:
Slopes App— It’s also great for tracking and sharing your location

Where to next?

The skiing destinations and experiences on the top of my bucket-list:

- Jackson Hole, Wyoming
- Big Sky, Montana
- Åre, Sweden
- Lofoten, Norway
- Iceland
- Whistler, Canada
- Banff, Canada
- Vallée Blanche, France
- Aspen, Colorado
- Chile
- New Zealand
- Japan
- Alaska
- Georgia
- Cat skiing
- Heli skiing

Featured articles..

The latest on the blog..

Discover and shop my ski style..