I’m Olympic and World Champion aerialist Ashley Caldwell and I do quadruple twisting backflips! Ask me what it’s like to crash hard. I do the biggest tricks ever done by any female in the world. AMA!

You know I read this whole thing and didn't realize it was skiing until I looked up your name? I thought you meant you were an indoor gymnast doing aerials lol. And I snowboard in Park City every year. Probably should have been skiing somewhere in your post.

Oh shoot! Good point. I live in Park City!

So what's it like to crash hard?

Luckily we land on a pretty steep slope so the crashes we take happen pretty quit. So it can be a pretty hard landing to your face or your back and you might tumble a bit but then its all over. Landing on your face is like getting hit with a fat snow man, landing on your back feels like someone took a two by four to your head. And all crashes leave you with snow all over you! That's why we zip our jackets in to our pants. So we don't get snow up our backs!

So what is the biggest trick ever done by a female in the world? Thx!!!

The biggest trick ever done by a female is a quadruple twisting triple back flip! One twist on the first flip, 2 twists on the second, and one on the third!

The biggest trick ever done by a female is a quadruple twisting triple back flip! One twist on the first flip, 2 twists on the second, and one on the third!

what is the most impressive trick that most healthy adults should be able to learn within 1 year?

Hm great question! A couple months ago I taught a guy from Men's Health how to do a double backflip in one week! You can check out the article on their website. But maybe a double twisting double back flip?

This is one of those sports I am amazed by because it appears you also have to be a gymnast. Do you have gymnastics training or classes as part of your sport. Could you do gymnasts on the ground or only in air? Thanks and good luck

Its funny, about half of the aerialists in the world come from skiing and learn to flip and the other half come from gymnastics or trampoline and put skis on their feet. Its comical sometimes to watch as people figure out the difference of flipping with skis on or watching skiers figure out how to tumble and trampoline. Trampoline is a big part of our training, we do a lot of core and strength training like gymnasts as well.

So what was it like to shoot this Ashley? https://www.instagram.com/p/BWpzYCalxTB/?taken-by=ashleyskis93

Legendary! If only that Winter Olympic throne came with dragons! I think I nailed the Khaleesi look!

Has any one particular crash made you almost quit? If so what did that feel like? Do you still carry a mild fear with you?

Its funny the only jumps that make me want to quit are the easy one that I mess up on and shouldn't. I don't mind crashing hard and doing big tricks but crashing when you are supposed to be able to do it perfect, those hurt the ego way more.

I definitely carry fear with me every day. Its a scary sport what I do. And if I wasn't scared I'd be worried about my mental health! I think one of my favorite parts of this sport is that I get to overcome fear, overcome the crashes, overcome the adversity. I get to see what I'm made of every day. Sometimes I see that what I'm made of breaks if I crash too hard but then sometimes I get to do awesome jumps. :)

You are obviously a Redskins fan! Where from? What do you think? Keep the name or trash it?

Yeah! I grew up in the D.C. area. Ashburn actually!

And I'm not quite sure about the name. Maybe if it offends people they could think about changing it?

Bethesda here. I am curious how athletes feel about the name. If you don't have an opinion no worries. Thanks.

Luckily I get to compete for Team USA, so not as much controversy in the name. We have other difficult questions to answer sometimes. But as for the Redskins, I've always been a fan because of the players and my affiliation to the area. I never thought much of the name until I saw it in the news a few years ago. I think that if its offensive the team should consider changing it to something that could represent Native American culture without being offensive.

When did you decide you wanted to do these stunts?

I watched the 2006 Olympics and saw aerials for the first time. My mom said that since I had been skiing and doing gymnastics since I was 3 that I would be good at aerials. I went to a summer camp when I was 13 and loved the sport. Seems like my mom might be crazy for suggesting to her 12 year old that they should do such a crazy sport, but man was she right!

Most importantly, did you preorder the new Star Wars? Did you!?

Psh, yeah, I have the whole set, I can't miss any of them.

What do you do if a Dothraki horde shows up on the course?

Take off my helmet and show them my Khaleesi wig, ski off the jump onto my dragon and become their new queen.

The biggest trick ever done by a female is a quadruple twisting triple back flip! One twist on the first flip, 2 twists on the second, and one on the third!

Do you dabble in the memes?

I love memes.

What goes on in your head when your mid air and you know your not going to land upright or softly? Also after the injuries did you find you were nervous or had a mental block of some kind that you had to overcome to start doing big jumps again?

Until you actually crash on your head, you are doing everything possible to get closer to your feet. That means either making your body longer by "stretching" to slow the flip down, or "pulling" and making your body shorter so it flips faster. But either way you're probably saying something to yourself like "oh crap this isn't good" .

I definitely have had some mental blocks after getting injured or hurt. But my coping mechanism is dancing and singing. Also I love overcoming crashes, injuries and fear. Its what makes the sport fun and thrilling, proving to yourself that you can do it, that you've been training for this all your life and just because you crashed once doesn't mean that you can't come out and do a sweet next jump!

Speaking about yourself in 3rd person?

Lol I'm awkward sometimes.

Hi Ashley, big fan! My question for you is (it's kinda long): From my understanding, many athletes at an elite level have to adhere to strict dietary regiments in order to maintain the optimum level of fitness required for their sport, and this can sometimes lead to abnormal eating habits and "guilty pleasures," like White Goodman in the movie "Dodgeball," where he takes a hot slice of pizza and puts it in his pants. I'm wondering, have you ever done or seen anything like this from any of the elite athletes you know, like teammates, while on the road to success?

Funny you should ask. One of the old legends of our sport once said, "if you can't eat a slice of pizza out of your own pants, how do you expect to do triple back flips?" He did some of the best jumps I've ever seen.

You know what makes an even more successful athlete?

OK IM ASKIN

Eating every flavor of Chobani, or being able to eat a pound of cookie dough in under 5 minutes.

u know what makes an even more successful athlete?

u know what makes an even more successful athlete?

[deleted]

I have had two ACL reconstructions, they were the most painful and difficult because they take 6 months to recover. But I also herniated a disc in my neck and that was a much harder injury to overcome because the healing process isn't as well understood and so I was like confident in myself because I didn't know how healed it actually was when I came back to sport. Yes, I can do that trick!