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Local snowboarder Mokler set to put on show
By Darrell Blair
DarrellBlair@coloradoan.com
    Alisa Mokler knows even the best intentions don't always work out.
    After setting out to take part in the Winter Olympics as a competitor and coming up short, Mokler has been thrust into the 2002 Games anyway as a snowboarding demonstration rider.
    "As a kid growing up, there was nothing in the world that I wanted more than to be an Olympian," Mokler said. "I always thought it would be one of the greatest things, but never did I dream that I would be good enough.
    "Now that I've dropped into it, I still have a hard time believing it."
    Mokler moved from Fort Collins to Mammoth Lakes, Calif., about six years ago to pursue an acting career.
    "I think a lot of people would be shocked to find out I do this," Mokler said. "All through high school I acted in plays, and I also did a lot of OpenStage Theatre stuff."
    Mokler developed a passion for snowboarding on family trips to the mountains. Riding the big board became a pastime at age 13.
    Her father, Jim Mokler, frequented those trips.
    "She started snowboarding at A-Basin," Jim Mokler said. "Once she started, there was no turning back."
    It was another mark in a familiar pattern his daughter displayed growing up.
    Mokler was a standout in the martial art tae kwon do, as well as acting, and seemed to possess a desire to succeed from an early age, her father said.
    "I remember a point when she was taking tae kwon do, and she said, 'Daddy, we have a demo on Saturday. Will you come?' " Jim Mokler recalled. "Well, here she is with this (wooden staff), a 10-year-old, handling it and making all kinds of kicks. She was very tough and really, really good at it. I said to myself, 'I've spanked her for the last time.'
    "But she's always attacked everything like that."
    When it came to professional snowboarding, Mokler's involvement was more like a surprise attack.
    After graduating from Fort Collins High School in 1994, she went to California and took courses at a community college. At Mammoth Lakes, Mokler found she had vastly increased accessibility to snowboarding.
    With added time on the hill, her skills escalated. But it still was by accident that Mokler found herself riding on the pro snowboarding tour.
    "I started entering snowboarding contests and doing really well," Mokler said. "Then I started getting sponsors."
    Mokler consistently placed among the top 10 in a variety of exhibition and pro tour stops. That's why Palmer Snowboards, Oakley Goggles, Mission Six and Liberty Board Shop sponsor her.
    In Mokler's run for an Olympic bid, the decision came down to a five-event circuit in Breckenridge. Admission to Team USA was based on the top two finishes from all five events.
    Mokler knew after her fourth event in Breckenridge she would not make the team.
    "It was kind of frustrating," Mokler said. "Wanting to be the best at everything you do can be as much of a curse as a good thing. When you're not on top, it's very disappointing."
    A few days later and completely by surprise, Mokler was invited to be a demonstration rider in Salt Lake City. Mokler will ride in a quarter-pipe exhibition Feb. 15-17.
    While not a chance to compete for gold, Mokler said, she'll be part of the Games she never thought she'd be good enough to attend.
    "I think everything I've done in my life has helped me get here," Mokler said. "Snowboarding just happened to be something that I love very much and am really good at. That's a good combination to have."

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