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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kelly Clark will go down as one of the most important figures in the history of snowboarding, regardless of gender or discipline. A dominant force across all of the biggest events since her debut in 2000, Clark has reached the mountaintop so many times that the trail might as well be named after her.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As she approaches the twilight of her pro career, Clark has seen her role in the snowboarding world change. She has outlasted most of her generation, and her career has extended to a point at which she\u2019s able to preside over her successors.&amp;nbsp; It\u2019s a different hat to wear, but Clark is doing as good a job of it as she has with everything else related to halfpipe snowboarding, while remaining competitive at the same time. SI.com caught up with Clark at her favorite event, the Burton U.S. Open, to talk legacy, mentorship, why the U.S. Open is No. 1 and plenty more:\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ryan Wallerson: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;You\u2019ve won the U.S. Open eight times, one more top finish than at X Games (seven gold medals). Is this your favorite event?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Kelly Clark:&lt;/strong&gt; I would say the U.S. Open is my favorite event of the year, but I don\u2019t necessarily think it\u2019s just because of how well I\u2019ve done over the years. I think it\u2019s the history that I personally have with it. I grew up nine miles from the Open when it was in Stratton, Vt. I was a spectator before I was a competitor. Then I was a pre-qualifier that didn\u2019t make it into the event for years before I made it in. I saw my heroes at the U.S. Open as a kid, so for that reason it holds a special place in my heart. And then having had success so many times definitely makes this my favorite event to do well at.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong &gt;RW: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em &gt;Is that relationship you have with the Open the reason you\u2019ve always done so well here? Do you get more pumped for this event than others?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KC:&lt;/strong&gt; I\u2019m always excited about the Open, but I think that has to do with where it is in the season. You look at X Games; it\u2019s in late January. You\u2019re just getting into your full stride for the season. December is like the warm up, when you focus on getting all of your tricks back. In January, you\u2019re normal and maybe you\u2019ll even progress a little bit. But when you get to the Open, it\u2019s March. Your riding is where you want it to be. It\u2019s at a really high level. I think that contributes to my success at the event more than anything.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RW: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;If someone told you at the beginning of the season that you could only have one victory of the two, would you want it at X Games or the U.S. Open?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KC:&lt;/strong&gt; I would rather do well at the U.S. Open; that\u2019s an easy decision.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RW: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;What is your relationship with snowboarding like today, and how does it differ from the beginning or your career?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KC:&lt;/strong&gt; I\u2019ve developed into the person I am because of snowboarding and through snowboarding. I think sports do that. They teach you life lessons and help you mature as a person. I started competing because it was fun. I had a moment when I was 14 years old and I learned that the Olympics had snowboarding. I recorded it on a VHS tape and watched it countless times. I knew then that this is what I wanted to do with my life. So I chased it down. Four years later, standing on the podium at the Olympics, I was overwhelmed. I never had aspirations of being famous or having success. I just loved snowboarding. That hasn\u2019t changed. But when I was younger, I looked to get something out of snowboarding. I looked for it to make me happy, to be fulfilled by it. But I realized that wasn\u2019t the way to go about it. I began snowboarding for myself, not for anyone else. I\u2019ve maintained that enjoyment. People look to my results and accomplishments and measure me by that, but the fact that I participated in my 17th X Games this year, that I still love what I do, that is probably my greatest achievement.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong &gt;RW: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em &gt;How has it been going from the rider with the proverbial target on her back to the senior figure surrounded by a new generation?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KC:&lt;/strong&gt; In the last few years, my role in the sport has really changed. We don\u2019t see Torah [Bright] at as many events. Gretchen [Bleiler] retired. A lot of my peers are no longer around. I didn\u2019t really have a lot of influence with my peers. The competitive tension got in the way of that. It\u2019s hard to receive advice from people that you are threatened by. When the younger kids came up, there was the big age gap and I was already so well established, all of a sudden I had all of this influence. It wasn\u2019t like I was this competitive threat to them. It\u2019s been really great with Arielle [Gold] and Chloe and all the girls. If there are things that I\u2019ve learned that will help them be more successful, I want that for them, I want that for the sport.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RW: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;You and Chloe Kim have had some battles over that last year, and she\u2019s come away victorious in many on them. What\u2019s your relationship been like since she took off?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong &gt;KC:&lt;/strong&gt; When Chloe hit back-to-back 1080s at the Grand Prix last month, I celebrated that like a victory. I wasn\u2019t mad because I didn\u2019t do it, because look what we\u2019re doing. In that moment, she was carrying the sport forward. That\u2019s who she is. Chloe is a good kid and an amazing snowboarder. It\u2019s been great to see her progress and take snowboarding so far. I\u2019ve been proud of her for a long time and I will continue to be proud of her in the years to come. We have a great friendship. She knows I\u2019m accessible. At this point in her career, I think the best thing I can do for her is to just be there for her. Things come up in your career as you grow up. It\u2019s a journey. I just have to make myself available.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RW: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Besides Chloe, who else among the younger riders do you feel you have that kid of relationship with?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KC:&lt;/strong&gt; Arielle and I have a really great friendship. We talk all the time. This year it has been especially great because while in the past I\u2019ve usually been the one encouraging her, I\u2019ve found that she\u2019s been the one encouraging me this season. I\u2019ve been thankful for that. I\u2019ve had my ups and downs this season; sometimes you just need someone to tell you that you can do it. That\u2019s what makes snowboarding so cool. It\u2019s not about one person. It\u2019s about the sport. I hope I set that example. Whenever I end up retiring, I hope those relationships continue.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RW: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Who was your mentor when you were in Chloe and Arielle\u2019s position?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KC:&lt;/strong&gt; There was rider on the Burton team when I started, Anne Molin-Kongsgaard. She did things on a snowboard that no woman had ever done. She was the first woman to land a frontside 900 in competition. She went bigger than everyone. She was who I looked up to the most; someone who helped push me to this point. Anne was a big mentor from my X Games debut through that first Olympics.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RW: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;What is your favorite moment of your career?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KC:&lt;/strong&gt; You value things based on what they cost you. Olympic medals are prestigious. You recognize their value. I look at my Olympic medals; those are the ones that stand out. My bronze medal from Sochi in 2014 stands out the most. I would say it\u2019s easy to be a rookie like I was in Salt Lake City. You don\u2019t have many expectations. You hit the gas and go. I wouldn\u2019t trade my experience in 2002 for anything, but when I look at that Sochi medal, I know what that one took. I know how many days it took, how much disappointment and hard work went into it. The night of the contest, I fell on all five runs in practice. I fell on my first run in competition. The only run I landed all night was enough to put me on the podium\u201412 years after I first got there. It wasn\u2019t by best snowboarding, but it was one of the most meaningful runs of my career.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong &gt;RW: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em &gt;After such a long and storied career, what is your motivation to continue on today?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KC:&lt;/strong&gt; I\u2019ve had an abnormally long snowboarding career. That\u2019s no secret. I\u2019ve recognized that in snowboarding, you can never be the best. You have to constantly invest in it, and I do. It takes more today to be excellent at what I do and pursue my dreams than it ever has. I\u2019ve done a lot of investment on the fitness side, and that\u2019s certainly helped me to be consistent and avoid injury. I think, more so than anything, what allowed me this longevity is that I\u2019m not looking to be defined by the sport. I\u2019ve found that burnout doesn\u2019t come from too much activity; it comes from unmet expectations. I have an identity outside of being a pro snowboarder. That sets me up for success in my riding in that if it were all about results, that\u2019d be a pretty rough ride. I learned that through the Olympics. They should not be a destination, but just a great addition to a great career. I think that\u2019s allowed me to push myself year after year, the security to be comfortable taking risks and aspiring to progress.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RW: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;How much longer do you want to compete professionally?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KC:&lt;/strong&gt; I get asked that a lot. People ask me from the perspective of, \u201CYou\u2019ve done so much for the sport, you\u2019ve won a lot of medals.\u201D I think the reality is that if medal count was supposed to be my cue to go, I should have stopped a while ago. That hasn\u2019t been what motivates me for a long time. I still don\u2019t believe I\u2019ve hit my full potential yet. I have something left to contribute to the sport in terms or tricks and progression, but also in terms of the girls I\u2019m with, where I can continue to set them up to be successful. I also think I\u2019ve got one more Olympics in me. I would love to make my fifth Olympic team. That would be a huge accomplishment. If I do, I don\u2019t plan on just making it either. I plan on going for it.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;RW: &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;What haven\u2019t you been able to do that you\u2019re looking forward to in retirement?&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KC:&lt;/strong&gt; Having a dog. I\u2019ve always wanted one, but never been able to have one. That\u2019s probably the biggest thing. I love the lifestyle I have right now, but we all know I can\u2019t do it forever. When it ends, life with my dog will begin. I\u2019m looking forward to that.\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/edge/2016/03/04/kelly-clark-chloe-kim-snowboarding-burton-us-open-x-games-aspen>