“Resiliency is the ability to experience something really difficult, and to get to the other side of it,” said alpine skiing icon Mikaela Shiffrin. Today the champion skier is living with that philosophy as she recovers from her horrific crash at Killington on November 30. However, just a month after sustaining the serious injury to her torso, the skier has made astonishing progress with her recovery.

Shiffrin posted about some positive developments on her road to recovery. “Happy New Year!!!” the five-time overall World Cup champion wished her fans before dropping the news. “Making progress over here… I can move and sweat and use my body which is so exciting!” revealed the Olympic gold medalist. While this is quite impressive, the 29-year-old is not out of the woods yet.

The crash that derailed Mikaela Shiffrin from achieving her 100th World Cup race victory didn’t tear ligaments or fracture bones. However, it was severe enough to warrant hospitalization and a prolonged recovery due to a puncture wound and severe muscle trauma. A week later, Shiffrin went under the knife to clear up some stubborn fluid buildup and repair a torn muscle near her pelvis. Her recovery is no walk in the park, with Shiffrin needing to take extra care around her wounds. But as she put it in her New Year post, “This next phase of recovery is all about getting my strength and conditioning back as much as possible while working within the limitations of my obliques,” added Shiffrin.

However, the alpine skiing champion is itching to get back to completion of her 15th season on the World Cup circuit. “Long hours of gym/rehab time but it’s coming along and I’m so happy with that. Hoping to work into some easy turns on snow in the next week or so,” revealed the Colorado native. She’s not trying to veil her excitement about getting back on the skies either.

“There’s a little ways to go before I’m ready to truly ski with intensity—from a pain and a fitness perspective—but I am psyched with where we’re at now, kicking off 2025!” Mikaela Shiffrin added in her post. Forever a student of the sport, the 29-year-old also revealed that while she can’t race right now, she’s having fun watching the races. However, while the Olympian’s champion mindset is aiding her speedy recovery, it shouldn’t downplay the true severity of the accident.

The crash that derailed yet another season for Mikaela Shiffrin

Last season, the U.S. skiing icon suffered a near-season-ending crash at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, in January 2024. And while that accident derailed her hopes of a sixth overall title, the Killington Giant Slalom crash is no different. In fact, it was a much closer call than Shiffrin’s ability to persevere in the face of challenges may make it appear. The seven-time world champion herself explained the severity of the crash.

“Oh look… I’ve been impaled.” Mikaela Shiffrin joked while sharing the video footage of the crash. The video showed the 29-year-old’s outside ski slipping during a turn, sending her tumbling into the turn markers. The Olympian plowed through the flags before coming to a halt on the safety fence, and at some stage, a sharp object pierced through her oblique muscle.

“I’m incredibly thankful the crash wasn’t worse. It was damn close to piercing some organs that would have changed this situation entirely for the worse.” the skiing legend confessed in an update. And while it missed the organs, the damage to her obliques was significant. So now the three-time Olympic medalist is working to regain strength in her reattached oblique muscle.

So, although Mikaela Shiffrin is recovering fast, even the athlete doesn’t know exactly when she’ll be ready to race. Needless to say, even if the American does get back to racing before the end of this month, it’s too late to chase the overall title. Thankfully, that’s not the case when it comes to reaching that coveted 100th victory mark. Who knows? Getting that achievement may help Shiffrin feel she has salvaged the season in some sense of the word.