Gretchen aspired to compete in the Olympic Games from a very young age, and found her passion in snowboarding at age 11 (1992). She has been riding ever since, became professional in 1996 and is currently recognized as a role model and pioneer in the sport. Among her accomplishments, Gretchen jump-started the invert revolution for female riders as the first to land a Crippler 540 in competition, and won more halfpipe competitions in 2003, 2005 and 2006 than any other female snowboarder. In the pre Olympic season she won four of the five US Olympic halfpipe qualifiers and is also a two time X Games gold medalist.