Minna Riihimaki is originally from Finland, and her lifelong passion for the mountains has shaped nearly every choice she has made. At just 20 years old, she moved to France to study—and to build a life at the foot of the Alps.
For more than half of her life, Chamonix has been her home. It’s the ultimate playground for everything she loves in the mountains: climbing, skiing, biking, and flying. Just a short drive from Geneva—where she works twice a week as a dental surgeon—Chamonix offers the perfect balance between professional life and high-level mountain pursuits.
With her trademark sense of humor, Minna likes to say she’s “very, very good at many things in the mountains, but excellent at none”—except for her relentless determination and motivation. Every day, she chooses her objective based on weather, conditions, and partners, fully embracing the spirit of true versatility.
Being a complete mountaineer allows her to combine multiple disciplines within a single route—blending climbing, skiing, and flying into one seamless adventure. This multidimensional approach is what she loves most about the mountains.
Her deep passion for steep and big-mountain skiing has remained unshaken despite a life-threatening ski accident in 2016. After shattering her left knee and being told she might never walk properly again, Minna underwent 13 surgeries followed by four years of intense rehabilitation. Through extraordinary perseverance and grit, she reclaimed both her professional and mountain life—and today continues to push her limits with more motivation than ever.
