Name: Andrew Field
Age: 24
Where Are You From: Calgary, Alta.
Where Do You Ski: Everywhere, but grew up at Lake Louise


How Have You Dedicated Your Life to The Mountains and Adventure?

Since first sliding on with skis at the age of two, skiing has been a major part of my life. However, it was not until having my first backcountry experience at the age of fourteen that the true potential of the sport presented itself to me. The sense of freedom, speed, adrenalin, and general feeling of peace that backcountry possesses is unparallel to anything else on earth. At the age of nineteen, I took the skills I had gained from swooshing the backcountry of the local hills, and started to venture out in more and more remote places. The rest is, well, lets just simply say history.

Skiing backcountry runs which are steep, deep, and hopefully carry a few cliffs here and there is soooo good, that I could compose a novel of what it does to me, and how it makes me feel. Searching for runs and places that are, in the words of Bandeezo, “sick”, is backcountry skiing in its finest form. No matter if the run is high in the alpine, a long glaciated run, or an intriguing tree run, every turn of the boards sends this vibe to my body and head which is largely to blame for the person I am today. No matter where the run or type of run, if it is in the backcountry, it makes the cut for me.

Today, after 6 years of going on my first real backcountry tour in Rogers Pass with my buddies, I find myself focusing more on the ski mountaineering aspect of the sport. The idea of identifying a peak to ski, making a plan, and being able to carry out the objective, tickles me in a way that is hard to explain on paper. These peaks are by no means confined only to the big ones either. Infact, I have had some of my best skis on smaller peaks, which hold the most perfect flowing turns, that I would take them over a big peak anytime.

Why Have You Dedicated Your Life to Mountain Pursuits?

I have had some people tell me that they think many skiers (backcountry skiers), and most off beat sport enthusiasts for that matter, do what they do to escape life. My response to that is this: If I didn’t do what I do, then life would be escaping me. Different people get this feeling from many different sources. Some get it from reading the perfect novel, having their best workout, or going to the best party. For me, this feeling just happens to come through backcountry skiing. While I did not intend for that, I am most certainly happy that it worked out that way. Even though I am not scared of dieing (I think), I just don’t want to be there when it happens. If I’m not constantly pushing myself in this sport, then I feel like I’m just sitting on a porch, waiting for death to walk up the steps.


What are some things the mountains have taught you that have proven valuable in the real world?

The mountains have taught me to suck in the simple things of life. Naturally, the mountains have also taught me not to give up, always give 110%, the importance of planning, and all that other good stuff, which are all things that I have unquestionably used in my “normal” life. But such things as a perfect powder day, with nothing around except your buddies, snow capped peaks, and that ongoing feeling of peace, which are such simple, yet wonderful things to give thanks for, that they allow me to take that powerful feeling of thanks into the real world. In other words, those experiences allow me to enjoy that steak dinner with family and friends, that perfect book, and the next party, just that much more. My mountain experiences have showed me just how awesome it is to be a human on planet earth.