Age: 20 | Vitals: 5’11”, 165 lbs. | Years skiing: 17 | Current Residence: Colorado Springs, CO
Background:
I was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. I was first introduced to skiing at age 3, but I didn’t become a full-blown addict until I was 12. I grew up skiing in Juneau at Eaglecrest, a city-owned and operated ski area (a bit of a rarity today).
Eaglecrest is small in acreage, with varied terrain and thick maritime snow. Steeps, tight trees, pillows, cliffs, and many short technical lines were my favorite playgrounds as a kid. The abundance of snow and features deterred me from ever joining the local race team, but my friends who race say that I ski like I have a racing background.
I would describe my skiing style as fast, fluid, and playful. I love the feeling of linking together a perfect run from top to bottom, no stopping. What used to be my everyday ski, the ON3P Caylor, reflects my skiing style well—sort of a cross between the playful K2 Hellbent and the powerful Volkl Gotama, a blend of full-throttle charging and new school jibbing. You are just as likely to find me boosting a cliff as you are to see me buttering or hand dragging that same cliff, and I am constantly on the lookout for tree jibs, natural hits and trannies.
Vast tracks of mountainous, public land around Juneau lured me into the backcountry 5 years ago, and I have spent more and more time in the backcountry every year since. I spend a good deal of time touring or hitching rides from friends who have snowmobiles. I have recently gotten into climbing and I hope to do a fair amount of ski mountaineering during the coming winter.
You won’t find me in the park when there is a hint of fresh snow to be found. However, I definitely enjoy riding park and I expect to spend more time there during my second season in Colorado.
One last thing to keep in mind about where I grew up skiing: Winter weather in Southeast Alaska is a little different than in other parts of North America. Some seasons, in an effort to avoid becoming a human prune, I have spent more time in my raingear than in more traditional outerwear. Having grown up skiing this heavy, often rain soaked “powder”—and often in pretty serious whiteout conditions—I have a different understanding than most of what counts as “light snow” and “good visibility.”
[Editor’s Note: It’s true, Andrew will happily ski in all conditions, and he doesn’t care whether or not he can see. We call him the Honey Badger, for reasons made obvious by YouTube.]
Skis I like:
10/11 ON3P Caylor; 11/12 Icelantic Da’Nollie; 10/11 Nordica Zero; 09/10 K2 Hellbent