What's up TREW Fam! TREW Athlete Keree Smith Here! This year marked my 33rd lap around the sun. Time seems like it’s flying by as my birthday and another winter are already over. Admittedly, as the seasons rack up, I’ve started to feel kinda old! While everyone’s identity as a ski bum in their 20’s looks pretty similar - move to some resort, work a minimum wage job and maximize time on the slopes, I’ve found that ski bumming in one's 30’s starts to look a little different. We all figure out how to weave our skiing and mountain time around jobs, finances and other worldly obligations, and I honestly love to see how everyone creatively balances work, play, industry partnerships and life in general. For me, this ski season began in deep hibernation, December at my dry cabin in rural Alaska. Close to the winter solstice, the sun hardly crests the horizon, creating vivid shadows that stretch across the valleys while the mountain tops glow in gold and pink light. No one is in Alaska in December. No helicopters, no snowmobiles, no campers on Thompson Pass. Instead, silence hangs thick as the entire pass freezes in -20F temps. Japan I escaped the deep freeze of the Alaskan winter in January and went West. At the hospitality of Reggie Crist and Stellar Adventure Travel, I was able to pick up a couple days' work and mostly hang around as my partner guided in Hokkaido, Japan. Even in my 3rd decade, somehow networking my way into what felt like a nearly all inclusive, 2 week vacation, makes me feel like a ski bum at heart. Hoodoo Ski Wedding Whaaaat? I got to marry-off (officiate) my best friend at Hoodoo Ski Resort in Central Oregon a hop skip and a jump near where I grew up in Government Camp. Yes, this happened!!! AK Heli Season Back to AK at the end of February my 5th season as a heli guide for Black Ops Valdez. March brought great snow and a few weeks of high pressure, which equated to stable conditions and an opportunity I’ve waited for since I began guiding in AK. Meteorite. Meteorite is an iconic 2000 ft 55 degree sustained ramp seen from the road I drive everyday to and from work. I got to tail guide it because an eager client had it on his bucket list and the conditions just happened to line up. Here’s a salute to Phil! He’s the one that made this run a reality. The pictures below are actually not of Meteorite because I lost my phone and all my rad adventure pics along with it but you can catch a feel for what my guide season in AK looks like :) April in the Chugach came with lots of grey skies, snow showers, and generally difficult weather to navigate- especially for a helicopter operation that thrives under splitter blue skies and sunshine like Black Ops Valdez. What felt like a bit of a lack-luster ending, came with a surprise banger ski plane, ladies trip to the Central Chugach with my friend Matt at Goat Mountain Air. Hit him up to get you into some of the raddest zones and make your AK dreams come true! Ski planes are definitely the poor man's helicopter. I often feel like I don’t know when I’m having the best season, the best trips, the best runs of my life. That realization only emerges with hindsight, as I start to reflect on the year. In some ways, I’m not sure exactly how this season stacks up! I suppose I’ll have to wait until next season to find out. And now I'm off to fish salmon season here in AK. During the summer, I own and operate a 32-foot commercial gillnetter in Bristol Bay, Alaska called the FV Deborah and sell what I catch through my website Salty Debby's. Orders are closed for the current season but if you are interested in some Alaskan Salmon from my small-scale fishing operation you can sign up for our email list to get notified when orders open again! Happy Summer TREW crew! Thanks for your words Keree and if you don't follow this rad woman you better get on it @keree.smith SHOP KEREE'S KIT:
