Professional Skier Leah Evans on Creating Space and Community
After talking to Leah, I wanted to go on a walk with her in the mountains.
We could pause and look at marsh marigolds and mountain lupines and allow the landscape to breathe and flow through our conversation. Leah is her own landscape. There is a deep sense of calm and knowing in her voice, like a flowing river or gentle wind, mixed with tangible excitement and passion for her life and work, like a bolt of lightning illuminating the night sky. Leah is a woman who wears many hats (and helmets), but they blend smoothly together into a consistent, meaningful role that centers on sense of place and community. She is a Patagonia skiing ambassador. She is the founder of Girls Do Ski, a ski camp that brings more women onto the mountain and into a supportive community of women-supporting-women. And she is a hiking guide at Whitecap Alpine Lodge, where she leads guests on hikes and tells stories, teaches about the ecology of place, and keeps everyone safe. Her work is about creating space for people to feel connected to each other and the environment. She teaches from her experiences and passion for place, which are solidly informed and rooted in her deep knowledge, values, and desire to keep learning and protecting our world.
AH: I'm interested in your story and how your love of skiing and pursuit of a career in the outdoors has informed your beliefs, sense of place, and advocacy work. Are there any key people, places or stories that stand out that shaped your path?
Leah, right at home.
Photo courtesy of Leah Evans
LE: I grew up in a ski town. My parents moved away from the city and made the leap from what people wanted them to do, to what they wanted to do. They were really adventurous, like the original adventure parents. My dad didn’t want to just camp where everyone else was camping, so we explored BC, and went to each and every nook and cranny he hadn’t been to yet. We missed events and we missed birthday parties, but we went on wild adventures. My parents facilitated these experiences for us to connect to nature and appreciate the outdoor world.
I fell in love with skiing and ski racing. I couldn’t afford to keep ski racing later on, but that’s what got me into big mountain skiing. And this led me to my work bringing more women into the ski world. I skied with guys growing up. I had two girl friends who snowboarded, but no skier girlfriends. I wondered, where are they? I wanted to create what I didn’t have and create a community and celebration of female skiers. Sometimes, people don’t come together unless a space is created. I started Girls Do Ski (a free-ski camp and supportive community for women to connect on the mountain) when I was 18. It felt like something so much bigger than me.
Girls Do Ski has grown bigger, but the spirit is similar to when it started. I’m really interested in creating other spaces for people to connect. Skiing isn’t always accessible, but with hiking or walking outside, you just need shoes and a water bottle. It offers a different sense of engagement and is accessible to more people with more diverse backgrounds to connect to nature.
Girls Do Ski
Photo by Zoya Lynch
AH: What is the flow like when you work with groups? Is there something you always do, or any structure you follow? What has shaped your interaction with the women that participate in Girls Do Ski?
LE: One thing I always do is get people in a circle and tell them we are all students and we are all teachers and we’re all learning together. After that, I feel more of an energetic connection to the people I’m working with. Curriculum or a formula may have to be erased at some point. I try to be a vessel, able to bring different information to the table and shift with the energy. Everyone is so different and they connect in different ways.
Girls Do Ski
Photo by Zoya Lynch
I’ve been told a lot of times that Girls Do Ski is like the yoga class of skiing and we try to describe skiing and movement in different ways. For example, the way the pelvis is tilted in relationship to the mountain. We use different language and recognize that the mind is one of the strongest tools in the body. You can be physically ready, but your mind can hold you back. I tend to get sent the girls who are struggling with their group. They always remind me, oh yeah, this isn’t about skiing, something more is going on. We hash it out and break down the walls they’ve put up.
My mom is a strong character. She’s the strong and quiet type and she’s very open and calm and a great listener. I picked up a lot from her. With people in general, she’s nonjudgmental and I feel like a lot of my skillset comes from her. She made me realize the importance of helping people feel comfortable. I’ve been given this gift of understanding a deeper sense of wisdom and ability to connect. I’ve spent a lot of time with women now. I’ve learned how women communicate. There’s a lot more words and it’s about the relationship of those words. For men, they see something and think, I got that. For women, it’s more about stepping stones. They tend to be a little slower and more thoughtful at making decisions, but once a decision is made, they are totally committed. I try to give security and support and hold space for them so that they can engage and be successful.
AH: What puts you outside your comfort zone? What keeps you grounded?
LE: Alpine climbing! Some sports make me uncomfortable, and social scenarios where you look around and think, I don’t know anybody. I always think, it’s going to be ok. I love to get out of my comfort zone. Alpine climbing helps put the discomfort of social scenarios into perspective. There is real risk in the mountains, but when I’m in a room full of people I think, it’s going to be ok, no one is going to die in this situation, the risk is low. Mountain risk is real, social risk is created.
AH: Can you tell me about some of the courses you’ve taken recently like the Theta healing course and high performance sports coaching?
LE: I’m interested in personal development, both scientific and spiritual. I take a course based in spirituality every year. The Theta healing course is about brain waves and healing. Through breathing and other techniques you get into a Theta state that is really relaxed. In this state, you’re able to download some of how you’re feeling and heal moving forward. I have a friend who is a Theta healer, and I’m interested in doing healing work, and this felt like a good place to start. I’m interested in doing a bunch of introduction courses in many different modalities. If it strikes something in me, I keep going. I want to do these courses to unlock my personal potential, because that allows me to help other people go through the experience and I can offer something tangible and real. There are so many different things I’m interested in—stewardship, basic ecology, teaching about nature, business systems—when I have more time and space, I lean toward the spiritual, when I have less, I lean toward the analytical. I’ve learned to be adaptable.
AH: How do you think about stewardship and connection to nature? How do you explain these ideas in everyday life and action versus an idea or ideology?
LE: Think of a hiking scenario—say someone really has to go to the bathroom. They have to make a decision fast because they really have to go, it’s an intense moment, where do they go? Right next to the trail? Stewardship and learning about our interconnection with nature acts like a second voice in these moments that’s tells us to go behind a bush and dig down far enough because this will help with decomposition. We don’t have enough people passing on the message of the second voice, or we didn’t get taught, or we’re too disconnected to understand how to keep a place beautiful. The second voice helps us decide what to do under pressure and it’s a voice that’s bigger than us and for the greater good.
AH: Can you tell me about your summer gig as a hiking guide, how do you create a space where people can connect to their natural environment?
Leah guiding a hiking group, communicating with the local flora and fauna.
Photo by Colleen Gentemann
LE: My boyfriend runs operations, and I’m the program director of the lodge’s summer hiking program. It’s really a dream scenario where I can create the programming and make a difference.
For guests, risk management is my biggest priority. It’s like Maslow’s hierarchy, when people feel safe, secure and taken care of, then they can ingest information and maybe decide they want to learn about a flower or plant, or listen to a story, or find a level where they can have their own self-revelations. The conversations I have on the trail are incredible. I’ve listened to so many people’s life stories and I’m so thankful they share with me. There is something to be said for the vastness of nature. It can help people in a lot of ways.
AH: What is your vision for you work? What values guide your path?
LE: I think we need to be connected more than ever right now to each other and the environment. My life work is about creating space. I’ll do whatever I can to create space and connect to other people and the environment, and I plan on continuing to do that. I’ll keep taking courses, keep learning and empowering myself and gaining confidence. I haven’t mapped everything out like I used to. I used to be a full on goal setter. There was a shift when I obtained some of those goals, but now I follow my interests and flow more, whereas before I was very focused.
I’d like to make another film and create events where you can engage with motivating and inspiring people who create change. I like bringing people together and creating spaces people can come to and walk away from thinking, wow that was cool, I need to do more of that. I love meeting people that shift you in some way.
I got to meet Suzanne Simard when we were filming Treeline. She is my idol. She’s a legend and a badass scientist. People tend to trust science more than spirit sometimes. Suzanne is doing a rad job of connecting both of them and speaking from a place that contains both spirit and science. Treeline told the story of trees first, humans second. The first layer of the film was sharing the story of these trees and the second layer was showing how people engage with trees in various places. It was such a different kind of film. We got to find trees instead of ski lines. It took patience and dedication and helped me understand, from a First Nation point of view, the relationship people had with the world and trees versus just wanting to ski something.
When I traveled around the world and presented the film, I’d go around and take photos of the trees in each city or town. I’d ask the audience, where do you think this tree is? They’d respond, BC! And I’d tell them, this tree is in your local park, 500 meters away. You can start developing these relationships with any tree you feel drawn toward. If you pay attention, day after day, you’ll notice more. Maybe connecting to and noticing a tree in your neighborhood won’t create a crazy change, but it may build a more conscious relationship to nature.
Leah in pillow land.
Photo by Cody Townsend
What are three things you’re excited about eating right now?
Kale
Local greens in season
Buddha Bowls
What have your read recently that inspired you?
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline—it’s very intense, but so good. It’s post-apocalyptic, but indigenous people survived because they can dream and their dreams are stored in their bone marrow and now they are being hunted.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer—Robin Wall Kimmerer is on my dream list of people I want to come and talk at the lodge. This book is incredible. I read and then let it sit and digest, the read more.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr—this book got me so excited about reading again.
What are three every day actions people can take to connect to the natural world?
Get outside everyday however long you can.
Slow down—a lot of people do sports outside, but it’s important to slow down. Take a look at a leaf or tree, watch a butterfly land, observe interconnection. One thing I love to do is watch where squirrels are storing stuff and see what they are eating. If an animal is eating something I wonder if it is edible for me? Then I can investigate and learn about the plant.
Engage with people. Look up from your phone, put it away, have a conversation. At the end of each day, all of these actions add up to create personal fulfillment.
See more about Leah @evans_leah