Tell us about your path to becoming a mountain guide -

I can’t say I ever intended to be a guide - it happened organically. I just wanted to ski, explore the mountains, and progress my own skiing. In 2018, I had my first experience guiding as a favor to a friend who needed help with a big corporate ski group. I loved it – I am a people person, and eventually, it seemed like a natural way to spend more time in the mountains and share my passion with others. That's when I started actively taking steps towards an IFMGA certification. I wouldn’t recommend getting testicular cancer halfway through the guide courses, but I hope to finish the last exams in 2026.

You've climbed and skied around the world. What is your favorite place?

There are a lot of places where I’ve had great conditions in the mountains, having lived and skied in Northern Norway and the Rockies of Colorado. With all of that said, Lyngen has always drawn me back through the years - and I’ve lived in northern norway the last 10 years, full time in the last 3 years.

In Lyngen, steep lines on every aspect can be skied because winds and sunlight shift and can come from every direction, often also staying cold enough that lines continue from the summit to the fjord.

What conditions are you looking for when deciding to enter or avoid avalanche terrain?

As a basic answer, soft snow on top of hard snow is good. Hard snow on top of soft snow is bad. As the avalanche observer here in Lyngen, there is a lot more nuance to this, dependent on the snow climate you are in, weather patterns in the past, and weather on the day you are skiing.

Generally, when I am skiing or guiding, I begin by identifying goals for the day and how much uncertainty we can handle. There is no adventure without uncertainty, and if you aren’t having some kind of adventure, what are you doing in the mountains?

The conditions in the mountains are dynamic. Avalanches are just one of many hazards we interact with.

Why do you use Safeback SBX?

To increase my chances of being dug out of an avalanche alive - especially because I do most of my skiing with clients who do not always have the same proficiency of rescue as some of my normal ski touring partners.

I prefer using lighter backpacks that have efficient design features, like quick access to rescue tools or back panel access, so I can quickly get to anything in my pack, even when it's fully packed. In my experience, I am not in avalanches 99.8 % of the days I'm ski touring, the Safeback system in the Raide SB 40 is light enough without sacrificing the pack features I want to where I use it daily. It’s also removable, so I can use the pack without it on days where I am carefully deliberating every gram.

How does SBX fit into your understanding of snow safety?

SBX is another tool that can help make the consequences of an accident less bad. The only tools that are preventing accidents from happening are the tools that aid our decision-making.