Avalanche Ambassadors

Chris Rubens has been a globally recognized professional skier for two decades. Truly dedicated and extremely passionate about skiing in the mountains, Chris spends as much time as possible in the backcountry every winter, specializing in putting beautiful lines down mountains for both film and photo projects. He spends his winters collaborating with the Blank Collective, Salomon TV, Sherpas Cinema and Matchstick Productions. He is passionate about sharing his experience and knowledge to help educate people about backcountry skiing. Between ski trips, Chris resides in the town of Revelstoke, BC, and now spends his off-season working hard, growing organic vegetables as First Light Farm.

Nadine started out on a snowmobile at age seven and has never looked back. She got into serious mountain sledding in 2007 and has been guiding in the Revelstoke area since 2010. She spends well over 100 days a season on her machine, riding with all different skill levels and pursuing professional-level avalanche training. In 2012, Nadine started La Nina Sled Camp, a venue for women riders to build confidence in a positive environment, away from the stress of having to keep up with their partners. Nadine hopes to continue influencing and educating other women to “get out and shred” as often as they like.

Over the last decade, Abby has crafted a career in the outdoor industry as a photographer, writer and Creative Director specializing in remote backcountry locations. Whether for work or pleasure this girl is always on the move, always in the mountains, and always searching for powder. When she's not chasing golden hour deep in a range with a 60lb camera pack, she's speaking at snow safety clinics and has even created her own series of social events known as "Split Social." The events are designed to educate splitboarders specifically while building a strong splitboard community, and also to instill good communication between all backcountry users. Her clinics cater to all abilities from never-evers, to those looking to get into splitboard mountaineering. Abby also works with Avalanche Canada to educate youth and as the Canuck Splitfest organizer. She currently volunteers with both Incluskivity and Mountain Mentors - both nonprofits that aim to break down barriers and make the backcountry more accessible. Abby is supported both in front and behind the camera by Arc’teryx, G3gear, Fatmaps and Intuition Liners.

Action Photo: Matt Silvestre

Sarah has been alpine/ice guiding in the Canadian Rockies for 16 years as an ACMG Alpine Guide and Instructor and Examiner for the Training and Assessment Program.  Running her own company, she specialized in alpine and women specific camps that focused on building independence and skills toward self reliance and leading in the mountains. She is a sponsored athlete with Arc'teryx, Scarpa, Sterling ropes and Onward Up, and has pushed women's ice and mixed climbing in North America. With the loss of her dearest friend to an avalanche while ice climbing, Sarah understands the risks of the mountains with the greatest respect. Her new focus is to help build awareness to both the inherent risks of avalanches for ice climbers and the healing process after trauma through founding the Mountain Muskox Peer Mentorship Program.

Sandy Ward is a member of the Lil’wat Nation and a founding member of Indigenous Women Outdoors. She has spent most of her life on snow as a competitive halfpipe rider, First Nations Snowboard Team coach, and now leader of the Indigenous Women Outdoors Backcountry Mentorship Program. Through her work with IWO and Indigenous Life Sport Academy, Sandy has continually shown her devotion to ensuring Indigenous peoples can get involved in the outdoors. Sandy spends every day of the winter in the mountains and has started gaining professional level avalanche training as she works toward becoming a guide.

Photos: Kieran Brownie

Growing up on the sunny beaches of Australia, snowmobiling wasn't a focus for Khan until he moved to Whistler in the early 2000s. After purchasing a sled for access to backcountry snowboarding, Khan's passion for the sport only grew. He spent 15 years on the coast of BC, chasing deep powder and riding endless big mountain terrain, and has now made the move to Mabel Lake BC, where the terrain is world class and the snow is deep, light, and consistent. Khan's passion for sledding runs deeper than just riding, it's the community and the relationships within the sport that really keeps his love for the sport alive.

Alana Norie (they/them) was born and raised Squamish, BC (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw), and is currently studying Outdoor Ed and Decolonization at Thompson Rivers University. Raised in the coastal mountains, Alana loves ski touring, climbing and avalanche education. Alana is beyond grateful to work alongside AvCan to have run the Bold Backcountry Grant for the last two years, a grant that allows reduces barriers for queer folk in accessing avalanche safety gear and training. With their Avalanche Operations Level 1 course under their belt, they help organize and support AST 1s for 2-spirit, Queer and Trans folks.