Kye Petersen: The Edge of Forever

Event wildcard Kye Petersen is one of the hottest up-and-coming riders in North America. We tracked him down at Island Lake Lodge, British Columbia to find out more about him.

(Note: Photos are coming fast!)

FWT: How did it happen that you started getting hooked up when you were only 13?

Kye: I just started getting hooked up and working with different people and kind of getting noticed. Basically I was just skiing around Whistler and meeting different people that I was learning from and it all grew from there. There are so many people around coastal B.C., around Whistler, to ski with and it’s quite a big Mecca really so I am just kind of a product of the environment that I grew up in really.

 

FWT: To bring us all up to speed, tell us about some of your best contest results and video parts.

Kye: I don’t have too many contest results but in 2009 I won the Red Bull Cold Rush and that was like a freestyle/backcountry/big mountain event in B.C. Three years ago I won Breakthrough Performer in the Powder Awards when I had a decent segment in TGR’s movie, Lost and Found. And then also a Segment in Believe which is Tanner Hall’s movie. So those were two of the longest segments I’ve had. For the past year and a half I’ve been working with the Rocky Mountain Sherpas a lot and they’re bringing out a new movie called All I Can that’s coming out next fall and that’s what I’m doing right now.

 

FWT: What kind of terrain do you most like to ski?

Kye: I’d say I’m a quite well-rounded skier, it really depends what’s going on. I like skiing fast trees and big pillow lines but I mean I like going out and skiing high alpine shit in France and coming here. I like it all, y’know? Just skiing where there’s no one around and having an adventure is how I get my kicks.

 

FWT: Describe your riding style.

Kye: I think my riding style is … Fuck, I hate talking about myself … yeah, I don’t know, well-rounded I guess. Yeah, I like to do it all. I like shredding deep blower in the trees, I’ve been doing a lot of ski touring, a little bit of ski mountaineering, still doing freestyle stuff. Every day I go out there I like finding hits and doing different lines. My riding style is pretty much just skiing to me, freeriding, every aspect put together, right?

 

FWT: You’ve spent some time in Chamonix over the past few years. What is it about the place that keeps you coming back?

Kye: I’ve got a lot of good friends there and a lot of people I can learn a ton from. Every time I go there I seem to learn a handful, like everywhere I go really. I like it because it’s so accessible. Going to places like that with lifts going to such big terrain, that place is so amazing, the mountains are beautiful. And yeah, there are a lot of people there but it’s because it’s one of the best places in the world. It’s cool because that’s the progression of the sport right there.

 

FWT: You starred in The Edge of Never, a movie about you skiing the line in Chamonix where your father died? How was that experience?

Kye: Well, it was a good experience because that was my first time going to Cham but it was pretty … I’ve just never done anything like that. It was a big production and really, the movie wasn’t made for the core market. The guy who made the movie wasn’t really one of us, a skier, so… I’ve just kind of put that behind me now. It was definitely a junk show and I’d never do a trip like that in a place like Cham again, that’s for sure.

 

 

 

 

FWT: I read an interview where you said, “Growing up in Whistler, I had skied lots of steeps, but [Chamonix] was quite different.” Can you expand on that. How are they different?

Kye: The mountains are taller than they are on the coast. It’s a lot different because of the access. Like on the Aiguille [du Midi] and even Brévent it’s bigger than any of the access we have and the lifts are a lot different. I mean we have a lot of amazing terrain and big stuff but it’s really inaccessible and it rarely gets skied. It’s a lot more vast. Going to Cham, the whole massif is so condensed with big terrain and gnarly stuff and big access so it just makes it a lot different and you can just feel the history when you go there.

 

FWT: Where are some of your other favorite places and why do you like them?

Kye: I love home, the south coast of B.C., where I’m from. There’s always something to ski and I’ve got all my friends there. But definitely my favorite places to ski are between Cham and Whistler and southeast Alaska and northern British Columbia. That’s where I plan to spend most of my time skiing, the coast of B.C. and over in France. I’ve been over to South America once. There’s still lots to do.

 

FWT: What are you into besides skiing?

Kye: Well, in the summertime I skateboard a lot. I’ve been skateboarding my whole life and I spend a lot of time doing that and mountain biking as well. And surfing. Surfing, skiing and skating are probably my three biggest passions. A little bit of climbing.

 

FWT: If you had to choose between skiing and skating, what would it be?

Kye: I don’t know. I mean right now I would probably have to choose skiing but fuck, if I lost skating I would have to keep surfing. I couldn’t lose both of them. It’s hard to pick. I love them both. But just the fact that you can go skiing in so many places, that’s why I love skiing.

 

FWT: What do you think are your strengths and weaknesses going into the Nissan Freeride de Chamonix Mont-Blanc 2011 by Swatch?

Kye: Strengths? Probably bringing a new style and going to have fun. Weaknesses? I don’t know. I’ve never been a part of [the Freeride World Tour] so being new to it is probably my biggest weakness.

 

FWT: Which riders do you think will be your biggest competition at the Nissan Freeride de Chamonix 2011 by Swatch?

Kye: We’ll see. There’s so many of the best guys in the world there and that’s why I’m stoked to do it, just to ski with those guys. I mean there are guys like Candide, Kaj Zackrisson, just so many names, we’ll see. I’m just gonna go, have fun and see how it goes.

 

FWT: If there was a big table top at the end of the course where you’d score points for hitting it but lose points for crashing, what would you throw?

Kye: Probably not much. Probably a 180 or something. The table would be such a small amount of your scoring I’d probably take it really easy and make sure I didn’t crash.

 

FWT: Any thoughts on entering more Freeride World Tour events and perhaps being able to claim Freeride World Champion?

Kye: I’m mostly just thinking about this one right now, see how it goes and go from there. If it goes well, hopefully there would be more. It would be fun.

 

FWT: What else do you have going on this season?

Kye: I’ve got a bunch of trips around home, a lot of filming with the Rocky Mountain Sherpas and doing a couple of trips to AK at the end of the season and a bunch of stuff to do in B.C. Then hopefully I’ll be over in Europe a bit too so it’s looking really good right now.

 

FWT: What’s the best way to follow your season? Website? Blog? Facebook? Twitter?

Kye: Right now there aren’t too many ways to follow me. I have a website that’s down right now but hopefully it will be up again soon. It’s KyePetersen.com. There’s some videos up on Vimeo and my site will be back up soon. The Rocky Mountain Sherpas just released a teaser not too long ago. It’s a two-year project and the film will be coming out in September, October, I think.

 

FWT: Going back to that first question. You’ve been a pro skier since you were 13. Do you ever get burnt out on it? How do you stay motivated?

Kye: I feel motivated just by skiing, I love it. I feel motivated all the time. It’s my life so it’s hard to get burnt out on it. There are just so many things to do and having the opportunity to travel and be a skier is awesome. It gives me the opportunity to go with my friends and do other things, ski new places and have new adventures and I love it. It’s awesome.

 

FWT: If you weren’t a pro freeskier, what do you think you’d be doing?

Kye: I don’t really know what I’d be doing but I’d be in the mountains, that’s for sure. I don’t see myself living anywhere without mountains. Or waves. I’d probably be surfing if I wasn’t skiing.

 

FWT: Dream session – who, where, when?

Kye: There’s so many places to go and people I’d like to ski with that it’s hard to choose just one. But probably hiking in the backcountry in the coast range with my friends, just being with the people I love.

 

FWT: What does skiing mean to you?

Kye: Skiing means everything. My life totally revolves around skiing. That’s all I want to do. I love it. Or being in the mountains in general and skiing is a tool to get there. Skiing’s so important to me.

 

FWT: What’s important?

Kye: Skiing, family, friends. That’s what’s important to me.