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Profiles
8 min

Sofia Forsman

The perfection of a ski guide
Words by
Lisa Richardson
Photos by
Mattias Fredriksson
January 26, 2023

The summer she was about to turn thirty, Sofia Forsman, a one-time law student from Sweden, found herself trekking the wilds of Alaska. She had finally achieved her objective to become a certified Canadian ski guide and was providing safety services for a lengthy television shoot. Five foot three and 125 pounds, she had to practically run to keep pace with her 180-pound and much taller guide-mate. “I think there’s a reason many female guides come across as intense,” Forsman says. “To walk at the same pace, I had to take twice as many steps. My cardio output was like running while he was walking. You have to be more disciplined. You must train harder. That’s a fact.”

A female guide in an alpha-dominated industry, Forsman is constantly evaluating where her decisions land along the fact-or-feelings continuum – are they findings-based? Or affected by her mood, an unresolved argument, or fear? She is most comfortable when she’s being analytical, rational … and certain. “I would have been a good lawyer. You can’t let your feelings for a client or a case decide how you act. It’s pretty black and white. It suited my personality. I like when things are fair and just.”

What she didn’t like about law school was the person she was morphing into. “I had extremely high expectations of myself and drove myself to be perfect.”

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Ski touring is Sofia’s thing; she primarily guides human-powered experiences, which puts her in terrain like this on a daily basis.

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Ski touring is Sofia’s thing; she primarily guides human-powered experiences, which puts her in terrain like this on a daily basis.

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Sofia Forsman in her natural habitat, in a cozy cabin, hanging up her gear to dry after a long day of ski touring deep in British Columbia’s Coast Range.

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Sofia Forsman in her natural habitat, in a cozy cabin, hanging up her gear to dry after a long day of ski touring deep in British Columbia’s Coast Range.

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If it wasn’t for Sofia Forsman’s passion for skiing, climbing and being in the mountains, she could have ended up in a law office in a city.

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If it wasn’t for Sofia Forsman’s passion for skiing, climbing and being in the mountains, she could have ended up in a law office in a city.

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But somehow, between torts and contracts, she realized the outdoors brought out her best. She turned her back on her degree and headed to Austria for a season as a ski instructor, followed by another season of ski-bumming in Canada. In the little mountain town of Fernie, British Columbia, she met a much older Swedish snowboarder who pointed her toward an adventure tourism program. She graduated with a job waiting for her on the Lake Louise ski patrol in Alberta, but soon met Emelie Stenberg, the first Swedish woman to become a Canadian ski guide. Stenberg showed her yet another path forward – as a guide. “I feel so lucky she took me under her wing,” says Forsman.

“I recognized myself in her so much, It takes a tremendous amount of commitment to convince your family in Sweden that you are leaving the world as they know it, to pursue a very different life in a country far, far away, with no guarantees of success. Her drive was so refreshing for me.”
Emelie Stenberg

Stenberg recalls some of Forsman’s first ski touring outings in Rogers Pass. “She was insecure, curious, with clunky old equipment, but a big smile on her face, eagerness to learn, and she ripped. Sofia has fire. I had no doubt she would be successful.”

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With a background as a ski instructor in Austria and almost ten years of skiing powder in British Columbia, Sofia Forsman is a phenomenal skier.

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With a background as a ski instructor in Austria and almost ten years of skiing powder in British Columbia, Sofia Forsman is a phenomenal skier.

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For the next eight years, Forsman based herself in Revelstoke, British Columbia’s guiding hub, hustling to build her resumé and a viable life in the mountains. She picked up work with legendary outfits such as Icefall Lodge, Mica Heli and Valhalla Mountain Lodge. With an impressive work ethic and tenacity, she skied every day, in all conditions, and slowly honed her skills, strength, and understanding of snowpack.

But guiding comes with financial uncertainty. At the early peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, work dried up and her plans collapsed around her. Forsman wondered if she was facing a serious career SNAFU. No matter how hard she worked, every step she made towards her goal seemed to trigger a backslide twice as far. Her long-standing commitment to perfectionism just wasn’t enough. She’d tried to power through immigration hurdles, knee surgery, and being waitlisted twice for the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG) guiding course by doubling down and working harder. But the pandemic toppled every carefully stacked card – the final guide’s exam and a scheduled knee surgery were cancelled. Then her long-term romantic relationship came to an end.

Perhaps it was time to return to Sweden, finish law school and get a “real” job?

“It felt like I was facing too many hurdles all at once, but then I realized that I love what I do; I love guiding. It’s not a perfect life — but nothing else makes me feel the same.”
Sofia Forsman
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While on a climbing trip near the Garda Lake in Italy, Sofia prepares for short roping with her partner.

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While on a climbing trip near the Garda Lake in Italy, Sofia prepares for short roping with her partner.

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Forsman, in a brief moment of pause, focused and determined.

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Forsman, in a brief moment of pause, focused and determined.

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Tested, resolved, and strengthened, Forsman completed her apprentice ski guide exam in 2022 — the first class made up entirely of female candidates and female instructors — a historic first for the sixty-year-old organization ACMG.

With her new ticket, Forsman established a home base in Squamish, B.C, discovered a bevy of intriguing opportunities, and immediately began to give back. She knew first-hand how cost-prohibitive it can be to get your education in the mountains. With her sponsor Rocky Mountain Underground (RMU) as a willing partner, Forsman developed a three-part “Backcountry Enabler Series” to teach fundamental safety skills to those who were eager to get beyond the ropes — and offered it for free. Those with the ability to pay can do so if they choose, or can contribute to the Lisa Korthals Memorial Fund, a scholarship to support women training to become cat or heliski guides created in memory of the Pemberton-based ski guide who lost her life in an avalanche in 2018 while guiding.

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After earning the turns, nothing beats dropping in for one last run just as the sun sets behind the mountains. Sofia Forsman is finding the flow in British Columbia’s Kitimat Range.

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After earning the turns, nothing beats dropping in for one last run just as the sun sets behind the mountains. Sofia Forsman is finding the flow in British Columbia’s Kitimat Range.

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Valuation of terrain, decision-making, and partnership in the mountains. Three fundamental parts of life as a backcountry traveller–and a ski guide.

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Valuation of terrain, decision-making, and partnership in the mountains. Three fundamental parts of life as a backcountry traveller–and a ski guide.

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The Enabler Series also gave rise to an RMU Scholarship for aspiring ski guides, which provides guide training with Forsman, new skis, a sponsorship, a shadowing gig, and $2500 CAD in course fees and financial support.

“The setbacks and delays Sofia had to face would have tested anyone’s patience,” says Stenberg. “Despite them, or maybe because of them, she’s now an even stronger guide.”

And she’s making things better wherever she can.

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Ski touring at the legendary Rogers Pass, where Forsman got the hang of ski touring, her mentor Emelie Stenberg recalls. “She was insecure, curious, with clunky old equipment, but eager to learn. I had no doubt she would be successful.

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Ski touring at the legendary Rogers Pass, where Forsman got the hang of ski touring, her mentor Emelie Stenberg recalls. “She was insecure, curious, with clunky old equipment, but eager to learn. I had no doubt she would be successful.

Read more
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Sofia Forsman works for well-known outfitters such as Icefall Lodge, Valhalla Mountain Lodge and Altus Mountain Guides. This is an impressive client list for a young guide.

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Sofia Forsman works for well-known outfitters such as Icefall Lodge, Valhalla Mountain Lodge and Altus Mountain Guides. This is an impressive client list for a young guide.

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Today, when she thinks about her alter ego, “Sofia the Lawyer”, ten years later, Forsman knows she has chosen the right path. “Guiding is a beautiful job. There’s so much personal growth to go with your career growth. I was always such a high achiever, but I’ve finally learned I need to be okay with what I get served … and make the best of it.”

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Sofia travelled from Lofoten Islands in Norway to Italy’s Garda Lake a few years ago. Quickly the skis were replaced by climbing gear and trail running shoes.

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Sofia travelled from Lofoten Islands in Norway to Italy’s Garda Lake a few years ago. Quickly the skis were replaced by climbing gear and trail running shoes.

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Forsman captured while ski touring in the Kitimat Range, close to Terrace, British Columbia.

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Forsman captured while ski touring in the Kitimat Range, close to Terrace, British Columbia.

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Lisa Richardson is a Brisbane-raised lawyer who traded robes for a ski instructor's suit in the mid-90s on a sabbatical in Whistler that never ended. She’s been enthusiastically writing mountain culture dispatches ever since. She lives as a guest on the unceded lands of the Lil’wat Nation, on the outskirts of the community known as Pemberton, British Columbia, and is trying to grow the perfect potato.
Sofia Forsman
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