Images by: Zoya Lynch, Lara Shea & Jeff Polster
Before the sun crests the peaks around Revelstoke, Sofia Forsman is already moving. The air is still, the sky just beginning to soften from black to blue, and the quiet hum of anticipation hangs in the early morning. Today, like many others in the winter season, she’s headed to Mica Heli, where she’ll spend the next couple weeks guiding clients through some of the wildest terrain in British Columbia.
Sofia loads her gear into her RUX with practiced efficiency. Ski boots, avalanche safety tools, outerwear, extra layers, medical kit, comms—everything has a place, and everything is ready. A guide’s life isn’t just about skiing deep powder; it’s logistics, it’s planning, it’s double-checking, and then triple-checking. For Sofia, having a streamlined system helps her shift focus from the gear to the people she’s responsible for.
Born in Sweden, Sofia’s path to the mountains wasn’t linear. She was in law school when she realized the courtroom wasn’t where her heart thrived—it was the mountains that pulled her in. So she pivoted. Hard. She left school and followed her dream of becoming a ski guide, eventually earning her ACMG certification and making a home for herself in the powder mecca of Revelstoke.
At Mica Heli, the day begins fast. Once she arrives at the staging area, it’s game on. Her RUX gets tossed in with the rest of the gear—sturdy, weatherproof, and organized—and then it’s into the machine, blades whirring, lifting off into the air, and headed to the lodge. Minutes later, she’s unloading at the Mica lodge, greeting guests, and preparing for safety presentations, and then straight into gearing up for an afternoon of skiing. After the whirlwind of intros and prep, she loads up a group in the heli, and soon she’s dropping into a bowl of untouched snow with a group of excited clients in tow.
“It’s a high-consequence environment,” Sofia says. “You have to be on it—reading terrain, snowpack, group energy. There’s a lot to juggle. Having my systems dialed with RUX means I’m not wasting brain space on gear. I can focus on keeping people safe and making sure they’re having the best day of their lives.”
In between guiding at Mica and other backcountry operations across BC, Sofia finds time to climb, bike, and recharge in the off-season. But the guiding season is a full-on sprint—long days, cold starts, and constant decision-making in dynamic terrain. It’s not for the faint of heart. It’s for those who feel most alive in the mountains. People like Sofia.
