After I met pro big-mountain skier, artist, and activist Lynsey Dyer at Outdoor Retailer 2018 in Denver, she drove north to cat-ski at Baldface Lodge near Nelson, British Columbia. That’s right—she disappeared into powder clouds and party runs while I crawled back to the office.
Life ain’t fair.
As it turns out, though, this winter marked the first time Dyer has chased powder with her friends road-trip style, free of filming schedules, pesky journalists, and agendas. “I feel like I’m finally living the dream after doing this professionally for 10 years,” she says.
I caught up with her as she sped north for Round Two at Baldface to chat about her latest happenings, women in skiing, life perspective, and, naturally, powder.
How are you spending most of your time these days?
Our winters aren’t very long anymore, so my main focus is winter and being in winter, because all the activism, all the art making, that can happen when we’re not seeing snow. As we know, snow seems to be decreasing. There are fewer powder days. So I’m trying to appreciate them and prioritize them. It’s like this last commodity that’s so beautiful to me. I don’t take a day for granted in the mountains.
With as digitally active as you are, from the new podcast to social media, is it ever hard to disconnect?
Absolutely it is hard to disconnect. Yes. I fully acknowledge I am probably way more attached to my phone than I’d like to be. But I also use my phone as a tool. I do a lot of writing. I film with it. And to be honest I really love sharing that stuff. So it’s a blessing and a curse.
I love creating. I’m an artist. So having to create something every day is a fun challenge as an artist. At the same time, could I be using that energy elsewhere and maybe for something more lasting? I might take some time off if I find the right project that I can devote to 100%. For right now, I have to create every day, and it’s a fun way to share.
What do you say to people who feel like small-scale actions to fight climate change don’t matter?
What I’m learning is that we just need 15% of the population to think the way we do. So that’s what I focus on. To me it’s a commitment to something bigger than ourselves, however that means we do things. There are different ways people do things and different ways to wear that flag. And that’s why I would never tell people what to do. We all have influence in where we are and what we’re doing. We’re all going to use our influence and our own gifts uniquely to fight this. It’s not just global warming, right, it’s this massive system that needs to be shifted on every level, from how we grow food to how we interact with our oceans—all of it needs to be revamped and we all are part of that.
What public land do you feel most connected to personally?
This is one of the greatest things that my job has offered me, to get to go visit mountains all over the world. And I think that’s part of my role in the planet, to help move energy from mountain to mountain. I don’t mean that in some grandiose, fluffy way, but I think we’re all energy movers; the same way animals move seeds for trees, we move energy. I’ve gotten to be in places like South America, where everyone’s about “¡el corazón!” and there are these 16,000-foot peaks, and there’s nothing so inspiring, and then there’s Alaska with the most majestic, unicorny places. Then there’s BC and Canada and Jackson Hole and Sun Valley and Taos and so on. They all have different personalities, so I can’t say. I like jumping between them.
You mentioned unicorns, so I have to ask: Where did the unicorn thing come from for your production company Unicorn Picnic?
When I was trying to make Pretty Faces, I had to think about who I was speaking to. I had to give young girls a different message. So I thought about what young girls resonate with. There’s something about unicorns, you know, for men and women. You can’t not smile when you see one. It’s because they bring us back to our childhood when everything was fun and light and anything was possible. So it’s symbolic for the adults and it’s attractive to the little girls. So those were the audiences I was trying to connect with. And I still am! You know, they represent magic and fun and I love that stuff.
You’ve been deep in the ski industry for a long time. How has your perspective on the sport changed over the years?
When I came into the sport, as a female, it was about progressing the sport. Things seem to have shifted a bit toward, you know, who’s the hottest person on Instagram. There are fewer females gaining attention just for freeskiing. At the same time, with social media, we’ve done a good job of trying to get more women participating by making the sport look fun and cool. Because our sport is now cool enough, we’ve attracted more people. So whether they’re real or not, even if they’re just playing on Instagram, somehow it became cool to play outside.
Do you still feel the same positive momentum now that you did when Pretty Faces debuted in 2014?
I’ve seen a lot of shifts for sure. There is definitely a movement for girls to get involved. However, at the same time, I still can’t find equipment for women that is hard-charging enough for the kind of skiing that I’m trying to do out there. That’s where I’m still seeing a hole. And I just think that’s because the price point of the market doesn’t speak to the less than 1% who really want to send it. I want girls to send it. And they need the right equipment to be able to do that. They need hard-charging boots, hard-charging skis, and people who take them seriously as more than just models.
What can men do to help women who are looking to find more credibility or independence or looking to find their voice?
Give them a chance to celebrate their skill. And also, teach them. Right now a lot of women don’t realize that skiing is awesome because no one ever taught them. They didn’t get the invite. I am responsible for waiting for the invite myself, so there are two things. First, women, you know, need to step up. Don’t wait for the invite!
And for men, I think men might just not know that their invite means the world to us. So if you have a cool sport, if there is something that you love, offer to share it. And then have the patience to teach us. Or just buy us a lesson. Boyfriends, do not teach your girlfriends how to ski. I repeat, do not teach your girlfriends how to ski. Get them a lesson, tell them you love them, and then buy them chocolate afterward and tell them how proud of them you are.
Everybody has to learn, right? If I could do a column for guys on how to be rad, so they didn’t have to learn the hard way—maybe that’s what the new podcast should be.
What would be the first point in the “How to be Rad” podcast?
First, it starts for dads, right? How to raise a rad girl. Take her out. Teach her and invite her. As much as you do for her brother. And of course, be a great husband to her mom.
Who or what has informed your perspective on life over the years?
Throughout my life, it’s shifted. When I was young, of course, it was my parents and my coaches who taught me everything, and I wanted to be like them and rip like them. And then came my professors and then there was the searching phase when it was the Dalai Lama and Oprah. And now—I’m really inspired by my friends. They’re amazing people who are coming into their own right now. We all came to help shift the world, and I’m so honored to be part of that. I think we all have powerful times in our lives, and anybody who’s around 30-35 right now, we’re coming into a place where we all have unique influence and unique skill to share with the planet. I can just feel that across the board.
What makes you feel the most alive?
It’s still 100% flooring down a powder field, weightless. There’s still nothing better. I felt it in third grade. It was so powerful that I’ve never been able to find anything else or other ways to do it. I guess you could call that an addiction. Once you’ve felt it, there’s just nothing else like it in the world, so if you only get one life, why wouldn’t you do that as much as possible?
Okay, here you go, the final, ultimate question: What is your favorite retro trick to throw on skis?
I’m a go-to shifty girl. It just feels so good. How good does that feel, though? It’s so fun to be in the air.
This interview was edited for clarity and length.
