When we caught up with 34-year-old Ian McIntosh, or Mac for short, he was drinking coffee in his Vancouver kitchen, getting ready to head to .
The big mountain skier will be stationed there through February for his day job: carving impossible, throat-clenching lines for the followup to last year’s award winning ski film . McIntosh, who weights 185 pounds and is 6’2”, uses his strength to commit to routes that are beautiful—and scary—to watch. But it’s this recklessness that has recently booked him in commercials for Alfa Romeo and and earned him work as the .
Asked about his personal ski style, he shrugs. “Turning is something I do when I need to.”
Favorite Destination: Whistler, British Columbia
“ has two of the biggest resorts in North America put together, a ton of snow, and girls. I have to say that so few ski towns have a lot of girls in them, and let me explain: University towns are packed with women. Ski towns not so much. Ski towns are usually full of the type of guys who are a little less responsible, more willing to fly by the seat of their pants. Hey, my first season, I skied all day, slept in a closet for $200 per month, and ate 99-cent loaves of bread with peanut butter. But Whistler’s basically a university town with world-class skiing. It skews the ratio a little more favorably. ”
Favorite Gear: Marker Kingpin
“I’m progressing with my skiing, climbing more and more lines rather than getting dropped off by helicopter. As far as my gear, the newest toy that allows me to do that is the . Marker’s merged a traditional alpine touring binding with a lightweight pintech binding. You still have the performance of that traditional binding but save a bunch of weight. It’s crucial for the way I ski, and makes a huge difference to save even a couple hundred grams when walking that much in the mountains.”