Catching up with the Evans siblings

By Imogen Whale

Super sibling duo Leah and Brodie Evans are at the top of their game. Leah, a pro big mountain skier and brother Brodie, a pro sledder, call Revelstoke home. I had the chance to chat with them to discover what they have in store this winter, to reminisce about their past experiences and to quiz them about each other

Leah

Seven years ago Leah Evans packed her skis and moved to Revelstoke. “I wasn’t loving Whistler and I had heard from my good friend Izzy Lynch, who lived in Revelstoke, that it was a gold rush of skiing,” Leah says.

Leah Evans in some Revelstoke powder. Photo: Zoya Lynch

A pro big mountain skier, Leah has been competing, filming and travelling for the past several years. “I like the idea of being a renaissance woman when it comes to skiing and doing lots of different things,” she laughs. These different things include her partnership with Patagonia, which has given her more creative freedom in the industry. This winter, Leah will be producing and skiing in a film for the company. “I’m still very much into the ski action,” she explains. “But I love having creative projects as well.”

In addition to being a pro skier, Leah is the founder of Girls Do Ski. Based in Revelstoke and Golden, Girls do Ski attracts a national and international clientele. “The goal is to have camps for women between 25 and 35 where we do the physical work of skiing and the mental work of self belief as well,” she says.

Eager to give back to the industry that has been so important to her, Leah offers a not for profit side of Girls do Ski called 12 under 20, a free avalanche-level one course for young women. When it comes to the ski industry, Leah Evans is on the rise.

Brodie

One of the most well known sledders around, 24-year-old Brodie has a reputation for big air jumping and has been a regular in 509 Films and Slednecks videos for the past three years. Though a pro sledder, Brodie considers himself a skier first and is gravitating to mountain biking in the summer and more ski-based winters. “Really, I want to be an all season athlete,” he says.

Brodie Evans. Photo: Ryen Dunford

“This winter will look different than any previous ones I’ve had,” explains Brodie, who has spent the last seven months rehabilitating from an overuse shoulder injury and has no plans to reinjure it any time soon. The summer has been about growing up, Brodie says, and listening to his body. Although he has filming plans in the works for the winter, Brodie is planning to keep it mellow. “I’m going to not do quite as much jumping, so I can make it more sustainable and so I don’t miss summer,” he says.

An apprentice carpenter nearly ready to take his journeyman’s ticket, sledder Brodie Evans has lots of love for Revelstoke. “I moved here for a few different reasons,” he says. “My sister was here. Plus it’s kind of the next step up from Rossland, where I grew up. A bigger mountain and better snow.”

The future seems wide open for the Evans siblings. “She’s living the dream, skiing and travelling,” Brodie says of his sister.

What does Leah see in her crystal ball for Brodie? “I think Brodie is making his dream happen. I haven’t told him this. I think someday he is going to make an amazing family man. He has these incredible experiences and the ability to relate and share them with people.”

Through the years

Born: December 12, 1987 (Leah)
May 15, 1992 (Brodie)

First major event in the snow

1990s

Leah: For Leah, growing up in a ski town and being a part of the Nancy Greene race program from a young age means she has no one specific memory. “I was just so very in love with racing,” she explains. “I wanted to be Nancy Greene.”

2002

Brodie: Around the age of ten, Brodie’s dad took him touring for the first time. The two headed up Grey Mountain, near the resort (there is now a chair there). “It was my first time in wreckers,” Brodie says. “I could hardly skin up.” Brodie battled with electrical tape to keep his skins on as he and his father dealt with low visibility fog. The two of them skinned up the mountain and promptly dropped in the wrong side, skiing down to the creek drainage in the valley bottom. “It was a mission. My first time out and it was a 12-hour day and super late at night by the time we made it out. I remember skiing beside the Red Mountain snowcats on the way back,” he recalls.

First big mountain memory

1999/2000

Leah: When Leah was 12 years old, her family made the difficult decision to pull Leah from the race program. Leah, a talented young racer who had represented Rossland at provincials and nationals, was heartbroken. “I was just shell shocked by the revelation I wouldn’t be able to race,” Leah says. “I started skiing with my friends who snowboarded, which is when I really started skiing powder. It turns out quitting racing was probably the best thing for me; I just wanted to be a pow skier.”

2006

Brodie: “I was with my best friend Shane Davies. He had a couple older sleds his dad bought, and we were bombing around farm fields.” With a knack for dramatic first time outs when it comes to sports, Brodie, using the sled but not knowing what he was doing, blew the drive belt. “I completely grenaded this sled and was stuck in the field,” he laughs.

First move towards their pro careers

2006(ish)

Leah: Offered a full field hockey scholarship to university in the United States, Leah left after her first year. “I knew what I wanted,” she explains. “I knew I needed to commit to skiing and see where it took me. So many people feel lost in their lives, not knowing what they really want to do or be, but I’ve always known. I consider quitting university to commit to skiing the first real step in my becoming a pro skier, it’s when I set up my goals and put them into motion.”

2011

Brodie: “I never really had a plan,” Brodie says. “I was just doing whatever sports felt right. I never really had any pressure, so it took a couple years to form me into what I am now. A lot of it was being in the right place at the right time with the right people,” he explains modestly. “I was just riding along with a friend who was filming, and we ended up creating a segment. It progressed from there.”