In this episode of The High Route Podcast, we feature part two of our interview with Ptor Spricenieks, a noted adventure skier, cosmic traveler, and family man who resides in La Grave, France.
Be forewarned, for the best results, please listen to part 1 of our interview, because we jump right into it in this episode. Part II of the interview jumps off after we had been discussing Spricenieks’ relationship with Peter Chrzanowski, another iconic and timeless ski mountaineer—Chrzanowski was the first person to ski Mount Robson.
Spricenieks grew up in eastern Canada, became restless, and moved to Whistler for a season, where his eyes were opened to the possibilities of mountain adventure.
In part 2, we get the backstory of Spricenikes’ evolution into, using his words, a “shredding dirtbag.” During which, in this state of dirtbagdom, he and Troy Jungen made their bold first ski descent of Robson’s North Face in 1995. But, of course, since this is a part of Sprecnieks’ wrinkle in time, we detour into the metaphysical, the tension between selfishness and selflessness, the danger of a crowd mentality…and the 100% this-is-good-for-you mindfulness that is backcountry touring. Parts 1 and 2, in their entirety, are like the double rainbows of the ski mountaineering podcast scene.
And for those eager to read more from Spricenieks, he writes a free-spirited Substack.
Below are some select profiles of Spricenieks written over the years:
- Pique News—A Special Seeker in a Special Place
- Ski—Running From Babylon: Ptor Spricenieks Ski Mountaineer
The theme music for The High Route Podcast comes from Storms in the Hill Country and the album The Self Transforming (Thank you, Jens Langsjoen). You can find a link to the album here—there are so many good songs on this album. And if you think you’ve spotted a UFO in the past or visited the 7th dimension, “Beautiful Alien” is a good tune to start with.
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