Skier & Biography
2004

Born in Anchorage, Alaska, Rick Armstrong has been skiing since he learned to walk. His ski adventures have taken him from the 14,000-foot peaks of Colorado to the remote backcountry of China and Mongolia. Now based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Rick has accomplished many difficult and exposed first descents in mountain ranges around the world, including the first ascent and descent of the north face of Diamond Peak in the Chugach range of Alaska. Rick was also the first person to have both skied and snowboarded the famous Grand Teton in Wyoming (not to mention being the second person to fly over it in a paraglider). Rick’s roots lie in ski mountaineering, and his background includes extensive ice and rock climbing, snowboarding and paragliding. He works as a heli-ski and ice-climbing guide in Alaska and as a paragliding instructor in Jackson, Wyoming. He is a wilderness EMT, class-3 avalanche forecaster and an alumnus of Fort Lewis College. Although Rick prefers the seclusion of the remote backcountry, he has found time to be in 37 ski and snowboard films. You may have seen him being interviewed on MTV, ESPN and the Discovery Channel or admired some of the 200-plus photos of Rick that have appeared in magazines such as Powder, Ski, and Skiing..

GALLERY