The Local Crews Series: Evangelista Brothers and Company are Keeping Baker Proud

The mountains play an important role in any outdoor enthusiast’s lifestyle, but for the Evangelista Brothers and their posse of shredders, the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest have forged a deep respect and lifestyle that has molded a community solely based around good vibes, having fun ... and skiing. To be more specific–big line skiing. It just so happens that the epicenter of all this fun is based at Mt. Baker–one of the snowiest places on Earth. Aside from the seemingly endless powder, Mt Baker arguably boasts some of the gnarliest inbounds skiing and sidecountry in North America and this ski crew of seven realizes how much of a blessing it is to call this home base.

“Mt. Baker is a pretty special place and I think we all feel pretty fortunate to be able to call it our home resort,” says Mattias Evangelista, the older of the two brothers. “The combination of the ridiculous snowfall and the epic terrain make it pretty hard to beat.”

Although this young crews skills are based on a lot of shear talent the crafting of their skills has been built on the motivation and positivity of the group.

“We are all painfully in love with the sport and that’s what keeps us getting out day after day,” says Sophia Rouches, the only female skier in the group, “We push each other because we have a good understanding of one and others skill sets but it all helps to set the bar high and keep the vibes positive!”

We had the chance to catch up with the crew to hear about how they came together and what fuels their ambitions and stoke in the ski and film world.

Crew

Evangelista Brothers and Company

Location

Mt. Baker (Bellingham, WA)

Members

Micah Evangelista, Mattias Evangelista, Jake Little, Jamie Baril, Will Hutchinson, Hank Kennedy, Sophia Rouches.

How did this crew come together?

Micah Evangelista: Mattias and I have been riding together since we were little kids. I met my friend Hank, a snowboarder, when I was in elementary school. A lot of the friends we ride with we either met when we were kids, on the hill or in college at Western Washington University. That school brought a lot of like-minded people together as well as it helped to bring a lot of good people to Bellingham and Baker.

Sophia Rouches: We came together by shredding throughout the Northwest. Some of us have ridden with each other for longer than others, but we all really formed a bond in the last few years.

Mattias Evangelista: We've all skied in the Pacific Northwest for our entire lives. It doesn't take long to see who else is on a similar program.

Jake Little: I've been shredding on-and-off with the crew for the last three seasons including this one. I lived in Utah most of last year and only spent about a third of my winter in the Northwest. I met most of the crew shredding around Baker. It was in shredding with these like-minded people where we begin to realize all of our shared interests and visions.

Will Hutchinson: I started skiing with Mattias, Micha, and Hank during the 2013-2014 season when I was 18 years old. All of us grew up riding Mt. Baker so I guess I’ve known them for a while! As for the rest of the crew, we didn't start ripping until 2015-2016 when Sophia, Jamie, and Jake started riding Baker!

How would you describe the posse?

Micah: I’d say we are all just a group of people who love skiing powder and have a good time doing it! There isn’t any agenda or competition, but pow days are always more fun when you’re ripping with a few friends.

SR: High stoke! I’d say what really makes our crew unique is the widespread depth of talent.

Mattias: I see us as a pretty laid-back group and kind of as an embodiment of the Pacific Northwest lifestyle. No one is really big on competition–other than Hank–and our focus is always more about having fun than anything. At the end of the day it's just skiing.

WH: Fast and loose

Is there a specific process if one wants to become a part of the crew?

Micah: No initiation. Personally I have the most fun when the group isn’t too huge. I’d say we just kind of naturally came together, and when you ride with somebody who is fun to be around it can help to inspire your own riding.

SR: Ha! Nope. No process really. The only real requirement is to be able to keep up and keep the stoke high.

Mattias: Not really. Good attitude and be able to keep up.

WH: Do a backflip.

What are some of the highlights of the crew’s time spent together? Low points?

Micah: I’d say high points range from a number of amazingly deep days at Baker this season and last year. It’s kind of hard to pin down exact moments that would be considered high points! I can’t really think of any low points.

SR: Oh man, the highlights are endless. Mattias, Micah and I just spent a month traveling around Japan. I would definitely count that as a highlight. Really the only low points are that we can’t all be doing the same trips at the same time!

Mattias: Pretty much every day we get to go out and ride together! The vibes are always so high and it's fun to push each other.

JL: Oh man, learning a new trick is always a high point for me. There have been a lot of good jump sessions with Micah and Matt in the past, which have been all time. Only low point I can think of was blowing out my shoulder, biting through my lip and killing a few teeth with Matt on a pillow line a couple years ago... shit happens though.

WH: One day last season Sophia, Micah, and I were out taking photos with Grant Gunderson in the trees outside of the ski area, when we decided to build a huge booter off of a stump and all throw backflips. Sophia was sending it so big that day and it was definitely one of the sickest things I've seen all season.

How often do you all ride together? When you all go out do you typically have specific missions or goals in mind?

Micah: I’d say almost every day some of us will ride together. Sometimes we’ll carpool out from Bellingham or meet friends in Glacier and head up from there. If the snow’s good we will pretty much always be shredding together. Some days are different than others, some times we’re just going up for a fun day of riding the resort, other days we’re on much more of a film mission. This season my brother Mattias and I have really been trying to get after it with filming so if it’s good and if the avy conditions are safe we will usually try to film something.

Mattias: We try and get a few days in each week together. If we're filming we usually have a pretty specific plan; where to go, what jump to build, etc.

How has social media and filming played a role with this crew?

Micah: I’d say it’s definitely present. Everybody enjoys posting stuff on Instagram so we will often pull out our phones for videos if we’re hitting a feature or making some deep turns. It’s a fun way of getting stoked and reminiscing about the stuff you did that day. In terms of actually filming, Mattias just got himself a RED Scarlet so we have had a lot of fun shooting with that. I’d say when we’re filming it definitely pushes you to try stuff that maybe you wouldn’t if the camera wasn’t running. I think that can be a good motivator….if you don’t get too carried away.

SR: Everyone in the crew is dedicated to getting film shots this season, and social media is a great platform for sharing those. Social media can be a great way to see what the rest of the crew is up to when were not all together. However, I’d say the main motivation for filming is not about social media…we want to be able to compile footage that in the end represents us as a crew, and continues to inspire the future of skiing.

JL: Haha I can't think of it really playing a role other than Instagram….it is the first place Mattias and I exchanged words on skiing together!

WH: Grant Gunderson has played a big role in getting Sophia and myself exposure in the ski industry.

What about your home mountain and its role?

Micah: A few of us grew up skiing at Baker and others came from places like Alpental and other nearby resorts. Baker definitely shaped our riding style in a way that I really appreciate. There isn’t a park at Baker, so for myself I’m a pretty inexperienced park skier.

SR: I grew up skiing Alpental, a small resort tucked away off I-90. At first glance, Alpental may look like a small mountain, but the backcountry is endless. It has the steeps, cliffs, pillows, and really anything you can ask for as a freeskier. Alpental has shaped me as a skier, and is still my all time favorite spot to ski.

Mattias: Mt. Baker is a pretty special place; I really think it’s the vibe that keeps me coming back year after year. Baker is an "anti-resort" in many ways; no on-hill accommodation, no high-speed lifts, the closest town is over an hour away. I think a lot of this heavily influences our style no only on the hill but off the hill as well.

JL: Hurricane Ridge, Washington and Apex, BC were my two home mountains growing up and they both played huge roles. For a period I called Canada and Apex home. I got involved with mogul skiing, which led to competing for the next eight years. I owe a lot of my skiing and jumping to the different coaches and people over the years in that sport.

WH: The special part about Baker is the community and the influence of the snowboarders showing us what possible on the mountain!

Park or Big Mountain?

Micah: Jamie Baril is a damn good park skier, as well as a great big mountain skier. I’d say for the rest of us we fall into the big mountain category.

SR: Big mountain for sure! But I do love learning tricks from the park skiers in the group….

Mattias: Big mountain

JL: Pow, pillows and backcountry jumps? Haha whichever that is!

WH: Big Mountain

Resort or Backcountry?

Micah: I’d say that mostly depends on the day and the conditions. If it’s a midweek day and it snowed a lot the night before, we will ride the resort all morning. If it seems unstable in the sidecountry we will stick to the resort. But if it seems safe we will look to film some stuff in the backcountry.

SR: I think there is a time and place for both. Nothing beats hot lapping lifts on a deep day with no lines, just because of the amount of skiing you get in. But the backcountry allows for endless creativity and solitude. I generally gravitate towards the backcountry because at places like Baker and Alpental, the access is easy and the terrain is incredible.

Mattias: Solid Mix. Backcountry if we're really trying to film, but nothing beats ripping the resort with the homies.

JL: Depends on the snowpack!

WH: Backcountry.

Most memorable season?

Micah: I would say a year ago was the most memorable season of my life in terms of deep days at Baker. It seemed like months would go by where everyday was a deep day.

SR: Oh man…. probably last year. Baker had some insane weather patterns and it was really my first time getting to explore Baker to its full potential. Definitely had some good seasons home at Alpental as well, 10/11 was pretty all-time.

JL: The winter 15/16 was pretty crazy but they all are special in their own way.

Does the crew travel?

Micah: We’ve been trying to travel more and more. Mattias, Sophia, and myself just got back from a month in Japan. That was an amazingly fun trip that really allowed us to see a culture that is totally different than what we’re initially used to.

SR: We try to travel when we can, but it’s also hard to leave Baker when its got the deepest snowpack. Earlier this year, some of us took a trip up to Nelson, B.C. to go heli skiing and rip around Whitewater. It’s always difficult to plan trips that align with the whole crews schedule, but I think there will be much more trips in the future.

Goals for winter 2018…

Micah: We’re looking to hopefully put together a short movie at the end of the season so stay tuned for that!

JL: Finish it out with a bang and try to stay healthy!

WH: Have fun, Go fast, and get pitted

Anything on the docket for the crew in the next few seasons?

Micah: Other than that we’re hoping to keep having fun! Hoping to do some webisodes with K2 next year so hopefully some good stuff falls into place!

Mattias: Keep skiing, keep filming and keep having fun! Work on putting together more unique trips and hopefully put out some pretty cool film segments.

WH: Still trying to convince everyone to get snowmobiles… 

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stash member Trevor Husted