Mark Poole

Mark grew up in Calgary, Canada with views of the Rocky Mountains which are one hour West of the city. Like most Canadians a hockey stick was thrust into his hands to keep him occupied with his brothers during the six months where the streets are covered in snow and ice. Despite his less than 'all star' hockey skills, Mark dreamt of playing for Canada in the Olympics and beating the big red machine (aside from Darth Vader, then USSR's hockey team was as close to evil as anything could get).

This all changed one fated school field trip to the local ski hill, now Canada Olympic Park and the site of many events in the 1988 Winter Olympics. After a morning of lessons, Mark made the bold move (whilst wearing his favourite wrangler jeans and hockey team jacket) to venture to the top of the hill. His accomplice, Darryl, who was a hockey teammate and a slightly more experienced skier (also in matching jeans and hockey jacket), championed the move and suggested Mark follow him down the slope. After a cautious first run set by Darryl, things quickly changed for the second run (Darryl had no chance). The snow guns became giant slalom gates as Mark believed he had found his calling and was equal if not better than the great Canadian Ski Racers of the day (noted Crazy Canucks Ken Read and Steve Podporski). The sensation of speed and freedom sliding down the slope was never forgotten and his life and chosen activities would never be the same.

Although Mark returned enthusiastically home, he kept his secret dreams of ski racing glory in the closet from friends and family. Mark's family was deeply involved in the hockey community, he brothers excelled and both received full scholarships to play in the US (with one brother coaching and the other playing in Europe now). Fearing family expulsion it took Mark 6 years to convince himself and his family that he should retire the time honoured community hockey jacket to spend 4 to 6 days per week on the snow sliding down hills.

Mark continues to play hockey today (yup, there are leagues in Sydney) but has never found another sport to match his love of skiing and time in the mountains.

Following racing and coaching, Mark moved West to ostensibly attend the University of British Columbia, which is conveniently located 2 hours away from the best skiing in North America. Immediately after completing his Chartered Accountancy designation (sanity only preserved through weekend ski trips) Mark moved to London where he spent many weeks each year skiing the classic off-piste resorts in France.

Following a return to Canada, with his Australian wife to be to visit family and friends they decided on settling in Sydney. They have been living in Sydney for over 5 years, where Mark worked as a manager of Strategy at Qantas. Aside from planning his own next ski adventure, Mark often found himself offering suggestions on where to ski, where to stay and encouraging others to explore new ski experiences outside the most travelled resorts. Along with a need to ski more often, this inspired him to leave Qantas in 2007 to establish and manage his adventure ski tour company Seven Descents, which specialises in heli skiing, cat skiing, off paste adventures, backcountry ski touring and custom trips. Their mission is to connect skiers and boarders with the most exciting and interesting ski experiences on the planet.

If Mark is not skiing himself, you can find him crafting an exciting trip for the next group of ski adventurers. He also enjoys sharing his views and experiences on sliding down slops and everything associated with it with yahoo7's readers in his regular blog.