Two Aussie Sisters, One BC Ski Love

Rachael Oakes-Ash is an Aussie travel writer and a self-confessed Snow It All who covers all things winter and ski.

The vastness of British Columbia’s mountains is a far cry from the inner-city streets of Melbourne where the Segal sisters grew up. These big BC mountains have transformed the talented urban siblings—Anna now calls Whistler home and Nat is living an explorer’s life among the peaks of Revelstoke.

The Segals started their ski careers as mogul skiers at Mt Buller in Australia. Anna went on to represent Australia at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games in ski slopestyle, scoring herself X Games gold, silver, and bronze along the way. Nat chose a big-mountain ski career with stints on the Freeride World Tour. Together they produced their cult ski-film hit, Finding the Line, exploring the theme of fear while filming mostly in the BC mountains they now love.

“I learnt how small I was,” says Nat of her first time in BC in 2012, while chatting with us on the phone from Revelstoke.

“It dwarfed me” laughs Nat’s older sister, Anna, days later on Skype from Whistler. “I saw all the peaks and it just dwarfed me.”

Nat still took a month cruising around British Columbia in search of the perfect ski town in which to push herself personally and professionally. Revelstoke kept drawing her back—for its mix of mountain town and community vibe.

“I got really excited about Rogers Pass as I love big terrain,” says Nat of the famed backcountry mountain pass in the region. “You really get the idea that you are a tiny dot; you have to be self-sufficient and independent, but with the right skills you can feel really empowered in that.”

Both women are now embracing all things Canadian. Nat joined the local softball team, took up mountain biking, cheered on the local hockey team every Friday, and found like-minded mountain women as hiking companions.

“Revy women are so inspiring, doing all different types of things,” says Nat of her new-found community. “Many athletes are entrepreneurial as you have to do your own thing to create jobs, so there are a lot of creatives, photographers, designers, jewelers. You see most of them at Dose Coffee—that’s my hands-down coffee go-to. The owners are Australian and know how to do it well.”

In Whistler, Anna bought a truck, found the best Aussie-style coffee at Camp and Cranked, and set up breakfast shop at the Green Moustache to fuel her for a day in the mountains. She’s even considering buying a sled (snowmobile).

“You don’t have to search far to find someone to go on an adventure with here,” says Anna. “If I want to go ski something mellow or extreme, or park or groomers, I’m never short of someone to ask. People in BC love spending time outdoors. They love adventure and they are fun and open-minded, very similar in character to Australians.”

After four and a half years in Whistler, she’s still in awe of where she lives. “I will stop multiple times, still, on the Sea-to-Sky Highway just to take photos. It’s hard to describe this place and how beautiful it is unless you come here.”