Why a Louisiana Skier is Attempting to Ski All 7 Continents in Less Than 1 Year

This post is brought to you by ALPINR Mountain Travel

If you spot a skier on a snow-choked summit in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco or a wind-whipped ridge in Patagonia holding a faded purple-and-gold LSU window flag, chances are you’ve run into Michael Mathews. At 43, the Baton Rouge native doesn’t fit the traditional mold of an alpine nomad. He doesn’t hail from a mountain town, nor does he subscribe to the sterile corporate titles of modern action sports. His official title is “Chief Adventure Officer” of ALPINR Mountain Travel, and his current pursuit is as ambitious as it is unprecedented: attempting to ski all seven continents in a single calendar year for the ALPINR World Tour, a new YouTube series on the @backpackeroutdoors channel that follows the skiing, culture, food, and people encountered on the grand journey. 

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Mathews’ passion for ski culture is an inherited family heirloom. His father began leading groups of Louisiana locals on Western ski trips back in the 1960s, a business Michael bought and took over in 2006. The LSU flag itself has been in service since 2003, when father, son, and daughter carried it to the stormy crater of Mount Rainier. Two decades later, as Mathews watched the domestic ski industry settle into a repetitive rhythm of mega-passes and overpriced resort cafeterias, he decided it was time to reignite his love for the sport. He wanted to build a travel series that captured the true soul of international ski culture — something far beyond, as he noted in a recent conversation with SnowBrains detailing the expedition, “writing about a burger and fries for two hundred bucks on a plastic tray.”

The quest recently brought Mathews and his videographer to the shores of Lake Nahuel Huapi in Bariloche, Argentina, marking the fifth continent checked off their world tour after earlier stints in Japan, British Columbia, Morocco, and Austria. Entering South America during the August winter season presented a striking visual contrast. Down at lake level, the conditions felt surprisingly balmy, with locals out on sailboats and strolling along the shore. “It felt like it could be a February day in Louisiana when we’re down on the lakefront,” Mathews noted in a thick Bayou accent. Yet a short drive and chairlift ride up Catedral Resort delivered vast, snow-covered amphitheaters with dramatic pointy, steeple-like Patagonian peaks. For Mathews, the scenery proved unforgettable: “Bariloche was just incredibly overwhelming with these insane Patagonian views. When you’re in somewhere like Japan or even Colorado, I feel like you’re not always anticipating the sunset. But in Bariloche, you don’t want to miss the sunset each day. It’s just as cool as it was the day before, even more so. Wherever you are, you kind of want to catch it.”

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To sample what Argentina’s world-renowned backcountry had to offer, the crew ventured an hour south of town to Baguales Mountain Reserve. The journey itself felt almost surreal, transitioning from dry valleys to deep alpine snowpacks. “You start off in this pretty barren [valley];  there was no snow on the ground for quite some time,” Mathews recalled. “Then you turn up this valley and start gaining elevation to about four or five thousand feet, and it’s like boom — you’re in a snow haven.” Operating out of what he called a “world-class, first-class experience, way more first class than I was expecting,” Mathews got a taste of the Andes’ notoriously fickle weather patterns when a sudden mid-winter warming spike turned the upper snowpack into a tough, unbreakable crust. Yet variable snow was easily brushed aside. “We didn’t get into skiing, or really anything outdoors, if you’re betting on perfect weather every time,” Mathews joked. “You might as well get into bowling if that’s the case.” Nonetheless, he and his cameraman were still able to make some turns before enjoying a 5-star meal and luxury-modern amenities next to a raging Andean wood fire.

Returning to the resort at Cerro Catedral, the pair kept leaning into the unhurried rhythm of Patagonian mountain life, bootpacking up zones where a shutdown chairlift left entire bowls uncrowded. Mathews emphasized that enjoying Bariloche requires letting go of traditional North American habits: “Don’t go to Bariloche with the intention of skiing 30,000 vertical every day. You want to go enjoy it, ski some great runs, do some backcountry or hiking. If they’ve got a bluebird day, go stop and eat a picnic lunch overlooking Lake Nahuel Huapi.” Documenting those moments, however, proved to be an exercise in patience. Capturing fluid drone shots and stabilized camera runs came with unpredictable slope hazards. “You might find a really good run, and then some out-of-control skier skis between you and your cameraman, and you’re like, ‘Well, we got to start all over again and get in line and take the lift back up.'”

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Off the snow, Bariloche’s rich and vibrant culture was just as magnetic as its peaks. Mathews and his videographer lined up outside El Boliche de Alberto alongside international skiers waiting for famous Argentinian steaks, sampled local craft pours at Patagonia Brewery, and explored the lakeside town. But the real warmth of the local hospitality was best captured during one late-night stop at the El Patacón restaurant.

Pulling up around nine in the evening, Mathews spotted the owner sitting outside in a cowboy hat smoking a cigarette. Mathews immediately feared their large YouTube camera rig might not be received well. But to his surprise, they were greeted with open arms. “He could barely speak English,” Mathews recalled. “He goes, ‘Oh, TV?’ and we’re like, ‘No, we’re doing this for YouTube.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, okay, come on.'” The owner ushered them directly into the kitchen, proudly showing off aging cuts of beef, pouring local wine, and having his staff roll out a fresh batch of empanadas specifically for the camera. This is Argentina, home to some of the most welcoming people in the world — especially when it comes to their food.

Just like the late Anthony Bourdain, Mathews sees those spontaneous human connections as the true heartbeat of travel; meeting new people who are at the same time both very different and very similar to yourself. This is the soul of the ALPINR World Tour, all while being told on skis. For Mathews, the project is a deliberate way to reconnect with the core spirit of the sport after years of industry stagnation. “I needed something that matches me with my heart and what I love, and to share that with people,” he said. “When you do something like this, it really connects you with people that love the mountains with that same passion that you do, and that’s been the biggest benefit of all this.”

Carrying his worn LSU flag to every summit is a tether to his roots. “It kind of reminds people that anybody can go do this. I mean, I’m just a guy from Louisiana who likes to ski.” With South America checked off, Mathews is already packing for Australia and New Zealand to complete the southern leg of his circuit. Wherever the tour leads next, the flag will be in his pack as he travels with an open mind and a stuffed ski bag.