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Andrea Ference ↟ vagabondhearts

@andrea.ference

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↟ your outdoorsy big sister ↟
run. hike. cycle. dive. ski. climb
based in the Canadian Rockies, rooted in the Austrian Alps

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Hey… I’m Andrea. And it is about time that I got to be myself. I made my handle @vagabondhearts over a decade ago when I was working at a big four accounting firm and (although my coworkers were and are nothing but supportive of all that I do)… it was a way to separate the “real” me from this online space. Over the years those two have really become one.And while I am embracing this merging I have ten, very random, things that I would love you to know about me:1. I grew up on a farm about an hour outside of Calgary with views of the mountains from my front room. My village had less than 1,000 people and it still blows my mind that anyone cares what I have to say/share on here.2. I hold both Canadian and Austrian citizenships (thanks mom!) and on my dad’s side I am Polish and Norwegian.3. I speak English and French… and about 25 words in German but would love to up that.4. The best gift I have ever been given was a random out of the blue text titled “P.s. here's 10 things Andrea is really good at” by someone who barely knew me… and does not have social media. 5. Contrary to what it looks like online… I am very introverted and have a really hard time with social situations and group dynamics. It is one thing I wish I could change about myself.6. I studied Neuroscience and Political Science at university. I thought I would one day be a psychiatrist. And my kindergarten yearbook says that I wanted to be a janitor when I grew up.7. My favourite foods are popcorn, peanut butter, and pickles.8. If I could split my time between any 5 places in the world they would be Golden, BC. San Francisco, CA. Mo’orea, FP. Chalten, Argentina. And a small village in the alps TBD.9. I am *terrified* of both birds of flight and clowns. Always have been.10. My goal here is to be your “outdoorsy big sister” - I want to be the resource I wish I had when I got into the outdoors in my mid twenties. Oh, and I do personally read every single message that comes into my inbox.Whats something you wish people knew about you? by @andrea.ference

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3 years ago

Are you team edge piece or middle piece? (swipe for context) I am far from the queen of getting permits. This should be unsurprising to all as the most type-b person you will ever meet. But I do live ~45 minutes from an incredible list of the most beautiful places on planet earth. Sometimes it means taking the long way in (by foot or bike or ski), snagging last minute cancellations or popping on as a backup +1. That was the case this time. And being a +1 means that I got to pack an extra heavy backpack on the bus into Lake O’Hara. We set up our tent, snagged a piece of carrot cake and ventured off onto our side quest. A little lake high in the alpine where we didn’t see another human all night. We made it back to our tent just as a summer rainstorm broke and after a short nights sleep I traded my bus ticket out for a training run followed by a DQ blizzard. The high alpine is still frozen and my leg is still broken. But I’m really hoping for more trips like this in my near future - and if you ever have a +1 on a permit. You know who to call. by @andrea.ference

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3 days ago

by @andrea.ference

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6 days ago

What are you most looking forward to this summer? For me, it’s mid week escapes like these. Where the cell phone service has long since been lost. Where laughs and secrets flow freely. Hot coffee, cold lakes and ramen noodles for breakfast. There is still snow up in the alpine but summer is taking hold down in the valley and making its way up the mountains. It won’t be long. And I, for one, can not wait. by @andrea.ference

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6 days ago

Two weeks in KangiqtualukA few memories from a series of @fujifilmx_ca disposable cameras. The only person I knew coming into this was someone I had a brief conversation over a cup of coffee nearly eight years ago. And here we were, nine virtual strangers spend two weeks living on the frozen sea ice.There was no plan and no real nighttime (which, to be honest brought on a lot of decision paralysis amid the group and oftentimes the conversation of a “plan” was not even presented until mid afternoon) We packed ten snow machines with everything we needed to survive in the frozen arctic alongside ski touring, ice climbing, rock climbing, kite skiing, paragliding…Once we were dropped off, a six hour snow machine ride from the nearest settlement, and the machines disappeared along the horizon. The adventure began. This is a little taste of what we got up to at what I referred to as ✨Camp @berghausofficial ✨ there will be more once I sift through hard drives. But for now. My toes still have no feeling in them and I am slowly getting re-used to the conveniences of every day life outside of the arctic circle. by @andrea.ference

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10 days ago

by @andrea.ference

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13 days ago

by @andrea.ference

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17 days ago

by @andrea.ference

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22 days ago

I didn’t know if couloir skiing was for me. Less than a year ago on a similar couloir 3,000 km (1,870 miles) away. I lost one of my favorite humans. She was safe and careful and I don’t know if I will ever really know what happened. But she fell and didn’t make it out the other side alive. And so skiing was scary and couloirs were scary and the combination of the two felt like a risk that was not worth taking. And then. I got invited to come and ski arguably the most beautiful line in North America - and in my attempt to navigate life in a way that would make Hannah proud, I said yes. An easy yes. A week into the trip it was time to head up. I stopped shy of topping out. But had a beautiful day in the mountains… until the final pitch. Where the powder turned to ice as I crossed the shadow line. The sparkly ground beneath me caught an edge of my ski. One ski ejected immediately and I was lucky enough to flip over and get my remaining ski under my body and dug an edge in quickly. It was oddly the most terrifying and all freeing fall. That the big scary thing did in fact happen. And I was able to come out (mostly) unscathed. This line was for Hannah 🤍Thank you for the video @jakeholland.co.uk by @andrea.ference

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22 days ago

by @andrea.ference

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a month ago

see you on the other side by @andrea.ference

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a month ago

[almost] 8 years ago. I watched a film at the @banffmountainfestival about a man’s mis/adventure kite skiing across Antarctica (and climbing a remote unclimbed peak). The next morning in a coffee shop on Banff Avenue. I sat next to him, and in true Andrea fashion. Yapped his ear off. As it turns out @leo_houlding is also a fan of the yap. We exchanged information and never really thought too much of it. Until earlier this year. When out of the blue I received an email and DM in rapid succession. Asking if I would want to join a ski expedition on Baffin Island. My reply was immediate and only one word. Yes. (I then replied to that email multiple times in a manner that I was sure was either relay my excitement or scare him off but there was not option for anything in between). Thankfully. That was the enthusiasm he was on search of.And so. I am here, in the arctic circle, with quite the team of accomplished alpine athletes. Skiing and climbing and apparently having a midnight sun disco party for the next few weeks. TLDR: this one’s for the yappers. Never stop. by @andrea.ference

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a month ago