Teal Harle on Skiing, Fishing, and Flying High in TGR's 'Pressure Drop'

Professional skier Teal Harle catches big air at Great Bear Heli Skiing for his debut in Teton Gravity Research’s 30th annual film, Pressure Drop—a real tribute to those fleeting moments that you can have on skis that may last forever. 

​Harle grew up among big trees, snowy peaks, and ocean waters, on Vancouver Island, in the fishing town of Campbell River, British Columbia. Campbell River, home to the world-famous Tyee Club, a club that celebrates the vital role the salmon has played in the soul of this community. Salmon and snow shaped Harle, a two-time Canadian Olympian and World Cup medal winner in Big Air and Slopestyle ski events.

​This connection to the natural world has played a big role in Harle’s lifelong love for the outdoors, not only on snow, but as a professional fly fishing guide, based out of the Lower Dean River Lodge, located on the world-famous namesake river, regarded as one of the best places to hook a wily steelhead on a fly.

​From his time on the highly-competitive World Cup circuit to claiming two X Games medals, to competing in two Olympics, Harle has shown the world his incredible athletic skills and aerial artistry. Now he is focused on continuing to hone his skills in the backcountry and on sharing his abilities not only to master the air but also the steep slopes for the big screen through his filming for TGR.

We caught up with Harle to learn more.

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​Can you share some of the key moments of skiing that have shaped your life?

​Number one has to be the ski academy my parents started while I was in high school. That allowed me to ski just about every day, and I learned a lot. I actually didn’t learn any big new tricks, but I was able to put in the time and repetition on the basics. Another one was when I went down to Mt. Hood for a summer camp with the National Team. It was a really great experience, I remember it being so cool to be staying in the same place and skiing with the guys I looked up to, thinking I want to do that someday.

​What events have had the most impact on you?

​I think it was 2014, I was on the BC team, and I had an amazing season with some podiums at the bigger events. That got me onto the National team the following season. Another one was my first World Cup podium. It was in St. Moritz, Switzerland. In the training days before the qualifier, I really wasn’t feeling good on the slopestyle course. I just couldn’t figure out a run I liked and thought I wouldn’t be able to pull off. So the night before the contest, I sat down at my computer and built the course on a video game called Shredsauce. I basically used that as a visualization and figured out a run that I thought I could do. The next day was the qualifier, and I landed my first run, securing my spot in the finals. I sat down at the computer, played Shredsauce all night again, and figured out how to improve my run. Then the next day I ended up with a gold medal!

​Fish or ski? Other sports you are passionate about? Share a memorable moment from fishing adventures?

​I’m very lucky to have shaped my life around what I am passionate about! Both skiing and fishing have been big parts of my life growing up on Vancouver Island. Fishing the ocean for salmon with my dad, uncle, and grandpa was something I really loved when I was a kid. I got into fly fishing through my partner, Zoe, and now I spend my summers working as a steelhead fly-fishing guide at the lodge her family owns and operates. I started skiing when I was two years old, and I feel like I have spent every winter skiing since then. 

Shooting with TGR at Great Bear Heli Skiing—that is so rad—most people have not heard about why Great Bear is so unique? Tell us more.

It was an awesome experience to ski and film up at Great Bear Heli skiing. The Lower Dean River Lodge that I guide at is the same place as Great Bear Heli skiing, so it was a very familiar trip for me. However, I haven’t spent much time there in the winter, and it was really cool to explore the mountains around that area. We had amazing snow the whole trip. Only a couple of perfect bluebird days for us, but we did ski just about every day! It’s always a battle with the weather, and while we did have some awesome days, we didn’t get to ski all of the cool lines that we scoped. I definitely need to go back and hopefully try to ski some of those. Not to mention, we didn’t even explore the whole tenure. There is still so much more to explore up there.

What’s next for your ski career? Any other events? Projects?

My plan is to continue trying to make the film parts and continue to learn more about the backcountry.

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