Skiing Mount Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada

Skiing Mount Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada

Photograph by David Carlier

"It's not normal to have this kind of view, but it's very artistic," says French skierJulien Lopez. "We call that a sea of clouds, and it makes the mountain even more beautiful." Lopez was competing in the first event of the Freeride World Tour on Mount Mackenzie, near Revelstoke in British Columbia, Canada, in January 2013. "I could see a part of the terrain, but not everything—but I knew the mountain face, so didn't matter to me."

On Lopez's back is an avalanche airbag backpack loaded up with a shovel, probe, water, and snacks so that he would be prepared in the event of a slide.