Sam O’Keeffe, Skier

Sam O’Keeffe playing in the trees.

British skier Sam O’Keeffe has called the Austrian ski resort of St. Anton his home for the last few years. He keeps his knowledge of the best local spots close and not without reason.

Date of Birth:
18/5/80

Nationality:
Born in Switzerland but British by nationality

Home Mountain:
St. Anton Am Arlberg, Austria

Sponsors:
Icelantic Skis, Black Flys, Pull-In Underwear,
Penguin Outerwear

Sam O’Keeffe – Skier

Favourite set of skis:
Don’t know yet, just got my new Shaman’s and Nomad’s from Icelantic and they look wicked, now I just need some snow to fall and I’ll let you know which one’s are my favourite.

Favourite ski spot:
There are so many around here in the Arlberg, a lot are known by everyone, but there are still some “fairly” secret spots and they are going to stay “fairly” secret, so if I answered this question honestly then I wouldn’t have my favourite spot anymore….so I would have to say the baby slopes in at the bottom of St.Anton, yup definitely.

Sam O’Keeffe puts in some clean turns at Sonnenkopf, Austria

How did you get involved in skiing:
Probably like most people who love this sport, you were forced into it when your parents wanted to go skiing but didn’t want you to come along, so they whack a helmet on your head, dress you in a comical ski bib, strap two wooden planks on your feet, wave goodbye to you as your dragged into ski school kicking and screaming shouting “I don’t want to do this” and “I hate you”, then as soon as you start sliding on the strange white stuff, you’re hooked and you know that’s all you want to do for the rest of your life. Not bad forward thinking for a 2yr old!
P.S. Thanks Mum and Dad!

Sam O’Keeffe deep in the St. Anton Powder, Austria

Plans for the future:
Last year I took part in my first bit of competitive skiing and qualified 18th out of 60 odd riders at the Fieberbrunn Spyder Big Mountain competition and loved every minute of it and was really looking forward to the actual competition only to have it cancelled due to bad weather. The disappointment didn’t end there, two other competitions I wanted to compete in succumbed to a similar fate.
So this year I really want to do well in competitions as long as the snow Gods will let us compete, a definite goal is to get into the top 5 in the British Freeride Competition…..well actually I want to win it, but I would be happy to get on the podium. Also some friends have just bought a HD camera and want to make a short film this season, knowing these jokers I really can’t wait to see what the end result will be. Also year I’ve been given an amazing opportunity to go on my first team rider trip to Bulgaria, kind of things you dream about in your young skibum days, plus Bulgaria has been on my ski destination hit list for a long time, so I’m just really hoping I can make it.

Favourite Country:
Right now it’s Austria. I’ve been living here for a few years now and I love being in the mountains, there’s just so much to do. But there are a lot of other countries out there and I haven’t been to them all yet so maybe I’ll find a new one this year!

Sam O’Keeffe deep in the St. Anton Powder, Austria

Best Moment:
My Buddy and I did the front face of Schindler all the way to the Zammermoos chair 4 times last year with powder over our waists and each time we came round for another lap we just couldn’t believe that no one else was skiing it, it was an epic day that I’ll never forget…..Fair enough no one was there because it was a complete whiteout, but who needs good vis when you have sooo much snow and rocks to guide the way. Cheers Lloydo!

Worst Moment:
Fracturing my neck doing the guinea pig jump off a backcountry kicker in Zurs. Took awhile to get the confidence back after that one.

Click here for Sam O’Keeffe photo gallery