Berchtold turns trip into career

Chances are that anyone with an ounce of athletic talent and competitive drive has, at some point, entertained the fantasy of catching the eye of a professional athlete and landing a dream job. For Powell’s Ryan Berchtold, a simple snowmobiling weekend two years ago turned into a dream come true.

Berchtold and professional snowmobiling legend Chris Burandt first crossed paths a few years back in Cooke City, Mont. Burandt was in the area, taking advantage of the terrain and conditions to do some filming for Arctic Cat Demos and Big Air Tours.

Intrigued by that initial encounter, Berchtold and some buddies booked a weekend with Burandt at his Back Country Adventures company.

That’s where fantasy and reality began to intertwine.

“It was an awesome opportunity to just get to ride with him,” Berchtold said of the multi-time Winter X-Games medalist and world’s No. 1 ranked backcountry rider. “At times during the day, he would say things about how he was impressed with how I rode a sled and stuff like that. By the end of the day, he offered me a job.”

Burandt was in the process of expanding his business and needed additional guides who could ride and perform routine sled maintenance. Berchtold was the sort of person he was looking for, and wasted little time in saying yes.

“That summer took forever,” Berchtold said. “Finally in December the call came and I went down to Colorado.”

Berchtold spent that first winter in Kremmerling, Colo., guiding clients from around the United States, Canada, Sweden and Norway on tours through Colorado’s high country. When the 2011 season opened, Berchtold was once again in Colorado, this time basing out of Buena Vista, near the ski resort haven of Aspen.

“We take about six people a day out and ride for seven or eight hours at a time,” Berchtold said, adding that the season can last as long as 200 days per year. “The riding is a lot like back home, only you’re about 2,000 feet higher in elevation. The coolest part is just being able to ride with other people and getting to know them. Over the course of the day, you go from being perfect strangers to becoming best friends. I’ve gotten to become friends with people from different places. We’ve got some guys from Norway that have come in a few times and it’s just been a blast meeting them.”

And when he’s not riding for work, chances are he’s still atop a sled, riding for fun, oftentimes with one of the sport’s most recognized figures.

“We’ll go free riding, boondocking through the trees in the backcountry and just having a blast,” Berchtold said.

And it never seems to get old. Asked if the experience has ever made him feel like he’s overdosed on snowmobiling, Berchtold’s answer is pretty clear.

“I used to take days off to go sledding,” he said. ‘Why would I want to take a day off when my job is sledding?”

He’s also picked up a number of sponsors — Polaris Industries, Arctic FX Graphics, Deviant Sledworks, 509 Goggles, Slednecks, RSI and HMK. He also gives a quick nod of support to Powell’s Darren Thomas.

“He always believed in me and helped me out through everything in my snowmobiling career. If it wasn’t for him, none of this would be possible,” Berchtold said.

Berchtold has also been able to tag along with Burandt to the Winter X-Games the last two years and also went to the Jackson Hill Climb. This fall, he’ll appear in the sledding video Schooled 4.

“It’s a popular series,” Berchtold said. “It’s just extreme snowmobiling out in the backcountry. It just shows guys out doing some intense stuff on a sled and having fun.”

The permit for Burandt’s business could keep Berchtold in Colorado until May 1, although Mother Nature will ultimately have the final say on that matter. After that, there’s talk of heading north in pursuit of more snow.

“We might go up to British Columbia for a bit and we’re planning a trip to Norway for next winter,” Berchtold said.

Looking back, Berchtold said there were many times he entertained thoughts of a life where he’d be able to get out and ride through the snow on a daily basis.

“I’d thought about it,” he admits. “I just never thought it would ever come true.”