TPM Episode 465: Sid Pattison, Everest Guide, Owner of North Cascade Heli

The Powell Movement

Mike Powell

Leisure, Hobbies, Sports

4.9 • 860 Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2025

⏱️ 85 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sid Pattison is a heli ski guide, an Everest veteran, and an all around badass, but what makes Sid different is who he is. Sid has the rare combination of a magnetic personality that lights up any situation, along with the ability to connect with every person he comes across, from the janitor to the CEO. These unique human skills, combined with his beast-like ability in the field, has created a fast lane in life that's allowed Sid to leapfrog past more accomplished peers. He's skipped some traditional steps on his way to things like guiding Everest, to his upcoming buy into North Cascade Heli Ski, but he doesn't cut corners. While nothing that Sid does is traditional, it's always memorable and it eventually works out. This is a fun one

Sid Pattison Show Notes:

4:00: Sid does things different, wishing he was Jewish, and growing up with privilege

19:00: Ski Idaho: With 19 mountains, a ton of snow and no lift lines, why wouldn't you Visit Idaho

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Best Day Brewing: All of the flavor of your favorite IPA or Kolsch, without the alcohol, the calories or sugar.

24:00: Living through the San Juan Era, having to leave Seattle, guiding, ski guiding, and getting an early opportunity in the Himalayas,

41:30: Elan Skis: Over 75 years of innovation that makes you better.

Thermic Heated Socks: If you have cold feet, there's nothing better than thermic

Outdoor Research: Click here for 25% off Outdoor Research products (not valid on sale items or pro products)

44:00: Sherpa, Everest trips, the difference between both sides, heli skiing, getting people up mountains, more Everest and buying North Cascade Heli Skiing

70:00: Inappropriate Questions with Paul Butler

Transcript

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0:00.0	Have a seat on your porcelain throne.
0:02.3	It's time to talk some shit on the Powell Movement.
0:13.5	Welcome to the Powell Movement.
0:17.1	I'm your host Mike Powell, and I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas.
0:22.8	For us, it was the first one without ants. And while we didn't talk too much about her, the absence of Ange's presence was noticed every minute.
0:29.0	She lived for this time of year. She loved giving gifts. And I was able to find one last gift for Keaton from her.
0:35.5	And I think I've mentioned this before, that when Anne was dying, people would come over to the house,
0:39.3	and when they were leaving, one by one, Anne would tell them how much they meant to her, and she seemed to have this message of goodbye that was filled with all this love. It was really, really special, and Keaton and I didn't get that. get that. And I think about that all the time, that we just had to watch her die, but we didn't get a
0:54.9	goodbye from her because she wasn't able to get that. And I think about that all the time, that we just had to watch her die, but we didn't
0:54.7	get a goodbye from her because she wasn't able to do that. So back to this last gift, I uncovered a journal
1:01.1	about a month ago. And there was a question in this journal, and it was like, who do you talk to right
1:06.1	before you die? And what do you say to them? And Ange wrote a heartfelt paragraph to Keaton in May of 2020.
1:12.7	And on Christmas Eve, I gave that to Keaton and I thought that was a pretty special thing.
1:17.1	I think we both had some tears flowing and while she loved me, she really, really loved Keaton and our dog.
1:23.2	So, I don't know, it just sucks so bad for him, for her, for us, for everything that she's gone.
1:28.0	But you can imagine Christmas is hard for us, and this week's going to be harder for me. I have my birthday and our anniversary. This would have been our 17-year anniversary. So I've got to deal with that shit. And then on top of that, I'm going to be totally stressed out because I need to get a podcast done. And while I've had three people scheduled for this week coming up, one's already missed it and I'm stressed about the other two. While they'll probably be fine, you never know what's going to happen. Worst case scenario for me in this podcast is you get the second to last best of inappropriate questions episode to kick off the year. But if everything works out, it's going to be a regular
2:01.1	show. And this week is no regular show. To end 2025 and my ninth season, I've got a guy who's
2:07.5	been to the summit of Mount Everest four times. But Sid Patterson is not a summit chaser. He's an all-time
2:13.3	guy. He's the owner of North Cascade Heli ski in about 30 days. And he's just one of those dudes that
2:18.8	has one of those magnetic personalities that everybody wants to be around and everybody feels like
2:23.9	they know Sid, even if they've only met him a couple of times. He's got the best personality
2:28.4	in the business. And before we chat with Sid, I want to thank you for listening each week.
	...

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