Syd Feuz lived his life as a man born of the mountains. Growing up with seven siblings, he walked miles to school, in sunshine or deep snow. The son of Swiss-born mountain guide, Walter Feuz, Syd scrambled up ridges to stand on summits with his father and uncles, gaining the skills that would allow him to begin working as a ski guide by the age of sixteen. He served his country in the navy during World War II, and ran a bulk fuel business for two decades that was essential to the economy and livelihood of the Columbia Valley through the 1950s, ’60s and early ’70s. Then in his fifties, Syd began a 28-year career guiding skiers for Purcell Heli-Skiing, sharing the precious wilderness of his backyard Purcells and Rocky mountains. As a second generation guide, Syd embodied the values of taking on job and not just doing it well, but doing it right.
Truck driver, sailor, hotel proprietor, gas jockey, boat driver, horseman, trail builder and ski guide, Syd embraced every job that came his way with enthusiasm, gratitude and humility.
Syd Feuz is not just the world’s first Canadian-Swiss guide, he’s a true gentleman of the mountains