Commercial Fishing Meets World-Class Skiing in This Short Film

Written by Nicole Qualtieri Nov 17, 2020 9:35 a.m. ET

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It’s not often that a captain of a fishing boat is also a skier. But for McKenna Peterson, that’s just life.

“I fish because I love to fish,” McKenna Peterson says in this short film excerpt. And she goes on to tell the story of how both fishing and skiing provide an interconnected lifestyle in her home landscape of Alaska.

In 2017, Peterson’s father passed, and she took over the captain’s spot on her family’s fishing boat. With the help of her siblings, she’s maintained the salmon fishing operation in Southeast Alaska since. And her skiing is as much informed by her fishing as she clearly was by her father’s wisdom.

This piece exemplifies that connection, both in the hard-won grit of a fishing life and the elegance that only high mountain lines can provide. You can watch the full-length ski film “Huck Yeah!” via Matchstick Productions on a variety of platforms.

Nicole Qualtieri

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Nicole Qualtieri has been writing about hunting, fishing, and the outdoors for 8 years.

From 2014-2017, Nicole worked for ZPZ Productions. There, she partnered with multiple hunting outlets and personalities on social media and e-commerce, including MeatEater, Randy Newberg, and Remi Warren. She also managed online communications for Backcountry Hunters & Anglers for nearly two years, and she spent six years prior in Corporate sales. Additionally, she served a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Bridgewater, MA, coordinating volunteers for a therapeutic recreational facility.

Based in Montana, Nicole is an avid hunter and angler. She’s a lifelong horsewoman and animal lover, and she’s recently ventured into the world of bird dogs with her young Boykin Spaniel, Bob.