I first met Tessa and Dave Treadway on spring break release from the Colorado College. I was 19, driving in my buddies 2wd Toyota Corolla, listening to a stack of CD's his ex girlfriend made for him when they were likely 16. Time isn't kind to things that were once precious, and imagining their "last dance" high school gymnasium romance was good humor on the long road to Golden, BC. MiniDV tapes were the medium of the day, and having recently bought a Panasonic DVX-100 camera, I learned what all other filmmakers have; that all you need is a dream and enough balls to call yourself a Director. Our film company at the time was named after a stolen bottle of top shelf whisky, a tipped hat to living free, on the fringe, and as strange as possible. The early seeds of Sweetgrass. On the wings of that, I got Daves number, and was soon hustling my mother for a $100 loan to chase him and Tessa on a rented snowmobile. I was star-struck as fuck, and this was my big break mom. Everything was going to make sense after those days, the sponsorships would flow. Some 15 plus years later, I was chasing Tessa and her kids last week, working on a new project for Rossignol. Life has evolved for us all-- kids, work, homes, adventure, and the ups and downs of all that. When Dave fell into a crevasse in 2019, Tessa was left on her own, a single mother raising three boys. The tragedy and her strength provoke both deep sighs and smiles. Being around their energy was, decidedly, awesome. As we sat around the TV putting the kids to sleep with Sweetgrass youtube odds and ends, she mentioned that her late husband Dave modeled his whole parenting philosophy off our film Valhalla. And with that, I say, I love the work that we do. And the people that we get to do it with. Thanks to @rossignol , Matt Cote, @jasonmannings, @kickinghorsemtn , and the @freerange.family . #treadLightly coming your way real soon.