The Greatest Job in Snowboarding?

Words: Xander

From the outside looking in, Dustin Lalik has the best job in snowboarding. On Transfer’s recent trip to Baldface, we were introduced to Dustin as he shuffled around the lodge – camera in hand, slapping palms with everyone in the hallways, praising them for their turns that day and making them feel like they had just landed a cover shot.  

We also learned that he was Australian.  

Like everyone at Baldface, Dustin welcomed us with the warmest of hospitality – and not a contrived, transactional service like someone working The White Lotus, but rather someone so like-minded and down to earth that it felt like he was just having us over at his place for a beer.  

Dustin is from the Sunshine Coast, about as far away from Nelson BC as it gets, and having spent the last 15 years chasing turns, he now heads up the media and marketing department at Baldface. Day in and day out, he jumps into the cat and captures moments of snowboarders from all over the world literally having the best day of their lives.  

He’s a busy man. After shooting all morning, each evening he puts together a slide show which plays in the bar at 6pm – a Baldface daily ritual where he makes even the most weekend of warriors like me look like they can snowboard.

With a contagious smile and stoke each morning as he fired up his drone and prepped his GoPro rig, he really seemed to love what he does – and to us, it seems there are definitely worse ways to earn a living.

So does Dustin have the best job in snowboarding? We spoke to him to find out.

The bleeding obvious first question is, how did you land such a gig?

It was kind of a right place at the right time scenario. I had been living and working in Nelson for a few years at this point and my bosses son at the time, Nyle, used to come in and we’d shoot the shit about snowboarding and conditions. He was a tail guide at Baldface and he had me drooling with his stories of riding powder with the pros. A photog job at the lodge came up not long after, and I kind of bluffed my way through an interview with Jeff Pensiero (JP) and his wife Paula who was handling the media then. Even though I had been shooting photos and riding for years at this point I really hadn’t shot a ton of snowboarding, nothing that was Baldface anyway. JP gave me a chance for some reason, and the first shift I had a few weeks later sealed the deal. It was New years eve, with epic conditions and a stacked crew including Travis Rice, Austen Sweetin, Mikel Bang and Robin Van Gyn. We got to ride the Super Natural course which blew my mind, and I got some shots that trip that are still amongst my favourites. I also managed to nab my first (and only) cover shot that season when Austen Sweetin Miller flipped the Craig Kelly sword, which landed on the front of Absinthe AfterForever.

Is it the best job in snowboarding?

I mean for me it is, no doubt. I get to combine two of my biggest passions in snowboarding and photography. I think any time you get paid to be on a snowboard you have to consider yourself incredibly lucky. I’m surrounded by guests who have been psyching themselves up all year for this one trip, and the energy is pretty amazing once they finally step off the heli in front of the lodge. I can honestly say I’ve had some of the best days of my life at work.

You grew up in Australia but started snowboarding in Canada, what drew you to Nelson?


Canada has always been a Second home to me, my dad is Canadian and grew up in Whistler before meeting my mum and moving to Australia. We did a few family trips growing up to visit his side of the family which is where I learnt to ride and I realized I wanted to spend more time in the mountains. As soon as I finished high school I moved to Whistler for a season, and then that lead me to Revelstoke. A crew of us did a spring road trip down to Nelson to check out a Gentemstick event that was happening at Whitewater, the local resort. The town just had a lot going for it, amazing riding, a really vibrant town, mountains in every direction and a ton of snowboard culture. When I moved down here, I called my dad and we realized the he had lived on the same street as me but 20 years earlier, which instantly made it feel like home.  

What does a regular day look like in the cat?

We run four cats at Baldface, 12 people in each, so I will jump in a different cat each day so I have a chance to shoot with all of our guests. We leave the lodge around 8:30am and stay out until around 3pm depending on the time of year. I’ll usually work with the guiding team to setup in zones that are best for shooting but also are not going to put me in any avalanche danger. After 9 years I know the tenure really well, and have my favourite zones to shoot, but no day is the same, it is a bit of a dance between light, snow and the abilities of the riders as to how it all unfolds. We do anywhere from 9-14 runs depending on how fast the area is moving. The end of the day we head back to the lodge, the guests hit the bar and I head to my computer to edit all of the day’s photos into a slideshow that we play before dinner. Then clear the memory cards and do it all again!  

Who is most fun to shoot with?

I think anyone who is out there just enjoying the moment. It’s great to shoot with the pros, and witness just how freakishly good they are on a board, but its also pretty special when I get to shoot with someone who has been riding their whole life and never had a photo of them doing it. Those are the guys that really appreciate it.  

Does anything suck about your job?

I wouldn’t say anything sucks, but it can be a grind. We put in long days, and once the winter kicks off there isn’t a whole lot of down time. Sometimes having to pull up and shoot when you’re in the middle of an unreal run can be a bitch!  

For the gear nerds out there, what does your camera set up look like?

I shoot on Nikon. I have a Z8 as my primary camera, a Z6ii as backup, and a Fujifilm X100v for more candid shooting. Lenses are all the usual suspects (14-24mm,24-70mm, 70-200mm). I just picked up an 85mm, 1.4 which I have really been enjoying for shooting portraits, it was always one of my weak points but this lens makes it a dream.  

Do you have a best day that stands out in your time Baldface?

I’d have to say shooting Natural Selection in 2022 was a highlight. I started working at the lodge just after the Super Natural and Ultra Natural events. They where such wild concepts, and really cemented Baldface on the bucket list of so many snowboarders. To be able to shoot the 2022 was a dream. These events are so logistically challenging, and the amount of work that goes into them is crazy. The lead up with weather was a bit of a rollercoaster, the winds made for some challenging conditions. The course only gets morning light, so on event day it was a 5am start, with riders dropping by 7am. The whole thing was done by 11:30 and we were back at the lodge by noon partying all afternoon and night, the adrenaline rush on days like that is huge.

You’re also the marketing manager at Baldface, what does that entail?

A little bit of everything really. Designing and sourcing all of the merch for the retail, working on brand partnerships, events, planning media and scheduling our social media. I’ve been lucky that I can work year round with Baldface for the last three years, and make a career of it. 

  

It’s impossible not to buy merch at Baldface, how does that process work? Why is the brand so strong?

Luckily for me Baldface has always had a really strong brand identity, so when I started doing the marketing it was never to reinvent the wheel. The lodge is sold out for years in advance, so I never had the pressure to make sales. It is all about keeping the identity and sharing the experience. I think it is testament to Jeff Pensiero’s vision for the lodge, keeping it authentic to what it was built on, and if that pisses off a few skiers then so be it. 


What do you do in summer?

Once the lodge gets rolling in the winter, it doesn’t stop, 24/7 for 5 months straight. So it takes a pretty huge effort in planning from our year round staff to make things run seamlessly. We are making sure everything is in place well before the season starts so we aren’t trying to make it happen mid season. But also a lot of flyfishing and biking, I moved to Canada for the winters but its the summers that got me hooked.  

Do you have any advice for young filmers and photographers out there trying to get into shooting?

Repetition is key. The more time you can spend with a camera in hand, the more natural it will feel when it comes to those high pressure situations like shooting action. Go and shoot as much as possible, even if it is in your local terrain park with your friends. It will allow you to practice your technique, find a style, and see what works and what doesn’t for certain angles on certain tricks. Just being out there is half the battle.  

Study other photographers. I think we are in a golden age for photographers who are willing to push the limits of snowboard photography through their creativity and not just shooting the gnarliest lines in Alaska. Take Andrew Miller for example, some of my favourite images of his are inbounds at the resort.   

Are you interested in coming to meet Dustin and the rest of the crew at Baldface on New Year’s Eve 2025/26? Send us a DM for information the Transfer x Baldface trip.

Follow Dustin at @dustinlalikphoto and his daily updates from @baldfacelodge.