Sam Anthamatten
2025-11-04
ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND
“I was in Nepal in 2009 with my brother and another friend, and we had this huge achievement by climbing a new route on Jasemba. But I had this feeling that if I continued down the alpinism path, it would become too dangerous. So I started freeskiing more, and was hooked on how fun it was.”
Sam Anthamatten’s story feels inseparable from Zermatt, Switzerland, the landscape where he grew up. His mom would take her four children on long hikes every day, introducing them to the mountains and ensuring they slept at night. For Sam, hiking transformed into climbing and skiing, which in turn became alpinism and freeride competitions. Trained in the rigors of rope and ice, his alpine background never left him, lingering in his skiing, which carries the precision of a mountaineer and the power and playfulness of a freeskier. Where others chase adrenaline, Sam chases fluency.
“What I learned over time is that every additional sport that I do helps with my projects at the end. And that's why I think it's important for me to keep doing it and to also enter competitions, because then I feel that in every sport I compete in, I get better and better.”
Like the namesake tool of his country, Sam is a Swiss Army knife. Certified guide at 24, second overall in his first year on the Freeride World Tour, opening new routes on the Matterhorn—Sam is quick to excel. Within skiing alone, he’s mastered multiple disciplines, from steep alpine descents to backcountry freeride tricks. His skillset, levelheadedness, and unexpected humor make Sam a sought-after partner on expeditions and projects. He’s teamed up with freeride legends like Jérémie Heitz and Markus Eder in multiple films, including La Liste and The Ultimate Run. And while Sam is happy to play a supporting role, his skill set often puts him directly in the spotlight.
“I think the focus changed from when I was young, where my focus was on skiing performance. And nowadays it's about people that you're traveling with and the people you meet.”
In recent years, Sam has guided expeditions, starred in films, and pushed into terrain that demands both mastery and humility. But what lingers is not the extremity of his feats, nor the statistics of vertical meters skied, but the tenderness with which he approaches danger. He speaks often of intuition, of listening to the mountain’s silences.For Sam, freedom in the high alpine depends not on overcoming fear, but on moving through it with care. And in a full circle moment, it is now Sam who takes his own children on long walks through the mountains.
Career Highlights
● Over 15 film parts for productions including Matchstick Productions, The Faction Collective, and The North Face and Sherpas Cinema
● Multiple notable steep skiing descents in the Alps, Andes, Alaska and Pakistan
● Video Part, Free Rider, The North Face / Sam Anthamatten & Victor de Le Rue (2022)
● Film Profile, Nevia-A Sam Anthamatten Story, Faction Skis / Red Bull Media House (2022)
● Video Part, La Liste Sequel: Everything or Nothing, Sherpas Cinema / Red Bull Media House (2021)
● Video Part, La Liste, Timeline Missions//Red Bull Media House (2016)
● Video Part: Days of My Youth — Matchstick Productions (2014/15)
● 1st place , Sochi Russia, Freeride World Tour (2011)
● 2nd place overall, Freeride World Tour (2011)
● First ascent, VI 90° M5, 1,550 m, South-East Face of Jasemba, 7,350 m, Nepal (2009)
● UIAGM mountain guide