Entering the white room in Otaru, Japan. Photo: Colton Jacobs

Driving down a highway in Otaru, Japan, Micah Evangelista and his friends stopped at a hillside that caught their eye. Steep, deep and filled with drops, it was the perfect escape from the crowded resort. Discovering a plump pillow of white atop an untracked hillside, everything seemed right from the takeoff to the landing. Micah even threw a snowball off the top to gauge where he might land. Then he dropped in. 

When Micah stepped off the plane, he planned to be in Japan for exactly two weeks. What he never imagined was leaving the country, a month later, with six screws attaching a metal plate to his pelvis and hip socket. 

Born and raised in Glacier, WA, Micah has been a Mount Baker local since birth. Initially catching laps as a newborn, strapped to his father’s back, Micah now throws some of the biggest tricks in the game, seen in videos such as Bourn, Confluence and Actual Air. 

The goal of the trip was to film in Hokkaido with a few of his close friends and fellow Outdoor Research and Faction teammate Sophia Rouches. The crew spent 10 days skiing inbounds at Kiroro and neighboring resorts. When a two foot storm hit the island, they ventured into the backcountry to hit some of the features they’d been eyeing—now refreshed with deeper landings.  

“The tree skiing [in Otaru] is so tight that it’s kind of rare to find something that feels like it has ample space to hit a feature and do a trick,” said Micah. “But it seemed like I had a 30-foot window.” The only potential hazard was the two trees at the end of the run out. Micah threw a cork seven, drifted left and collided with a tree. When he came to a stop in the snow, his right knee was facing his left and he knew something was wrong. 

Boosting off a natural feature in the Otaru backcountry. Evangelista misjudged his landing and collided with a tree, forcing him into emergency surgery abroad. Photo: Colton Jacobs

His friends rushed up to help, and with a little creativity, the crew was able to get Micah down to the road, supporting his weight while he gingerly walked through stamped down tracks. Rouches ran down to the road and flagged down the first car she could find to help them call an ambulance. 

But arriving at the hospital was just the beginning. Using nothing but Google Translate, Micah handed his phone back and forth to speak with his doctors. X-rays revealed a necessary surgery and Micah realized he’d likely be in Japan longer than he’d bargained for. 

Unable to understand his diagnosis, the injury was a wake up call, not only to the dangers of the sport but the assumption that English is everywhere. It’s easy forget about how serious an injury on an international ski trip can be. “Not having the ability to communicate was a real challenge,” Micah said. “I never spoke to the surgeon before [surgery].” 

Micah’s right knee hit the tree with so much force it had driven his femur up and through his hip socket breaking the acetabulum. It would take five days before Micah could enter the operating room. The hospital had to fly a surgeon in from Sapporo Medical University, as it was far from the standard list of hip procedures. Outside of the hospital walls, Evangelista’s friends and family were trying to arrange his journey home. Rouches found accommodations for the group to stay nearby the hospital, while Mattias Evangelista, Micah’s brother, got a hold of the United States Consulate. Through the consulate, the group was able to hire an interpreter to help advocate for Micah in the hospital.

Mattias called his dad the night after the crash. “The phone rings… I knew right then,” said Jim Evangelista. “They’re shooting, they’re busy. They send a text here and there, but they never call. As a parent, you worry about [crashes]. I’ve always said, ‘I like seeing the tricks afterward.’”

Jim caught a flight to Tokyo immediately, but when he arrived, Jim learned that post-COVID-19 restrictions only allowed visitors for five to 15 minutes a day, and none over the weekend. Strict visiting hours at the hospital left Jim lots of downtime. And with Micah’s return home pending hospital approval, Jim did what he’d always done with his free time— he went skiing. He kept it mellow, waiting for the phone to ring the minute he was allowed back in the hospital. 

Cold and deep. Classic Japow tree skiing right before Evangelista’s crash. Photo: Colton Jacobs

Returning home, Micah faced more than physical complications. Micah had visited Japan without travelers’ insurance, and his U.S. insurance was hesitant to cover the cost of surgery abroad. Micah’s partner, Eliza, set up a GoFundMe which used community donations to raise money for Micah. Donations for Micah came from all over the country, from friends and strangers. Soon Micah was receiving donations and messages from other professional skiers he’d never met personally. Rallying the ski community, GoFundMe was able to pay for Micah’s medical bills in Japan, his travel home and uninsured postoperative doctor visits back in the U.S.

“It was amazing to get that kind of support. I would have been in a really tough place without it,” said Micah. “It felt like I had a whole wave of people behind me.”

After a series of surgeries, Micah is still on the road to recovery. He’s living in his tiny home in Glacier with his dog Huxley, shooting basketball hoops in his driveway, refining his culinary skills and focusing on his physical therapy.  

In terms of his skiing, Micah doesn’t plan to stop, but he jokes that he’ll be scoping his landings with a little more scrutiny, especially while skiing far from home. “I’ve been pretty eager to do gnarly shit; learn new tricks, try to get video parts and stuff like that,” he said. “And I love that. But when you become so focused on that it does take away from just going up and just enjoying the very basic nature of being able to ski.”

The sport of skiing can feel selfish and solitary at times, according to Micah. Seeing the community rally for him showed him a new side of the sport, one that he’ll cherish as he gets ready to click into skis this fall. 

Booting up for a day of skiing in Hokkaido. Evangelista is on the road to recovery with his sights set on more days like this. Photo: Colton Jacobs