Sadie Simonis, on snowboarding, photography, and the freedom of the mountain
The photographer behind the Norway LUX week on presence versus capture, the value of women gathering in person, and dancing with masculine and feminine without marrying either.
Sadie Simonis came to the Norway LUX week as our photographer, but she left as one of the crew. She grew up in Northern California with Mount Shasta as a home mountain, turned a graduation camera into a career, and has now shot more than 30 retreats around the world. We sat down after the trip to talk about what it takes to photograph a retreat without pulling anyone out of it, why gathering in person still matters, and how she learned to hold both power and softness at once.
From Shasta to behind the lens
Alenka: You grew up on Mount Shasta. How did snowboarding start for you?
Sadie: I started on skis with my family, then transitioned to snowboarding around age ten. My brother pushed me into it, and my dad threw down the challenge to keep up. Once I was on a board, it felt like my spirit was free on the mountain. It became my identity early.
Alenka: And photography was a different door?
Sadie: I got my first camera at eighth grade graduation and used it casually through high school and early travels. I didn't see it as a career. That shifted around 2020, after I photographed a women's yoga retreat in Santa Cruz, then got invited to Costa Rica. That opened the door to retreat photography, and I've now shot over 30 retreats worldwide — wellness, yoga, ceremonies, outdoor adventures. The Norway LUX week felt like a perfect convergence: outdoor sports, women gathering, and photography all in one place.
Presence versus capture
Alenka: There's a tension in retreat photography — the camera can pull people out of the moment. How do you handle that?
Sadie: That's the core of it. My goal is organic, candid capture, not staged shots. Outdoor retreat photography also demands real physical fitness — you have to keep up with the group and manage your gear efficiently. If you're lagging or fumbling, you become a distraction, not a quiet observer.
Alenka: You were fully fit for the group's level, and honestly the Norway photos were beautiful even in moody, overcast conditions.
Sadie: Those overcast days are some of my favorite light. And the photos end up being meaningful keepsakes — nuggets from that exact moment when someone was pushing through something. Later, they get to relive their own transformation.
Why women still gather in person
Alenka: You've been in a lot of women's rooms now. What do they give that a screen can't?
Sadie: Physical, in-person gatherings create connections digital interaction just can't replicate. After 30-plus retreats, I keep watching participants meet someone who has something that you need. An organic support network forms almost on its own. Once the group is set, something meaningful unfolds for everyone present.
Alenka: I always say it — you come for skiing or snowboarding and you stay for the conversations in the rooms.
Sadie: Exactly. Choosing to attend a retreat is itself an act of self-care and healing. The mountain is the excuse. The room is the real thing.
Confidence, self-love, and resilience
Alenka: Where does your confidence come from?
Sadie: A strong foundation of parental support and self-love. At the end of the day, there's no one else that's really going to save you — it's you.
Alenka: You've talked about being bullied as a kid. How did that shape you?
Sadie: I wasn't allowed to sit at lunch, mocked for my choices. But I kept moving forward without being broken by it. Now I reframe it — I wasn't maybe meant to fit in. I was different. Adversity builds resilience. The only caution is not growing too thick of skin, because that closes off the softness.
Dancing with both
Alenka: You grew up around a lot of masculine energy.
Sadie: Adrenaline sports, motorcycles, snowmobiling, running with older brothers and male cousins — it was a masculine world. Around age 18 I had a personal spiritual awakening that introduced a deeper connection with femininity and balance. Now I embrace both fully: power and speed on the mountain, and journaling, skincare, honoring my cycle, looking forward to motherhood at home.
Alenka: The key is dancing with both without being married to either. Following the ebb and flow rather than forcing a fixed identity.
Sadie: That's it exactly.
Where the winter goes
Alenka: What's the plan for this winter?
Sadie: I've been based around Lassen and Shasta in recent winters. Alaska's been a long-held aspiration for bigger mountain terrain. Japan is also a reliable option for quality powder. Plans are still forming as the season approaches — but the pull is toward bigger, quieter lines.
Outro
We left the conversation the way the week ended — grateful, and hoping to cross paths again in the coming months. Sadie's images from Norway now live across the site, and more than a few of them are the reason a stranger decides to apply. That's the quiet work of a retreat photographer: hold the moment without stealing it, so the women in the frame get to keep it forever.
Watch the full interview
