Our History

SEABA was founded around five years ago by Scott Sundberg and Shawn "Jobe" McNamara. Both are accomplished heli-guides, avalanche forecasters and life-long students of snow science. SEABA evolved from a desire to provide the best heli-skiing guide service in Southeast Alaska utilizing the outrageous terrain courtesy of the Chilkat and Fairweather Mountain ranges. Both Scott and Jobe call Haines their home. Cofounder Shawn McNamara, plied the Wasatch Range while attending the University of Utah in the early nineties. After years of ski touring, gaining experience as a member of the Snowbird ski patrol, and undergoing backcountry guide training in Utah, Colorado, Nevada, and British Columbia he moved to Girdwood, Alaska in Spring 1994 where he met cofounder Scott Sundberg Scott, also know in the ski industry as Sunny, has spent 24 years in Alaska, 10 of which he has dedicated to the development of a winter ski based economy in Haines, Alaska. Scott's big mountainguiding experience developed over the last 25 years. In Girdwood, he ski raced for Glacier Creek Academy along with fellow student Tommy Moe. Scott eventually took racing to the US development team and ended up choosing collegiate skiing over U.S. Ski Team pursuits. It was here that he decided his love for the sport really happened in Alaska and he decided to return to his home town of Girdwood to reunite with the soul of skiing in "93. It was at this point that Scott and Shawn met in Girdwood at Alyeska, skiing touring Turnigan and Girdwood backcountry routes in the Western Chugach. They soon realized that beyond Girdwood and Valdez, Southeast Alaska held more unequivocal tales of first descents that couldn't be ignored. Heading south for Haines in '95 they had lofty thoughts of Heliskiing  the multiple ranges of Southeast. Skagway and Haines would provide to be the areas of  most concentration. After 15 years of ski guiding and snow science education Scott and Shawn would end up being some of the first people into these fabulous mountain ranges, both as individuals and guides.