Adia Leidums is a three-year-old who loves going on adventures and giving herself pep talks, particularly in the snow. In 2021, the toddler from Fernie, British Columbia, Canada, became an internet star when a video of her skiing while mic’d up went viral across social media. The footage showed her fearlessly skiing on the slopes of Fernie Alpine Resort with her dad. As she glided down the snowy hills and through the trees, the chatty youngster could be heard giving herself a pep talk through all the obstacles.
Adia’s parents, Courtney Haeusler and Erich Leidums, thought to share the video online. The result? People got to see how much of a beast she is on the slopes—and how she adorably coaches herself throughout! “Going over you, ice,” she was heard saying. “Going around you, ice.” When she hit an incline, she told herself to “walk like a duck.”Her dad, Erich, got the idea of attaching a microphone on Adia a couple of years ago from a hockey dad who mic’d up his son during practice…
The boy’s narration and self-monologue were so charming, and he thought it was worth capturing Adia’s self-talk as well. “When I was using my go-pro without the mic, I would try to get closer to her, and after she fell and got up she’s have something to say to the camera but I always had to get really close,” Erich said. “With a microphone it doesn’t miss anything she says. Any sigh, laugh or giggle- it’s pretty adorable.”
The slopes were intimidating, but it did nothing to hinder Adia’s natural curiosity. As she skied past a cutout of a one-eyed monster on a tree, she said: “Hi, one-eyed monster.”That brief distraction caused her to fall, but this little one is a trooper. Instead of making a fuss out of her boo-boo, she quickly spat the dirt and snow out of her mouth and picked herself up again as if nothing had happened.
After dusting herself up, Adia was ready to go again. “I think that was a good fall,” she said before descending the hill. “This way! Going this way.” Erich shared the clip on TikTok and Instagram, with the full video of her ski uploaded on the family’s YouTube channel, That Mountain Life.Adia’s skiing clip garnered millions of views on TikTok. Viewers commended the girl not only for her skiing skills but also for how she communicated.
“She’s adorable. It’s cute as anything,” said Erich. “It steals my heart for sure.” Now, another video of Adia is making rounds on social media. This time, the father-and-daughter went on a fun backpack recovery mission on the snowy mountain. The pair were riding a gondola lift while eating snacks when Erich’s backpack suddenly fell.“That’s okay. We can ski down and get it,” said Adia to her dad.
Once the ride ended, Adia hopped off the lift and started skiing to retrieve the backpack. She even called themselves the “Rescue Riders.” How cute! Like a true pro, Adia descended the snowy hills with impressive speed. Her confidence is unmistakable, and it’s obvious she has improved a lot since her pep talk video went viral last year. Their mission was a success as the little girl found the backpack towards the end of the video.
Adia is the youngest of three siblings. All Erich and Courtney’s kids have been skiing since they were around 18 months, and years of training have made them accomplished skiers. “I’ll keep documenting and micing her up next year. We hike mountains and paddle and all that sort of stuff so we’ll be documenting our journeys here moving forward,” Erich said.
This youngster is a better skier than most adults I know—myself included. Who knows, she might be a future Olympian we should all watch out for. You go, Adia! Check out the video below to see Adia the skier in action and listen to her pep talks.