Andrea Ference ↟ vagabondhearts

Hey… I’m Andrea. And it is about time that I got to be myself. I made my handle @vagabondhearts over a decade ago when I was working at a big four accounting firm and (although my coworkers were and are nothing but supportive of all that I do)… it was a way to separate the “real” me from this online space. Over the years those two have really become one. And while I am embracing this merging I have ten, very random, things that I would love you to know about me: 1. I grew up on a farm about an hour outside of Calgary with views of the mountains from my front room. My village had less than 1,000 people and it still blows my mind that anyone cares what I have to say/share on here. 2. I hold both Canadian and Austrian citizenships (thanks mom!) and on my dad’s side I am Polish and Norwegian. 3. I speak English and French… and about 25 words in German but would love to up that. 4. The best gift I have ever been given was a random out of the blue text titled “P.s. here's 10 things Andrea is really good at” by someone who barely knew me… and does not have social media. 5. Contrary to what it looks like online… I am very introverted and have a really hard time with social situations and group dynamics. It is one thing I wish I could change about myself. 6. I studied Neuroscience and Political Science at university. I thought I would one day be a psychiatrist. And my kindergarten yearbook says that I wanted to be a janitor when I grew up. 7. My favourite foods are popcorn, peanut butter, and pickles. 8. If I could split my time between any 5 places in the world they would be Golden, BC. San Francisco, CA. Mo’orea, FP. Chalten, Argentina. And a small village in the alps TBD. 9. I am *terrified* of both birds of flight and clowns. Always have been. 10. My goal here is to be your “outdoorsy big sister” - I want to be the resource I wish I had when I got into the outdoors in my mid twenties. Oh, and I do personally read every single message that comes into my inbox. Whats something you wish people knew about you?

I didn’t know if couloir skiing was for me. Less than a year ago on a similar couloir 3,000 km (1,870 miles) away. I lost one of my favorite humans. She was safe and careful and I don’t know if I will ever really know what happened. But she fell and didn’t make it out the other side alive. And so skiing was scary and couloirs were scary and the combination of the two felt like a risk that was not worth taking. And then. I got invited to come and ski arguably the most beautiful line in North America - and in my attempt to navigate life in a way that would make Hannah proud, I said yes. An easy yes. A week into the trip it was time to head up. I stopped shy of topping out. But had a beautiful day in the mountains… until the final pitch. Where the powder turned to ice as I crossed the shadow line. The sparkly ground beneath me caught an edge of my ski. One ski ejected immediately and I was lucky enough to flip over and get my remaining ski under my body and dug an edge in quickly. It was oddly the most terrifying and all freeing fall. That the big scary thing did in fact happen. And I was able to come out (mostly) unscathed. This line was for Hannah 🤍 Thank you for the video @jakeholland.co.uk

see you on the other side

[almost] 8 years ago. I watched a film at the @banffmountainfestival about a man’s mis/adventure kite skiing across Antarctica (and climbing a remote unclimbed peak). The next morning in a coffee shop on Banff Avenue. I sat next to him, and in true Andrea fashion. Yapped his ear off. As it turns out @leo_houlding is also a fan of the yap. We exchanged information and never really thought too much of it. Until earlier this year. When out of the blue I received an email and DM in rapid succession. Asking if I would want to join a ski expedition on Baffin Island. My reply was immediate and only one word. Yes. (I then replied to that email multiple times in a manner that I was sure was either relay my excitement or scare him off but there was not option for anything in between). Thankfully. That was the enthusiasm he was on search of. And so. I am here, in the arctic circle, with quite the team of accomplished alpine athletes. Skiing and climbing and apparently having a midnight sun disco party for the next few weeks. TLDR: this one’s for the yappers. Never stop.

🐋🍍⛰️Come with me to French Polynesia⛰️🍍🐋 There is only one trip that my year feels incomplete without. It is where the mountains meet the South Pacific. When my antarctic friends come to the islands of French Polynesia to have their babies (and also make more). Join me and @wanderoutexpeditions on the island of Mo’orea, French Polynesia for a week of ocean safari, mountain hiking, incredible food and a little sunshine break before winter settles in for us Northern Hemisphere dwellers. There are still a few spots left for my favourite week of the year. When: October 18-24, 2026 Where Mo’orea, French Polynesia�Length 7 Days, 6 Nights & 5 days on the water Experience Confident/Strong Swimmer *No Scuba Diving experience is necessary for wildlife interactions All of the details can be found in my story highlight or via the link in my bio. But if you have any questions let me know!

My hut to hut fast packing essentials ↟Trail Vest or backpack - this is the Ultra Vest 2 from @ON with a 10L capacity. ↟Headlamp ↟Passport, cards, cash - I always try to keep a few hundred Euro (or CHF if I am Switzerland) on me at all times as not all huts take cards. ↟Lift card - when in Italy I always have a lift pass from @my.dolomiti - it allows me to access a lot more terrain without the up (and down) slog. ↟Water - there is always water along the trails so I aim for 500ml of water and 500ml of electrolytes ↟Sunnies + cap + sunblock ↟Sleep clothes ↟Toiletries ↟Earplugs (VERY important) ↟Powerbank - not all huts will have outlets and those that do… are in high demand. ↟Meat sac ↟Phone + headphones ↟Layers - I go with shorts or pants, a cropped top/sports bra, long sleeve sun shirt, insulating layer and waterproof jacket. And this all easily fits into my trail vest - what trail should I try to hike this summer?

Put on your ski boots and regret me…

Boston Marathon 2026 : The Debrief🦄 A week out I have some thoughts to share. So grab your popcorn and coffee. I went into it really unsure if I wanted to run at all, I had been offered bibs to run Boston from sponsors for a few years but knew I wanted to earn my spot at the start line. And I did. It felt like… being offered to climb mount Everest without ever having put on a crampon before. You would need to work hard and train… but skipping to the end didn’t make sense for me. So showing up injured, untrained, exhausted… I wasn’t sure how it would play out. (And this is in no way shade to anyone who accepted sponsored bibs, we each have our own journeys) I opted to treat it like a celebration. I knew it would not be a PB so I picked the most comfortable shoes in my closet. I had a rough A/B/C time goal (I was an A- on this scale if you’re wondering) but turned off all alarms on my @garminoutdoor and ran purely based on feel. I took the same approach I did in Chamonix - I wanted to smile, high-5 all of the kids, I drank beer, I ate pickles, I hugged my @on family and when I crossed the finish line I hopped on FaceTime with Erna. I cried and laughed and told her how excited I was to finally have my own jacket that I earned, just as she had. (1/2

Boston outside of the marathon. Old friends. New friends. A cheeky tattoo and a new piece of hardware to commemorate this weekend. I went into this weekend with two real goals in mind. Make my way across the finish line in one piece. And have fun. I accomplished the first. But heavy lifting of the second was done by my @on family. Who could not care less about my athletic performance and who could not care more about me as a human. Who put me in a room filled with the most incredible humans from all walks of life and make me feel like I deserve my seat at the table. The marathon was amazing. But the everything else was magic.