Chase was born in Eagle River, Alaska and has been skiing since he was about nine years old. He didn’t really begin to get serious about the sport until his last year of high school. In 1999 he began attending Colorado College to pursue skiing and a degree in International Political Economy. The four years Chase spent in Colorado weren’t the state’s best snow-wise, and even if they were, the quality and amount of snow paled in comparison to his home state. The lack of snow caused Chase to pursue other interests, one being to become particularly interested in writing and film. After graduating in 2003, Chase returned to Alaska where he slowly began to fall back in love with backcountry skiing in between getting a lot of days in at Alyeska resort and training to be a heli-ski guide in Haines, Alaska. The next season his old friend and long time riding partner Erik Gabrielson returned from college and together they decided to turn their nose up at resort skiing and buy snowmobiles.