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On this episode of Talk Is Sheep, Kyle sits down with good friend Ben Berukoff and his daughter Harper for a conversation about a summer adventure neither of them will soon forget.
At 15 years old, Harper is already chasing big goals. A competitive hockey player preparing to move away from home for another season, she understands commitment, hard work, and pushing through discomfort. This summer, those lessons followed her from the rink into the mountains when she joined her dad for her first true backpack sheep hunt.
Ben and Harper take us inside their father-daughter adventure — flying into the backcountry, carrying everything they needed on their backs, climbing into remote sheep country, enduring heavy rain, cold temperatures, sore feet, steep terrain, and discovering just how far the body and mind can go when you keep putting one foot in front of the other.
They also recount an unforgettable encounter with a mature ram. After working their way into just 110 yards, Harper was set up and ready. But when Ben couldn't confidently age the ram beyond seven years, they made the decision to let him walk. It was a powerful lesson that success in the mountains isn't always measured by pulling the trigger.
For Harper, the experience became about much more than hunting. It was about disconnecting from the noise of everyday life, learning what she was capable of, spending uninterrupted time with her dad, and discovering lessons in the mountains that she can carry back onto the ice and into life.
The conversation also turns to conservation and the Berukoff family's long-standing connection to the Wild Sheep Society of BC. Fresh off winning the 10th Anniversary Jurassic Classic, Ben reflects on years of involvement with the event and his hands-on commitment to the Fraser River California bighorn sheep recovery effort.
This episode is about wild sheep, but even more importantly, it's about family, mentorship, conservation, resilience, and creating opportunities for the next generation to fall in love with wild places.
And when Kyle asks Harper whether she caught the sheep hunting bug, her answer says it all:
She'd do it again. One hundred percent.
Presented by @sitkagear
This episode is supported by our conservation partner @precision.optics.
Thank you to Sitka Gear and Precision Optics for investing in healthy wildlife and sustainable ecosystems.
