Persona

Podivinsky, Tom

1966-2014

Tom Podivinsky worked as Chief Geophysicist at Athabasca Oil Corporation (AOC) since 2007 and died in a ski accident in 2014. His brother, Edi Podivinsky, was a bronze medal winner at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics in alpine skiing. Five years, older, Tom was a role model for Edi and spent a lot of time ski racing between High School and University. As an amateur racer, he was part of the Alberta ski team for several seasons, racing and travelling across North America and Europe in the early 1980s. This was the tail end of the Crazy Canuck era, where he got to compete against the likes of Ken Read, Steve Podborski and Todd Brooker at national championships and other races. His friends included Rob Boyd and Brian Stemmle, who went on to international ski success. When he started at the University of Alberta in 1984, it was in a general science program, but he eventually finished with a B.Sc. in Geophysics. Tom began his career at PanCanadian, working at many small and mid-sized oil & gas companies before becoming Chief Geophysicist at Athabasca Oil Corporation. At the age of 48 in 2014, Tom was on vacation with his wife and children at Whitefish Mountain Resort in Montana when he died after falling into a tree well. Podivinsky was skiing with a friend when they became separated. When he failed to meet up with a group of people as planned, he was reported missing. Ski patrollers found Podivinsky upside down in a tree well — a hole in the snow that forms around the base of a tree — and were unable to resuscitate him.

Edmonton, AB
Calgary, AB
Whitefish Mountain, MT

Geophysicist
Skier
Oil executive

1) https://csegrecorder.com/interviews/view/interview-with-tom-podivinsky
2) https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/montana-skiing-mishap-claims-calgarian-tom-podivinsky-1.1690625
3) https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/older-brother-of-olympic-medalist-edi-podivinsky-dies-in-ski-accident-at-montana-resort

Revised September 2018.