Erik Read made his World Cup debut at the famous Schladming course in Austria in 2011, more than 30 years after his father, Crazy Canuck, Ken Read, stood atop the podium there. Read was fifth in the alpine combined at the 2011 World Junior Ski Championships and continued to show his promise in 2012 by winning the Overall Nor-Am Cup title. In the 2015-16, Read once again took the Overall Nor-Am Cup title, securing him a spot on the World Cup start list for the 2016-17 season. In the 2016-17 season, Read had four personal-best results, hitting the top 10 on the World Cup circuit in slalom, giant slalom and alpine combined, all while pursuing an NCAA post-secondary education at Denver University. In the 2017-18 season, Read qualified for his first Olympic Games, finishing 11th in the giant slalom and 29th in the slalom. He closed out the season by winning the Canadian National Championship slalom title for the third time in his career.