Steep Page #6

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It would be no problem.

That's how vivid the memories are.

Doug Coombs put

Chugach heli-skiing on the map.

Like Chamonix a generation earlier,

skiers now make the pilgrimage to Alaska.

Showing up in Alaska for the first time,

everybody says

it's a mind-blowing experience,

it's an eye opener, all that stuff.

And it truly is,

because it's not like riding lifts

and skiing, you know, 1,000 vertical.

It's a different program.

And it's real.

That's real big mountain skiing.

Shane McConkey became

a big mountain skier

performing for the cameras in Alaska.

Standing on top of those peaks in Alaska is,

to me, one of the coolest feelings

that I've ever had in my life.

It's all up to you at that point to,

like, take care of yourself.

And it's a pretty cool feeling,

knowing you're about to do

something dangerous,

and about to drop in.

It's... It's really addictive.

Guys like Shane McConkey started

doing things in the mountains in Alaska

that they couldn't do anywhere else.

You couldn't ski the backcountry

in Jackson Hole that way.

You couldn't ski Aspen that way

or Squaw Valley, even, that way.

It's too short. You don't have enough room

to go big and to go that fast.

But in Alaska, all of a sudden your canvas

is five times bigger, and steeper,

and the snow is better

than it is anywhere else.

Alaska expanded the idea

of what is possible on skis.

And a new generation of skiers,

many inspired by The Blizzard of AAHHH's,

are coming here to make

their mark in ski films.

Ski films nowadays

are all about high speed,

huge air, showmanship,

style, explosiveness.

You know, just taking it to the mountain.

Chris Davenport won the World Extreme

Skiing Championships in 1996

and has been performing

in ski films ever since.

The ski filmmaker wants

to shred the mountain apart

and show off their skiing for the camera.

And when I'm in a ski film,

I'm trying to make as few turns as possible,

because I want to make it look

just death-defying.

I want to make it look exciting

and I want to make it look like somebody

just lit a firecracker in my pants

and I'm trying to get down

the mountain as fast as I can.

When you get up on top of a ridge,

and you've got a perfectly

smooth curtain of snow,

almost like a shower curtain

hanging down with maybe a spine

or a flute of snow,

it's like you're a kid in a playground.

Hopping from one side

of the curtain back to the other,

or on a pillow or catching a small air.

You know, your slough's going to the right.

I'm going left.

I'm going to cross underneath

my slough and let it go off a cliff.

And you're just kind of thinking to yourself,

""How can I choreograph this run

so it"s just playful and fun?""

When somebody makes it look fun on film,

you say, that's cool.

That's what I want to do.

And it inspires your skiing.

Ingrid Backstrom was discovered

in Squaw Valley, California,

by filmmaker Scott Gaffney.

Ingrid is special in that she's a guy

with a ponytail in the manner she skis.

I saw this woman ripping Squaw

and you'd be sitting on a chair

and a guy would be like,

""Wow, that guy rips. ""

And then I just kind of sit there like,

"l know that chick. Yep, she rips."

Ingrid's very first run

in a ski film was in 2004.

She traveled with Matchstick Productions

to Bella Coola, British Columbia,

with skiers Shane McConkey

and Hugo Harrison.

The first line of the day was... Hugo said,

""Oh, I skied this line last year,

"l wanna go back to the Harrison Motel

and ski it again."

The first thing that happens is

Hugo drops into this line that he's skied,

you know, probably five times.

And all I can see is Hugo

just cartwheeling out the bottom.

So I'm up there all by myself kind of like,

""Hugo, who never falls,

"just took the hardest crash

I've ever seen anybody take."

And, you know,

it kind of got me a little nervous.

I could see the helicopter

firing up down in the valley

and just really supercharged energy.

The helicopter gets closer and they give

their little wave or their foot kick

that says, ""We're ready. ""

And at that point I don't even know,

I think my brain probably shut off

and I just dropped in and went for it.

This is what you dream about skiing.

I just remember skiing out the bottom

and it was so fast that it was just a blur.

But it was

one of the most incredible feelings ever.

She comes charging off the ridge,

whack over the rocks,

and like four turns down to the bottom

at like 50 miles an hour.

I caught maybe the first turn from the heli.

And then we were sitting up there

just dumbfounded because she was gone.

We were just like, "All right,

that's gonna be

"the next big mountain skier chick

right there for sure."

She's good.

For me,

like the beginning part of my season,

I'm just like everybody else.

I'm at the mountain hiking for my turns.

But then, you know, the film season

starts coming in around January, February,

and it's off to heli-land.

Seth Morrison has made the big mountains

his place to explore

what a skier can do in the air.

Seth Morrison is a cat.

He can control his body in the air

and on the snow as good as anybody ever.

He is a light wiry guy

who's incredibly coordinated,

incredibly athletic, could probably excel

at any number of sports,

but he's a skier.

He has redefined what's possible on skis,

redefined the style of how to do it on skis.

He is a legend.

No one can stick a landing exactly

where he wants to quite like Seth can.

You take these risks

because it's the ultimate, man.

It's all about the powder

and just the experience

of being out in the mountains.

Flying in the helicopter

is the other half of it.

Getting dropped off on some crazy peak

where the heli

just has to like come in sideways

and just stop and hover and let you out.

That's like the best landing ever

when it's just room enough

for you up there.

Deep powder.

That's all that matters.

When you get one of those runs

that everything goes right,

where you ski the steep fresh pow

and nail your air

and everything is perfect,

you know, like nothing's better, you know,

flying through the air off a cliff just...

We're always looking for that next thing.

We're always looking for something new.

And at this day and age,

it's hard to find those things.

But they're still out there.

Right on. You guys ready?

-I am, yeah.

-Very nice and early.

Dude, what trick are you gonna do?

I'm not sure. Still thinking about that one.

You'll figure it out

when we get out there, right?

It's a beautiful day.

Good wind.

I don't think I'm an adrenaline junkie,

but I sure do love those kind of things

that give you adrenaline.

What are you gonna do?

Possibly a flying squirrel of some type.

For me, it's all about trying new things,

something I haven't tried before

but I think that's possible.

""Hey, what if we do it?"" ""Hey, totally, dude,

we should try it this way. ""

-All right.

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