So you now call La Grave, France home. How has that been for you?

La Grave’s been great. It's been a bit of a lifestyle adjustment living/working in a small hotel (Hotel La Chaumine) with my girlfriend Karin who runs it. The view and living right in the mountains never ceases to inspire me. The mountain biking here is sick too! My French is improving and I love all the local characters around here. Getting to know the place better generates more respect in me for not only the uniqueness of the skiing here but of the local culture. The climate is pretty harsh as well which adds to the ambience. It's the windiest place I've ever hung out but I love the extremeness of living under a 4000m peak.

When did you decide to make the move and what was your motivation?

I made this particular move in July although I have been here on and off since '94. It's always been "a home" and my favourite lift skiing period. Setting up a bit more came about because of Karin. She’s committed to this hotel until fall 2008, so here is where it's easiest to be together and I can keep building my performance levels and freaking out in these mountains. After, who knows!!


How do you compare the Alps in Europe to your other home, the mountains of British Columbia. I know for me having spent a season in Chamonix, the Alps are incredible, steep, aesthetic and access is amazing, but here in British Columbia at least, it feels wilder and less tracked- more wilderness here. What is your opinion on that, and the pros and cons of both destinations.

Well, you said it right there. You can never replace the wilder feel of BC and that is part of me and will always be. Regardless, Whistler sure doesn't have that wild untracked feel!! If it wasn't for La Grave, I definitely wouldn't be living in the Alps.

It's always a trade off between here and there and basically the terrain speaks for itself. Here in La Grave it’s the massive vertical telepherique accessing sick uncontrolled no-boundary terrain in a rustic and authentic village setting. I get the access to the gnar which facilitates the development of skills and experience. Local food is all around and I live on the side of a mountain. I can fly down to town to get groceries, take the lift up and fly back home. The backcountry here is full of huts and is one of the least trodden in the winter zones in the Western Alps so the access gets you tons of freshies , as opposed to Chamonix ( which I only recommend in the
off-season).

Generally in the Alps, you get security, access and civilization but you share the mountain with others more. Personally, I don't mind a few people around because I'm used to it now and have had plenty of experiences being part of the food chain in the wilds of BC with the closest humans a week away. You’d be surprised at the number of out of the way zones in the Alps where you can shred in near solitude. So many places in the Pyrenees, Switzerland and Austria. The problem with the North American conception of the Alps is that people always end up at the popular zones, like Chamonix and then label the whole place crowded.

In BC, there's just no serious alpine lift access, it's all pretty tame. Someone should put a lift up the Tantalus in Squamish, then we’d be talkin'!! At the same time, it's all there if you want to mission it. There's nothing like getting flown into some place and
really being on your own. But when you get back to town, you can't even drink a beer on the street and there is this fascist bicycle helmet law! Living in the "wanna be police state" of the Corporation of Canada is frustrating when you see the difference of a real democracy like Switzerland where there's barely any stop signs, you can grow your own weed and they treat people like people, not like sheep. BC also suffers from tenure elitism. But despite all that, I miss the bears and wildlife, the clean air, the vastness, my friends, the myriad of descents to be done and my native culture and I'll be back.


It seems like the season in Europe is going off this year. Fill us on on what has gone down till now in the Alps and for yourself.

Yeah, some big December dumps in the Alps finally. Most of the main Alps have it good. Arlberg in Austria was breaking records. Graubunden in SE Switzerland has been excellent and the southern French Alps are especially good right now. There's been a big high
pressure here for most of the holidays leaving an awesome touring window and now another major storm is rolling through. Intense!

Personally, I started shredding end of November here in La Grave when we had a couple of meters in the alpine kind of storm. I did a road trip to Davos to visit Dan Caruso the Black Diamond team manager and skied great pow. Also visited Tirol in Austria where it dumped continually for 3 days. When I got back from that there was pretty well a meter in the valley here in La Grave with the lift still not running. It was epic for a few days and then the wind showed up big time. That's typical La Grave. It just blows and blows and doesn't blow 30km away. But the base is still epic and the glaciers are filled in. After the lift opened I was scoring fresh lines with my para glider, launching off the top with skis and landing on the Rateau glacier to shred an otherwise inaccessible zone. I’m looking forward to doing more of that this season.


You recently signed Black Diamond as a ski sponsor. Congratulations first of all, and second, how are you enjoying the skis?

Thanks. This is a big deal for me. I was skiing on BD Zealots already last spring. I had gotten a hold of a pair of 192 prototypes and was very impressed. It seemed like the perfect all around ski for me. The production models are even tighter. I am super stoked
that I can evolve a relationship with BD because I hold that company and it’s founder, Yvon Chouinard, in high regard. Their technical gear has always been pioneering and top quality and so they aimed for that when they set out to make skis. My scenario definitely incorporates the technical end of things so to me it’s a match made in heaven. I’ve had a relationship with them for years already through the Scarpa boot thing. Now I can’t wait to try BD's new boots.

Atomic did a great job manufacturing their first few production runs and it got them on the map. It’s always a process when you start a new ski-line and at first I remember only seeing BD skis in shops that sold climbing gear and ski-touring stuff. The skis were never and especially now (made in their new factory), designed for the timid backcountry skier. They're high performance units, especially the Zealot. At 110 under the waist, it's hard to find another ski that's as stiff and performance oriented. It rocks in all conditions and on the steeps. The other models I have yet to check out. Really looking forward to the ultra fat MegaWatt!


What skis are you on and other equipment are you using to slay some of the biggest lines out there?

Like I mentioned, I'm on the 192 Zealot. It's pretty well all I need except for a real big powder gun and it's how I always wanted the Big Daddy to be. I have a pair with Dynafit bindings for tour mode. I've been converted to the “tweezer” system over the last year
and I see the light. They ski so nice and I feel super confident on them having thoroughly tested them on all kinds of conditions. I still use Rossi race bindings for skiing the lift.

I'm really loving the Scarpa Spirit 4 boot which is the dopest touring boot I've tried yet. Also been skiing on the new Scarpa Hurricanes which blow my mind. They're as stiff as a race boot and way lighter. They're close to the ultimate "one" boot.

My paraglider is a Niviuk Artic, badass cross country machine. I fly a small which is really solid and fast. All my technical gear is BD of course and I'm ultra jazzed on the new Cobra carbon fiber ice-tools!
My clothing is all Patagonia, of course!


You have spent quite a bit of time in India and Gulmarg in particular, what roll did you play, or what where you up to in regards to assisting in implementing a Ski Patrol etc?

In 2006 I was part of Mission Gulmarg, a group of professionals summoned to train the local boys ski-patrol and organize the mountain operating system. I was doing the avalanche control and forecasting and tons of PR stuff. It was fun skiing with the local boys, doing beacon searches, rescue scenarios and getting them into the mountain mindset. A very rewarding experience.


How have things progressed there in a skiing sense and where are they headed?

The locals have certainly progressed with their skills and awareness. Through the collective experiences and lessons of everyone there over the last few seasons, a respectful understanding of the nature of the raw mountain now exists. Billa, the original Kashmiri free-rider is shredding harder than ever. The local guiding program is evolving and the infrastructure is slowly developing for the better too. Hopefully they are heading for privatization of the operation which will be of great benefit to everyone.


You were rescued last year in India and had to leave all your gear behind. Would you mind spilling the beans on where it is stashed. We need to look after the rest of the dirt bags who need some gear and might feel inclined to go shralp it. Haha.

It used to be in a small stone hut at 4000m near Pensi La but now, who knows. I'm sure somebody grabbed it when the snow melted and the road opened. Hopefully the locals in Zanskar will enjoy it. There's a surprising number of skiers in that remote Himalayan kingdom.


Give us a quick run down of what happened.

Ty Mills and I were trying to ski-tour across the Himalaya from Leh to Srinagar ( 420km tour) and session a few zones along the way. Close to half way, in the kingdom of Zanskar, near our first ski zone of fat 6000m peaks, I fell violently ill one night and was incapacitated for days with fever and coughing up blood etc. Ty went back to the last village for a rescue when I regained enough strength to cook for myself and eventually an Indian Air Force helicopter plucked me out before a massive storm clobbered the entire region. Could have been worse!! I'm presently finishing a documentary film about that trip that's called "Skiing is Skiing and Not Skiing". It features an amazing trek along the frozen Zanskar River, some special Tibetan Buddhist ceremonies and unreal views of snowy Himalayan peaks.


We published an interview with Chris Davenport on Biglines a few weeks ago that generated quite a bit of stir surrounding the term of "Freeski Mountaineering". Personally I think what Dav did is absolutely worthy of accolade in its own right, but that isn't to say other committed skiers who perhaps shun the spotlight don't deserve similar recognition. What is your take on the media lime light that Ski the 14's has generated?

Although it's 100 percent redundant and ultimately ambiguous( just like the term "free-skiing"), I don’t think there"s anything wrong with the term "freeski or
freeride mountaineering". In the popular context, it denotes an important distinction physically and ethically. Heli-skiing is only crucial to making a ski-descent in very few circumstances and there's a huge twisted pride that's evolved from dropping lines with a heli. In fact the biggest lines of all cannot be done with a heli. Nothing wrong with heli-skiing but you really don't need one, only strength, time, cunning and patience. Our society today is twisted that is doesn't give right of way to non-motorized things, be it pedestrians or bicycles etc or celebrate the pride and skill of doing it on your own
power. Such is the power of porn. I remember when Troy Jungen blew all the freeriders minds back in '97 when he climbed up and shredded the first descent of Mt Francis right outside of Valdez. Those heli-brats couldn't fathom such a thing.
People nowadays think that the throttle rules, but it doesn't. What would people have thought if Chris had heli-skied all the 14ers???

Therefore, I think the media limelight that Ski the 14'ers has generated is great. It's an awesome accomplishment that deserves a book about it and I'm stoked that a top freerider has "seen the light" in terms of applying his talents more soulfully and transmitting the wholistic pride of ski-mountaineering to more people. Hopefully people will now recognize the difference between heli-skiing and ski-mountaineering and appreciate skill levels attained without the frequency benefit a heli-budget avails because generally there is much status-quo respect missing. Look at all the jibbers these days who get shoved into helis in Alaska without earning their mountain legs getting glorified.

There's a whole history of freeride mountaineering out there already, overshadowed by the "heli scene" and derailed by the movie “Steep” that will hopefully still come to light somehow. Maybe none of us were throwing Lincoln Loops, but airtime and as big as turns as possible were always the objective after having climbed ze mountain.


In many ways it could be said that Davs objective has brought the feats of Lou Dawson, Paul McLeod, even yourself and others into the lime light. Who are some of the unsung heroes for you that have thrown down impressive lines?

Gotta start with the new school like Matty Richard and his gang. Man I wish I was their age again. My old dead buddy Chris "Beaker" Romeskie was definitely freeride-mountaineering back in the day. We shredded some sick lines together and he ended up with a bag full of first descents in the Whistler/Pemberton area. D'Arcy McRae another dead buddy is another unsung one. He would compete in the freeride events but was always searching for "the" lines in the Rockies. He ended up skiing the baddest ass line I've ever seen on the Southside of Mt Bryce while I sat it out and watched because of a broken crampon. Bruno Compagnet has been doing it for years in the Alps and he even won the first ever ski category in the Verbier Ride thing (real extreme skiing!) And we can't forget our snowboarding bretheren. Dave Summers is still one of my heroes who back in the
early 90's was climbing and destroying all the sickest backcountry lines around Whistler solo, without even telling anybody.
Wouldn't be proper to not mention Troy Jungen who is still ripping amazing premieres like the Bonney Ramp and Swiss Peak N Face at Rogers Pass.


Shifting the focus a little bit, in the Davenport interview comments you mentioned the difference between skiing lines that are solely about surviving and managing the risk of exposure, altitude and remote locations, and shredding backcountry lines with less objective hazard but remote none the less. What do you personally prefer- scratching down a steep, no-fall face in the middle of nowhere or letting it run with big open turns in the middle of nowhere?
"When you actually get to the true extreme level, incorporate true exposure (expeditionary or terrain) and high altitudes, the context is once again reduced to survival and "getting down the mountain" which no freeski mountaineer can overcome with a helmet, fat skis or bravado."

I like both! But, maybe I've done sufficient scratching in my time and would rather ski the no-fall face when it's cream. I’m no longer interested in marginal conditions just to do it.


What do you have planned for the near future? Any of the above preferred descents on the books?

The Alps hitlist is endless. Tons of sweet lines around La Grave I haven't done. Looking forward to heading back to Canada in the spring, there's always projects in the Rockies, maybe check out the east coast. I'm psyched for paraglider ski touring this spring. For next September I'm organizing a mission to Nepal to shred Dhauligiri, a dream I've had for 10 years!


And beyond that. What does the future hold for you, or you're not too concerned with that?

I want to keep on the product design scenario. I want to get more into growing food, building a place, make a family and keep getting stronger and shredding until I'm 800 (eight hundred) years old.


Any words of wisdom or concepts to consider in the solitude of the backcountry to close out with?

Yeah, don't get too mesmerized by those careless and negligent rock stars in the videos. Remember the ski cut! It's always the responsibility of the first one down. Those Alaskan lines flush you out into benign flats if they go but it's not that forgiving
everywhere.