Aryeh Copa grew up in the green mountain state of Vermont. He was introduced to the sport of skiing at the age of 15 and since then he has dedicated much of his life to it. Aryeh moved away from the east coast in search of bigger mountains and deeper snow shortly after high school. He landed in Steamboat Springs, home of the trademarked Champagne Powder, and worked as a bike tech while ski bumming for a couple of seasons.

In 1997 Copa quit his job and pursued the dream of skiing and shooting photography on a professional and full-time level. For a few seasons he worked his tail off and skied as much as possible and entered as many freeski competitions as he could to get his name out. He found success in winning the first ever World Telemark Extreme Freeskiing Championship in 1998. Copa continued to succeed and push his limits while living the dream, but in the year 2000 all of those dreams were jeopardized when he suffered a severe and nearly life threatening injury while heli skiing in Alaska. Copa completely dislocated his knee, tearing every ligament and ripping apart both menisci as well as fracturing his femur. After convincing the doctors in Alaska not to amputate his leg, he was faced with a long and challenging road of rehab and physical therapy.

It took Copa a good 3 years before he was back to where he left off, but he came back with a strong motivation and desire to elevate his skiing to a new level. In 2008 Copa rides for Movement skis and continues to produce some of the most enticing and awe-inspiring skiing images out there. Copa now shares his passion for skiing by coaching kids through the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club Telemark program. While continuing to push his own limits he is also helping the next generation of skiers and big mountain rippers achieve their highest potential through coaching and mentoring.

A couple of weeks ago I got a little bit of Aryeh’s time to ask him a few questions.

Q. How did you get connected with Movement?

A. I approached them at SIA.

Q. Tell us a little bit more about your experiences with Movement. What sets them apart from other ski companies?

A. The first Movement ski I saw was a chick ski. It was solid, tortionaly rigid and very light. I was impressed so I investigated and was even more impressed by the construction and materials. The quality is second to none and the company is small enough that they still really care about the little stuff and seek input from the individual athletes.

Q. What goals have you set for yourself for the next couple of seasons? What are you looking to accomplish?

A. I have aspirations in every aspect of my life but they seem to constantly be changing. If I were to tell you them now, they would be different by the time they were read. The one constant is travel. I want to see more of the world that I have not yet seen.

Q. How many days on snow do you get per season?

A. Over 150. 170_ last season.

Q. Any big projects you are currently working on? Anything in store?

A. A couple of film and video projects have been simmering. Hoping to bring them to a rolling boil this season. Also have a sick, never been done, ski stunt I'm hoping to pull off for video. Maybe AK in the Spring.

Q. What type of riding do you prefer? Backcountry? Resort? Ski Mountaineering? Expedition?

A. I think skiing is the most dynamic sport in the world and I truly love every aspect of it. If I had the choice I would ski powder every day. I try to ski according to conditions, powder, big mountain, and backcountry when it's fresh, pipe, park and resort when it's not and ski mountaineering in the spring.

Q. What does your off-season look like?

A. In the summer I design, build and maintain mtn bike trails, freeride terrain and disc golf courses. I usually try to get in a southern hemisphere ski trip also. Argentina rocks and is very affordable.

Q. Who are some of your influences in skiing?

A. McConkey, Dav, Squirrel, and two late, great friends: Newt and Mikey.

Q. Describe your ideal day of skiing.

A. 30_ inches of blower in the big mountains. But I can also have an ideal day in the half pipe or ski mountaineering. Any time my skiing is on, the day is ideal. Any time I'm skiing the day is good.

Q. How has the sport of skiing evolved over the past few years? What is changing? What is coming back?

A. Ever since snowboarding gave the ski industry a well needed kick in the ass the evolutionary curve has steepened and taken skiing to places unimaginable a few years ago. The off axis spins, switch skiing and half pipe aerials are far from topping out as every year we see new and bigger tricks. One big change is park skiing in general. There are a lot of kids out there killing it in the park but having a lot of trouble getting there. Now one can be a good park skier without being a good skier at all. Before they take that switch cork ten to the backcountry they are going to have to learn to ski well. Is ballet skiing coming back? I think rails are the new ballet. I'd like to see the back scratcher come back too.

Q. Photography seems to be a big part of your life as well.

A. Photography is a way to get paid to play. I started taking photos of friends for fun and fridge. When they got good I started selling them and realized it was a great way to pay for travel.

Q. For those looking to get into ski/snowboard photography, what are some general tips you have for those folks?

A. Bring your camera with you and shoot a lot. Many of my best images were on days that I was not planning on shooting at all. Work with what you have. You don't need the best equipment, just passion, vision and good glass. My first published images were taken with a $150 Pentax K1000.