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Name: Erich Kunz
Age: 19
Nickname: Kunzy, Captain Kunz, Easy E, Erica
Home Mountain: Alpental
Weapons of choice: Dynastar Little Big Fats

How have you dedicated your life to the pursuit of freedom, adventure and lifestyle?

Besides waking up at the crack of dawn to drive at least an hour to the hill several times a week and skipping more than a healthy load of school to do so, I am quite involved in the sport beyond just being an addicted participant. This past year I attended Western Washington University in hopes of squeaking into the school of art in order to pursue my talents as a graphic artist so that I will eventually be able to do some work for some ski-oriented company somewhere down the line. Of course I was denied, which is not a surprise, as WWU does not recognize true talent when they see it. For instance, professional photographer, Grant Gunderson was also declined as I was. Anyhow, after taking a variety of different classes looking for an alternate major I came out with nothing and decided to leave. I was recently accepted into the graphic design program at the Art Institute of Seattle where I will finally be able to do as I wanted at Western. While I am not out on the slopes pursuing my future as a professional skier I am at home developing my skills as a designer so that I can hopefully become apart of a snow sports company in more that just a sponsorship type relationship.

Describe your best trip: past, present (last year), and future (upcoming).

Last December I was invited to tag along with Jeff Thomas of Theory3 on a filming spree at Mt. Baker. I had met a couple of the guys from the old Mt. Baker guard off of the hill, names such as Rene Crawshaw, Dean Collins and Grant Gunderson, but had not yet had the chance to ride with them due late snow fall in the area. I was excited to ride with other more experienced riders as I was used to riding alone for the most part. I was not expecting too much in terms of filming, because I assumed that due to Jeff’s previous knowledge of my skiing abilities he was not necessarily planning on it, as well as the fact that these other riders were much older and knowledgeable than myself. For the first day or two the weather was quite stormy and not much filming was done, but we rode hard none the less as it was still the first couple days that we had been back on skis since the summer. I guess I impressed Jeff enough ripping little tech lines and whatnot that the next decent day we filmed he was asking me what I wanted to do. Of course I was very confused, being used to hanging in the back of the pack and was not quite sure how I was to handle the fact that someone actually wanted to film me. After a couple of runs with Jeff telling me where to go and what to do I got used to the idea and starting enjoying myself. The fact that I was actually being included in something like this had not quite sunk in when good old Grant starting chirping orders to me over the radio. I did as I was told and enjoyed every moment. I knew I was not the best rider there, but it felt good nonetheless to know that my skills where finally being acknowledged. I had spent my life waiting for this moment and here it was. Sure I was not half the rider then that I am now and looking back I could have skied everything ten times better than I did, but all of that falls to the side, because I know that on that trip my long awaited ski career began.

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What are you trying to accomplish with your skiing/snowboarding? How is this significant to our community?

Right now, I am slowly climbing the ladder trying to make it all the way to the level of professional. I realize that this takes lots of hard work and dedication, but I am more than willing to suffer and sacrifice so that I can obtain this status. I am not going to deny that I am in it for the fame (obviously not the fortune), but at the same time I have other motives. By obtaining professional status I will hopefully be able to compete more across the continent as well as travel a lot within North America and, if I am lucky, other parts of the world, things that are hard to do on a ramen noodle budget. I want to achieve said status by becoming a formidable force in all aspects of skiing, not just one specific area. There is nothing wrong with being incredible in one aspect of the sport and lack luster in the rest, but I think it is much more impressive to turn on a snowboard video and see almost every athlete confident in back country, park and urban situations; I think this is where skiing needs to go and I want to help take it there.

Any other comments you’d like to make? (Thank yous? Statements?…)

I would like to thank Tyler Forman, for making me realize that there is in fact skiing in Washington and having pretty hair; Jeff Thomas, for putting me in his movies and helping spread the brunt of the short jokes; Grant Gunderson, for wasting film on me and waiting for my ass, sometimes; Newschoolers.com, for helping me make many important connections and giving me a place to vent; JD Thompson, for being the only approachable rider at Alpental; Jeff Schmuck, for being my guide to the industry and being an over all goon and to the top three: my parents, for supporting me, especially in the financial department; Nance Pants, for always being there for me and listening to me bitch about everything, and to my brother, Geoff, for ultimately making me the skier that I am today and for making me watch Warren Miller’s “Ski Time” well over two hundred times in slow motion.

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