The Powder Revolution (Part 1)
Shane McConkey charging hard on some wind-buffed Alaskan powder. pc adventurejournal
What Dreams Are Made Of
Every skier I know dreams of skiing powder. The lucky few make it a career. The weightless feeling of floating on fluffy white pillows is better experienced than described. If Warren Miller said that “carving a turn was the ultimate expression of freedom” then perhaps powder skiing might be considered a full-blown revolution. A truly unique feeling one experiences when all the stars align.
I don’t think we would not be where we are today, without this revolution and the adoption of powder skis. It’s an idea put forth by one of the greatest creative geniuses in ski history. This powder revolution is a story about how one legendary skier with an inspired idea changed the way we ski powder forever. It’s such an important story I wanted to share it and plan to give my best attempt here in this 5-Part Series.
Napkin Art
Our story starts mid-season 1996, high in the Andes mountains of Argentina in the ski resort of Las Leñas. Accompanying the usual reverie integral to any ambitious Argentinian après scene, was a conversation that matched the situation. Blatant exaggeration and boasting revolved around the day’s powder skiing before the topic finally landed on the ‘ultimate ski design.’ Then within a matter of minutes, the secret to powder skiing was sketched out on a bar napkin for all to see.
Looking around the table at the faces of shock and disbelief was all that was needed to understand how outrageous this design was. None of the big mountain skiers present could believe what they saw.
Yet with bold conviction and a prankster’s charm, this skier explained his idea to anyone who would listen. As it turns out, this wasn’t just any ordinary skier spouting off about their latest, greatest opinions on ski design. It was none other than legendary freeskier…. Shane McConkey.
Shane McConkey working on his ultimate ski design in Alaska. pc skipass
Destined to Ski
For those who are unfamiliar with Shane McConkey, let’s briefly review some of his history. Shane McConkey’s (MC) life started in 1969 born to a skiing family from Vancouver, British Columbia. MC’s father, Jim “Mad Man” McConkey, started the Whistler ski school and now has McConkey’s lift named after him at Park City. Mom (Glen) was an elite skier herself and an 8-time National Masters Champion ski racer. Following in the steps of this ski pedigree MC was (seemingly) destined for skiing greatness.
Glen moved Shane to Santa Cruz, California at age three where he grew up spending weekends skiing in Lake Tahoe. MC got very good, very quickly, and by the time he approached high school he was looking to make the U.S. ski team. His lofty goals led him to attend New Hampshire’s prestigious Burke Mountain Academy where he trained and competed alongside some of the best skiers in the nation. (Mikaela Shiffrin graduated class of 2013.)
Overcast winter day at the Burke Mountain Academy in East Burke, Vermont. pc skiracing
Change of Plans
However, following a series of injuries and setbacks and a growing distance in the relationship with the U.S. Ski Team developed and MC fell away from alpine racing. He enrolled in the University of Colorado-Boulder but never really had much interest in academics and spent his time skiing instead. He had some success on the pro mogul tour and even won an event in 1993. But after an incident at Vail where he was disqualified for throwing a backflip followed by poaching the next run naked, MC was permanently banned from Vail and kicked off the tour.
Now a college dropout living in Kent Kreitler’s basement and delivering pizzas, MC’s ski future looked bleak. Then, as good fortune would have it, MC had a serendipitous encounter with a young medical student that would change his life forever.
Kent Krietler (right) and a young Shane McConkey (left). pc snowbrains
Stay tuned…we’ll be back tomorrow with more details about MC’s life-changing encounter with one medical student. Can you guess who it might be? Find out tomorrow!!