The Powder Revolution (Part 4)
Volant Spatulas with their revolutionary new designs featuring reverse camber and reverse sidecut. pc snowbrains
The Breakthrough
Thankfully, that sentiment was not shared by MC who continued to explain his idea to anyone who would listen. MC eventually convinced Volant’s Research and Development Manager Peter Turner and engineer Ryan Carroll to help him build his ‘ultimate design.’ It took two years to construct four sets by hand in Carroll’s office. Finally, in August 2001 MC took ownership of three pairs of prototype Spatulas and left one with Carroll. The ultimate ski design was officially in his hands and ready to rip.
The Volant Spatulas were a steel-capped ski and true to MC’s vision featured reverse camber and reverse sidecut. They were made in only one length (186) and had zero camber underfoot and carried dimensions of 110/125/110 from tip to tail.
Scot Schmidt in an interview with Powder magazine said, “People were laughing at those Spatulas when they first came out, but he (MC) didn’t care. I mean, they work and they’ve gone mainstream pretty quickly.” In that same interview, Ingrid Backstrom added, “The new shape of skis blew people’s minds as to what was possible. It really opened up skiing big mountains.”
‘Saucer Boy’, Shane McConkey's alter ego. pc solonieve
First Shot
As good fortune would have it, the following month September 2001 MC joined a Heli-ski trip to the Southern Alps of New Zealand. For the first time ever, he had a chance to ride his dream design. If there was any question about how the skis performed then perhaps MC’s 45-minute profanity-laced rant to Peter Turner bragging about the day’s results laid that to rest. Turner recalled the message in another interview saying,
“It was absolutely hilarious… He was down there with some of the best skiers in the world and it was really nasty conditions – wet, heavy stuff. Everyone else was doing eggbeaters while he flew down the faces. It was an amazing review.”
Shane McConkey giving a tour of the famous KT-22, Palisades Tahoe, California. pc unofficialnetworks
Delayed Production
It was almost complete. The only step left for the Spatula and was to introduce it to the public. As it turns out, that chance would have to wait. MC returned from his New Zealand Heli-trip in October only to learn that headquarters had been transferred, ‘everyone canned’, and all production moved to Atomic’s famous Altenmarkt manufacturing facility in Austria. This meant no chance to produce more Spatulas.
That fall of 2001-2002 saw the introduction of the new Machete with dimensions of 110/92/102 and carving a whopping 48-meter radius. They were certainly fatter than most other skis on the market, but still, nothing resembling the Spatulas.
Volant Machete skis with a minimal sidecut and a fat waist design, 2001-2002. pc evo
At the moment, all hope looked lost for MC’s ultimate design. But MC didn’t give up easily, especially when he knew it worked so well. Finally in 2002, after much convincing Atomic designers finally agreed to produce 300 Spatulas. When the Austrian engineers received the plans, they returned them to Turner and reportedly commented,
“’There’s something wrong with the file you sent us. The curves are all wrong. The ski is backward. You need to resend the file.’ Then when I said, ‘It’s what we want.’ They looked at me like, ‘You have to be kidding.’”
Public Recognition
If MC needed any public recognition for his creative genius, it certainly happened the following year. In 2002, he won Powder Magazine’s readers’ poll for his revolutionary new ski design. But regardless of any positive publicity his design collected, it just wasn’t meant to be. Amer Group, LLC (also the parent company of Atomic) acquired Volant in 2003 and Spatula production never materialized again. But MC wasn’t done. He’d ridden the best powder skis imaginable and desperately wanted another shot at making them.
Shane McConkey, the master jedi of powder skiing. pc solovieve
Thanks for following along! We wrap up this series tomorrow and find out what comes next after the Spatulas! Any guesses??