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JACKSON HOLE SKIERS IN THE NEWS
By
Michael Pearlman, with additional reporting by Bissell Hazen
Once again, Jackson Hole skiers
and snowboarders are blazing trails in the ski world, from faraway
mountain ranges to the backyard bliss of the Tetons.
A phenomenally stable snowpack
allowed for many fantastic Teton descents last winter. One of the
most impressive was the first descent of the CMC route on Mt. Moran.
On May 16, 2002, Doug Coombs, Bill Dyer, Hans Johnstone, and Kent
McBride skied the 5.8-rated climbing route after ascending the peak
in a remarkable five hours from the shore of Leigh Lake. After
viewing the group’s ski tracks on the 5,700-vertical-foot, exposed
route in variable snow conditions, fellow ski mountaineer Tom
Turiano called it "one of the most radical descents that’s been done
in the Tetons."
In addition to running ski camps
in Verbier and La Grave France, Coombs spent two weeks in the North
Cascades this fall being tested for the alpine portion of the
International Mountain Guide certification. If he’s up to the
incredibly high standards of the Europeans, he’ll become only the
14th American to achieve this prestigious recognition. Coombs
continues to guide for Valdez Heli Ski tours and is on the design
board for Marmot.
Exum mountain guide and renowned
ski mountaineer Mark Newcomb made a successful first ascent of the
remote Tibetan peak Sepu Kangri in October. He and Carlos Buhler
pushed through bad weather to make the summit, although dangerous
conditions prevented a ski descent. For details on this incredible
expedition log on to
www.climbsepu.com.
Snowboarder John Griber
summitted the Grand Teton with partner Alex Romaine in February. The
pair descended the Ford Stettner route in knee-deep powder to
complete a 17-hour day that featured windy, freezing conditions
which almost forced the pair to turn around. In April Griber and
local photographer Greg Von Doersten survived a tragic expedition on
Mt. St. Elias in Alaska, which took the lives of skiers Reid Sanders
and Aaron Martin.
Footage of Griber and Romaine’s
climb and ski descent of the Grand appears in Whoopee, the second
film by Darrell Miller and his company Stormshow Studios (www.stormshow.com).
In the film Miller pays homage to a variety of soulful Jackson
rippers who manage to ride full-time without sponsorship dollars.
Whoopee, which premiered in Jackson Hole in September and traveled
to Colorado, Utah, and Montana, also features stunning paragliding
footage by snowboarder and pilot Demian McConnell. This winter
Miller will continue filming weekly clips for the Jackson Hole
Resort website, while accumulating footage for his next ski flick.
Jackson’s oldest and biggest
film company, Teton
Gravity Research (TGR), has
entered the world of prime-time television with the new hardcore
reality series "Adrenaline X." According to Variety magazine, "NBC
pacted with TGR because of its reputation as top filmmakers in the
adventure sports world, having produced 12 features on skiing,
snowboarding, surfing, and kayaking in recent years." The show,
which will air in prime time on NBC this season, pits well-known
extreme athletes against one another in a series of made-for-TV
challenges. TGR’s latest ski film, Prophecy, premiered in September
at the top of the Bridger Gondola and features footage from Andorra,
Slovakia, Alaska, Jackson, Bella Coola, BC and Island Lake Lodge,
BC. On tour in theaters across the nation, check the schedule at
www.tetongravity.com for a
showing near you.
Jeff Leger and Matt O’Donnell of
Drive Productions have made their second ski video, Skid Luxury.
Another no-budget wonder, it examines the feeling of wealth that
skiers get from their beloved activity, not from their deep pockets.
The filmmakers weren’t able to spot the elusive Sasquatch, but they
did find plenty of untracked powder despite the lack of early tram
rides. It’s premiering soon at a bar or couch near you.
Rick Armstrong and his wife
Hollee are expecting a baby girl in December. Rick continues his
stint on The North Face snowsports team, adding "talent scout" to
his proliferate job descriptions. He appears in TGR’s Prophecy, as
well as Storm, the latest offering from Warren Miller. Storm also
features Jackson athletes Coombs, Griber, Rob Kingwill and Kina
Pickett.
Micah Black traveled with the
TGR boys in Andorra and Slovakia and fulfilled a lifelong dream by
skiing with Scott Schmidt at Island Lake Lodge, BC last winter. Last
summer he spent time in Las Lenas, Argentina, as well as surfing off
of Fiji. After being named Wyoming Bachelor of the Year by
Cosmopolitan magazine, Micah met David Bowie while appearing on the
Regis and Kellie show in New York.
Snowboard mountaineer Stephen
Koch suffered a setback in his Seven Summits Snowboarding Quest when
he tore his MCL last summer on Nuptse, another Himalayan peak. Koch
has snowboarded six of the seven highest points on each of the
continents. He still plans on descending the Hornbein Couloir on
Everest, which has not yet been skied or snowboarded. This winter,
Koch will be rehabilitating his knee, snowboarding at the Jackson
Hole Mountain Resort, and teaching kids about avalanche awareness.
At press time, Koch was still deciding whether his Everest attempt
will take place in 2003 or 2004.
Tommy Moe spent his summer in
Alaska guiding white-water rafting, skiing, and fishing. Of his
favorite program, Kings and Corn, Moe said, "It’s a daily double:
mornings skiing corn in the Tordilla Mountains of the Alaska Range,
afternoons fishing for King Salmon on the Yenta river." In March,
Moe won the Jeep King of the Mountain Downhill finals at Beaver
Creek, Colorado, with partner Kyle Rasmussen. They each took home a
new Jeep as the U.S. won the team standings for the first time in
nine years. Moe also had a stint on the Weather Channel last summer,
hosting a feature called "Alaska Weather Quest," which featured
Alaskans sharing their most exciting weather stories. Moe will be a
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort ambassador for a ninth year this
winter, and he will coach three Steep and Deep camps at the resort.
Olympic hopefuls Resi Stiegler
and Kristen Bybee will be traveling with the U.S. Ski Team this
winter. The youngest member of the ski team, Stiegler was named to
the ‘C’ team during the summer and has qualified for the World Cup
in slalom. She spent the summer training at Mt. Hood, Oregon, and in
New Zealand and Austria. Stiegler will race NorAm slaloms in the
U.S. and on the Europa Cup circuit in Europe, with a handful of
World Cup starts thrown in. Bybee spent last winter racing on the
NorAm circuit after recovering from knee surgery. Her winter was
highlighted by the opportunity to forerun the Olympic downhill in
Snowbasin, Utah. She is on the developmental team this winter, and
will race in NorAm and Europa Cup events while forerunning World Cup
races.
Town downhill speedster Sean
Clark is now an ambassador at the JHMR and will continue to compete
in skiercross. Clark competed in the event at ESPN’s X-Games in 2001
and 2002, and will attempt to qualify once again this season.
Nineteen-year-old snowboarding
sensation Travis Rice is coming off an epic year in which he won
X-games gold in Slopestyle, won the U.S. Open Quarterpipe
competition, and walked away with the U.S. Open Overall MVP award.
After spending three weeks in the fall riding in Europe, he'll be
jetting to Japan and hitting competitions around the states this
winter. Somewhere in between he plans on squeezing in some riding as
a JHMR sponsored athlete. Rice will be heading back to Alaska for
more filming in the big mountains this spring.
After spending last winter
traveling through Asia, Michael Pearlman is rekindling his ski
relationship with Jackson Hole this winter. Formerly a professional
actor, he's now in charge of the sports section at the Jackson Hole
News.
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