Ask Me Anything: Ski Guide Zahan Bilimoria

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Tomorrow, Wednesday 12/17, from 1-4 PM MST, Zahan Billimoria will be joining us for a new episode of Ask Me Anything.



As it says on Exum Mountain Guides' (where Z is a ski & climbing guide) "Narrative of Experience" site for Zahan:

Climbing and Ski Mountaineering throughout the United States with routes in Yosemite, Eldorado Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park, Indian Creek, Squamish and Grand Teton National Park. Climbing in the Mt Blanc Massif, including the Mt. Blanc du Tacul and Aiguille du Midi in the French Alps. Ski descents of all major Teton Peaks. 10h39m hour ski enchainment of the Grand, Middle and South Tetons. 12 hour round trip ascent of the North Face of the Grand Teton, 4 hour car to car ascent of the Grand Teton and numerous other speed records in the Tetons. Climbs up to Grade V and 5.12b. Guided ski descents of The Grand Teton, Mt. Moran and others. Member of the 2007 US National Ski Mountaineering Team, Competitor in the 2008 World Championship in Champéry Switzerland, former member of the US La Sportiva Mountain Running Team.

Of late, Zahan's also been doing quite a bit of work with TGR. He guided Griffin Post up and down the Middle Teton for Way Of Life, guided Jeremy Jones up the Grand Teton and down the Otter Body for Higher, and this past March guided Max Hammer up and down The Sickle on Mount Moran for Almost Ablaze. He also leads the rope skills section of our International Pro Riders' Workshop (which happened last week) for all the TGR athletes and filmers.

Fire away!

[buttahflake]

do you know Hugh?

[buttahflake]

is that shit real, US National Ski Mountaineering team?
come on, i call nans

[thewon]

How do Hugh feel about the merican vs euro approach to ski alpinism?

you know like helmets (mericans) vs beanies (euros), for example.

Do Hugh find euros in general to be a bit more laid back in big terrain?

[rod9301]

Skiing a steep couloir in corn, what would be the best ski, even if you missed the window and it's slushy?

Would the carbon katana work in these conditions?

[media310]

did you get Photoshopped out of the Higher Grand summit shot
sorry I had to..

[::: :::]

What racism have you faced as a brown man in the lily white world of mountaineering & skiing?

[neufox47]

did you get Photoshopped out of the Higher Grand summit shot
sorry I had to..

What racism have you faced as a brown man in the lily white world of mountaineering & skiing?

There are some attorneys on here if you want to sue. I recommend BigSteve.

Seriously though, how do you evaluate the skills of clients when you take them out?

[byates1]

without looking it up, what is the first and last name of our level one avy instructor in pinkham years back?

[phallic-menace]

Are we all kooks to someone?

[skiitsbetter]

is that shit real, US National Ski Mountaineering team?
come on, i call nans

Yeah it's real!

What did you do for training for 2008 world championships. How much do you think the level of north american ski mountaineering has raised since then?

[Shredhead]

Do you always carry a rescue sled?

[grskier]

What has been your most elusive goal?

[::: :::]

something i've wondered about guides who advertise leading ascents in parts of the world other than where they're based...not directed at you specifically, just you're in the biz and might shed some light...how is it possible to develop regional expertise such that you feel comfortable leading those types of outings in all weather? do you partner with one local guide for each trip to deal with route finding & local conditions knowledge?

[Bronic]

What are your overall impressions of being a guide. What do you not like about the job? Is the stress overwhelming at times? What would you say to folks thinking of going that route?

[butterscotch]

Did Skidog take that photo?

[eagleskier]

When in non-guiding situations, how often do you find yourself really pushing the envelope? Have you been in any of these situations where the exposure/circumstances required a retreat? I'd be interested in some insights to your decision making framework along these lines.

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Do you feel more inspired to try riskier lines/routes now that you have more experience and skills, or less so because you know better how dangerous is it/what the actual risks & probabilities are?

Do you ever go just ski laps at the Village on an off day, or do you only go touring?

What was the biggest sufferfest/least rewarding expedition you've been on?

How many days a week are you active/working out?

[Tye 1on]

you're getting old, what are ya, 30? Doing any gym training like Griffin/Brenton/etc or still do training for skiing on skis?

[WaistDeepGroomers]

btw, Z will be in here under the "ski the tetons" handle

[WaistDeepGroomers]

From what I remember, you ski on some pretty tiny, extremely minimal and lightweight skis. Are you always on those 165s or do you mix it up if you're just skiing the village or hiking the pass?

[LeeLau]

Are you an AMGA certified ski guide - or certified under some equivalent UIAGM handle? If not why haven't you pursued certification? Professional, cost, etc?

[Lindahl]

Whats your process for progressing into gnarlier and gnarlier terrain with (repeat) clients - how do you determine they have hit a wall or ready to step up to a bigger line?

[ski the tetons]

aight people - time to get going here, thats a lot of good questions coming at me...here we go!

is that shit real, US National Ski Mountaineering team?
come on, i call nans

real?! ya i suppose its real, funny but real. i gave it up a while back but mad respect to the crushers who are dead sprinting around the hills in spandex. it's pretty real when killian jornet runs up n skis down denali in 12 hours...in a skin suit.

How do Hugh feel about the merican vs euro approach to ski alpinism?

you know like helmets (mericans) vs beanies (euros), for example.

Do Hugh find euros in general to be a bit more laid back in big terrain?

i did grow up in europe, but i can't speak for much outside of the swiss/french scene. european mentality is very 'gnar' the cham pioneers looked for the most improbable lines and took to the challenge of getting down the steepest most exposed line imaginable. i think in the US its more about the aesthetics of the line...and HOW you ski it. kung fu turns are one thing but when you watch a guy like griffin ski the east face of the middle like its a downhill course it changes the game. i am evolving to try and bring better style to the lines i ski rather than just surviving them...no judgement one way or another - its all just style, and what makes you psyched, right?

Skiing a steep couloir in corn, what would be the best ski, even if you missed the window and it's slushy?

Would the carbon katana work in these conditions?

haven't skied those, but i hear volkl makes a really nice ski. I'm really hooked on the kastle TX 97 for steep skiing when its firm or tx 107 when its deep - those things rule!! id go 1.5cm forward for steep skiing.

did you get Photoshopped out of the Higher Grand summit shot
sorry I had to..

haha! no. i was deep in a hole in the snow trying to figure out whether we should ride the thing! i give full respect to the tetongravity crew - more than any other filmmakers I've ever seen - those guys give the guides their part. jeremy is as honest a big mtn rider as they come, and i think gave the guides more than their share of recognition for the role played.

What racism have you faced as a brown man in the lily white world of mountaineering & skiing?

can't say I've ever paid it any attention!

There are some attorneys on here if you want to sue. I recommend BigSteve.

Seriously though, how do you evaluate the skills of clients when you take them out?

in the tetons i find the mountains do most of the filtering - you don't just show up at the top of your line, it takes hours of work to get into position, and usually the climbs weed out those who oversold themselves. truth is i think most people undersell themselves because they know its not fun to get in over their heads.

without looking it up, what is the first and last name of our level one avy instructor in pinkham years back?

jay philbrick!!

Yeah it's real!

What did you do for training for 2008 world championships. How much do you think the level of north american ski mountaineering has raised since then?

i ski with the dorais brothers that are at the top of that game - and those guys absolutely crush!! i wouldn't be able to hang these days - but i had a good time while i was at it. training? i split it between lots of long dark interval sessions at the local hill, and long days in the bigger mountains.

AssHughming that you are human, have you ever been pressured to take risks that you were not comfortable with? How do you balance risk taking with meeting your objectives? Do you approach this problem differently when you are guiding, vs competing vs recreating?
i probably get asked a fair bit - but i remember that there is no upside for me to taking risks for $$. I'm not easily swayed! and i think my clients like that - they want to come home, and i know i do

Have you ever Skied with Jeremy Nobis?[/QUOTE]
nope

Do you always carry a rescue sled?

good question - no i don't always carry it. but if I'm skiing with friends and we are going 'out there' then we usually split the kit - repair kit for one of us, rescue sled for the other

What has been your most elusive goal?

thats hard saying...i haven't put much energy into faraway expeditions for that reason - they can be so elusive, but I'm thinking it might be time to explore the cordillera blance...ill keep you posted!

something i've wondered about guides who advertise leading ascents in parts of the world other than where they're based...not directed at you specifically, just you're in the biz and might shed some light...how is it possible to develop regional expertise such that you feel comfortable leading those types of outings in all weather? do you partner with one local guide for each trip to deal with route finding & local conditions knowledge?

another great question. its a balance. part of it is having the skill set to make sense of snow and terrain no matter where you go. snow changes but the patterns remain the same. i think there can definitely be a role for local knowledge when the stakes are high though.

What are your overall impressions of being a guide. What do you not like about the job? Is the stress overwhelming at times? What would you say to folks thinking of going that route?

i really love my job - its hard to live with the reality that you have peoples lives in your hands everyday - it can create what i call risk fatigue - getting tired of being in risky situations. that said, risk is an inherent and rewarding part of the mountain equation, and you have to assume that anyone who is paying you has a lower risk tolerance that we do as professionals - so no matter what they say they want to do, i try to operate with big margins 99% of the time.

[PNWbrit]

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