Thread: Chris Davenport: Tuckerman's Ravine surely exists--and other gaperific comments

Or am I too harsh? Wonder if this will be a double post...

From today's NYT:

Q & A With Chris Davenport
Interviewed by BILL PENNINGTON

Named one of North America's top 25 skiers by Skiing Magazine, Chris Davenport is a two-time extreme skiing world champion and former University of Colorado ski racer. Davenport, 34, does television commentary for ABC and ESPN, has a flourishing global business as a private heli-skiing guide and appears in the new adventure ski film, "The Hit List," from Matchstick Productions. Raised in New England and now living and working in Aspen, Davenport has skied all over the world, from the Himalayas to the Andes, making films and producing magazine covers.

His travels can be followed on his Web site, steepskiing.com. A garrulous advocate of the free-skiing movement, Davenport was recently interviewed by Bill Pennington, a ski writer for The New York Times. Among the subjects touched on are undiscovered backcountry areas, family resorts and East versus West skiing. Asked about five ski trips that every skier should make at least once, Davenport includes in his list five musts in the Alps alone.

Q. So what's your biggest gripe about the ski world these days? What would you change if you could?

A. I would somehow get more people to embrace skiing's inherent sense of adventure. People tell me they're stuck in a rut, doing the same things on the same trails. It's true, but they can fix that.

I tell people to challenge themselves at their local ski area. Get the trail map and plan a route that lets you ride every lift at the ski area in one day. Or, if you're an intermediate, try to ski every blue run on the trail map in one day. I guarantee you'll ski trails you've never skied before. Next day, you might say, Well, I've skied every blue run, maybe I should try skiing half of the black runs. Set a goal, and you can create an adventure for yourself. There are lots of ways to become an adventure skier.

Here's another thing to try: A lot of people have ski watches that are made to count how much vertical you've skied. Try to set a personal record: 20,000 vertical feet in one day. Or, you can count the vertical as listed on the trail map. It's like a game, and humans love to keep score. Every other sport they keep score except recreational skiing. But you can - how much vertical, how many runs before lunch, how much vertical in a year? Do it with your family and friends, make it a game.

Q. But aren't some people stuck in a rut because they feel they're not good enough to try new things? They see everybody heading to the backcountry or off piste but they think that's only for experts, right?

A. They might think that but it's not true. The opportunities are there for everybody, especially with the new equipment we have in skiing. There are certain barriers. If you live in West Virginia, you're inhibited by the weather and mountain elevation. But if you're really curious and interested, save a few dollars and head out West. Most areas there have intermediate ungroomed runs. At a place like Aspen Snowmass, more than half the blue runs aren't groomed.

Now it's true that I don't take totally inexperienced people heli-skiing to the top of a peak in Alaska. It's an extreme environment. You're going to get tired and you can't just walk into the lodge to rest. But I will take inexperienced people sometimes to a place like Jackson Hole because that's a controlled environment where we can start out warming up on the groomers and then head to some easier off piste on the first day. And each day we can get to better and bigger terrain and then maybe do some real backcountry there.

And there are places in the East where you can poke your skis into the untracked woods. It might not be as easy terrain as out West, but in Vermont, Stowe, Jay Peak and Sugarbush all have some gnarly adventure opportunities. So does Whiteface in New York.

Q. You mentioned equipment. How has it helped the adventure or backcountry skier?

A. It's helped all skiers. But I see way too many people skiing on old skis. I tell everyone that if you haven't gotten new equipment in a few years, go out and try a wider, fatter ski. It's sort of like going from a traditional tennis racket to an oversized racket or going from a traditional wooden golf club to a titanium Big Bertha. Using skis that are four or five years old, that's like using a cellphone that's four or five years old.

And there are now women's specific skis. There's no reason that your wife should be on the same ski that you are. She can get a women's specific ski that's maybe a little bit lighter, maybe a little bit softer-flexing and has some beautiful flowers on the graphic and makes her feel good. Salomon, K2 and Dynastar all have women's lines that really rip.

Q. O.K., let's start some arguments. Give me the five places every skier should go at least once?

A. 1. Tuckerman's Ravine. If you're a skier you have to do it before you die. Go spend a sunny, spring day at Tuckerman's with a bunch of friends and a case of beer. That is truly one of the greatest atmospheres and physical locations in the sport of skiing. It's magical up there on the right day. People out West think there's no way that such a place exists in New Hampshire. But it surely exists.

2. Heli-skiing in Alaska. It's expensive but worth it. You can go all over Alaska now. Girdwood, Haines, Cordova. It's the best snow and you can ski the steepest stuff more safely than you can the Canadian Rockies. That stuff is totally bomber. I get goose bumps talking about it. It's for advanced skiers but anybody who can ski a black diamond run at their local ski area can ski something like this. Because the snow is smooth and it's consistent and you can progress to it, trying more and more challenging terrain. And once you've done that, you'll never be the same skier again. Heli-skiing is the ultimate sensation of the sport. It's amazing getting flown up there by a whirling death machine, as we like to call them.

3. Whistler/Blackcomb. I like to take the peak chair at Whistler on a powder morning. Anything off that chair is a great run. At Blackcomb, I like climbing up Spanky's Ladder and that accesses Ruby and Diamond bowls. Those are big, wide open, long and steep powder bowls. And they're avalanche controlled.

4. Aspen. Aspen is known as this rich and famous ritzy-ditzy place. In the 1980's, it was totally that: all you saw was people walking around in furs, people with Gulfstreams at the airport. There was very little energy. It was kind of old and dead. Aspen reinvented itself in the early 1990's, in part by hosting the X Games. We had a marketing campaign, saying Aspen is cool again. The terrain parks are world class and so is the on-mountain and off-mountain skiing.

5. The Alps. It's the birthplace of the sport of skiing and there are more lifts per square mile there than anywhere else in the world. Because it's so big, I'll give you five "must spots" to visit in the Alps:

Chamonix in France, which is the birthplace of extreme skiing. It has the longest run in the Alps, 9,000 vertical feet down. Everyone should ride the Aiguille du Midi tram, which goes from the village of Chamonix to this pinnacle of rock, straight up 9,000 feet with no lift towers, just a tram hanging all the way up. The ride by itself is a must thing to do. But you have to have a guide there because there's big cliffs and glaciers and you can get in trouble. People die there every year.

Verbier in Switzerland. There's easy access to massive terrain. You can ski a week and never ski the same trail twice. Verbier is very sunny with chalets built on a plateau. Idyllic and scenic.

St. Anton, Austria. Different than the others because of the Austrian/German influence.

La Grave in France. Near the Italian border, this is a whole mountain of off-piste runs. It's a wonderful place - La Grave, the grave. Two big trams and no grooming at all.

The Monterosa ski region in northern Italy. This is really unknown and yet it's one of the largest ski resorts in the world. I've spent a lot of time there and have never seen another American. None of my friends in America have heard of the mountains there. I go there and never wait in line or compete with anyone for powder.

Q. To stoke the fires of an old argument, any thoughts on skiing in the East versus skiing in the West?

A. Well, you can't argue with the size, snowfall and immense terrain available out West. It has more to offer. But, I have a theory that the smaller the ski area, the more passionate the skier. O.K., people can knock skiing in the East. It is what it is. Sometimes the weather's bad and the mountains are smaller. But the skiers in New England and New York are the most passionate skiers I've ever met. On all those Friday nights in the winter, they're loading up the car and they're fired up to go skiing. They will ski from Saturday morning until the last lift closes on Sunday and then drive home. They'll ski in the rain. Out West, nobody puts a trash bag over their body and skis in the rain. But I used to do it growing up in the East.

I've seen it in the Midwest, too. Those ski areas in Michigan and Wisconsin - those people are intense.

And I'll tell you something else, some of the best places for family skiing are in the East. Okemo, Smugglers' Notch, Mount Cranmore, Sunday River and Stowe - they're all good family places. I would, for example, shy away from the Lake Tahoe ski areas because they tend to be crowded and busy and not good for family skiing.

Q. As a guide, what tips do you have for people heading into the backcountry?

A. Bring a buddy. It's easy to fall, to tag a tree or a rock and it's always good to have someone there. The other thing is, if you're unfamiliar with the terrain, go slower. "Sus it out," we like to say. Slang for "figure it out first." Then next time you go through there, you can go back and ski a little faster.

The other thing you need in the real backcountry is a means of communication, a radio or a cellphone. You need an avalanche beacon, and somebody else needs to have one, too. You need a shovel and a probe to dig someone out or to find someone. You need water and a little bit of food even if it's an energy bar. I like to take a camera, because you might see something interesting. These are the essentials inside a good backpack. And you have to know how to use these things. I've had people buried in snow and the better we knew how to use our tools the quicker we got them out.

Q. Do you rely on any skiing Web sites for information?

A. I like Ski Press Magazine's site, skipressworld.com, and powdermag.com. At biglines.com and tetongravity.com, I love the message boards. Lots of info and opinions on skiing. Those people are dialed in. For kids, newschoolers.com is huge.

Q. What do you think about Jackson Hole's plans to eliminate its iconic tram?

A. I can't believe they're doing it. I can't believe the state of Wyoming is letting it happen. It's a state institution. I don't care what it takes or costs, replace the thing. If it's $25 million, float a bond. The place will never be the same if it's gone.

Q. Finally, as a professional extreme skier and guide, what's the request you hear most from clients or recreational skiers?

A. I'll take people heli-skiing and they'll say, "We want to do that stuff you did in the movie - that 100-foot cliff jump." And I say, it's not that easy, man. I might have planned that jump for five years. I can die doing that.

People in the last decade have grown up watching these ski films and looking at pictures in magazines where people like me are jumping off these huge cliffs. In the ski movies, much like in any movie, we make things look easy. But you can't just go up and jump off something. We scout things, plan them, try different things first. But more and more I see people taking unnecessary risks. I see kids at ski areas jumping cliffs and building jumps in bad locations. I see people skiing in the backcountry by themselves. I see people in terrain parks who don't belong there. The jumps are big. I see some yahoo saying, "I'm going to hit that thing." Without speed checking it or looking at the landing, he hits the deck and breaks his ankles. People should start small. Get comfortable being in the air off a five-footer first. Get progressively better. Eventually, you can go heli-skiing with me in Alaska.





Oh, and La Grave does not mean the grave.

What are you bitching about? I think it was fine.

Yeah, what's the problem? He even gave us a shout out.

Dex...you got sand in the vagina again?

He's just pointing out that the east has some badass terrain, when a lot of people from the west think all it has is ice...

Originally Posted by Dexter Rutecki

I've seen it in the Midwest, too. Those ski areas in Michigan and Wisconsin - those people are intense.

Yeah. And watch out for Jenny Tull.

Aside from some stupid comments and him coming off as "greater than thou" it was fine.

I read that article and took notes for when [I]I'm[I] getting interviewed by the new york times and my sponsors are paying me a year's worth of car payments for every shout out I give them. Also it [I]was[I] the new york times, with a bunch of skiers wanting to know about where they could go play and see our sport near their homes... Of course you don't have to talk like that, and it is fine to keep slaving for beggar's pay at slopeside restaurants and hitchhiking home (like me)... or trade your only tradeable skill... which may be the ability to ski well, which I'm sure a lot of us here would love to do.

i got too lazy to read all that after a few paragraphs of typical banal boring bullshit.
but he IS an asshole.

Originally Posted by ptavv

Aside from some stupid comments and him coming off as "greater than thou" it was fine.

Well, yes, I'd say that matches my reaction for those of you who didn't read it that way. Not saying I don't understand why he put some of it that way (it surely exists!), but still...

Originally Posted by aspenskibum

i got too lazy to read all that after a few paragraphs of typical banal boring bullshit.
but he IS an asshole.

Chris is not an asshole. I will now have to question your psuedo personality on here. I would question anyone who lives here and thinks that he is a bad guy. Just not the case.

I like his quote on St Anton. "Different because of the Austrian/German influence."

WTF is that? Having been to all the places he mentioned in the alps when I lived in Europe, I'ev got to say on a powder day there's no where in the alps I'd rather be than St Anton.

He seemed a nice guy the few times I've met him.

But he was skiing Pocket Rockets - Jesus he'd be good on some real skis

Originally Posted by AjaxWSP

Chris is not an asshole. I will now have to question your psuedo personality on here. I would question anyone who lives here and thinks that he is a bad guy. Just not the case.

just judging from what i've seen. i believe that deep down everyone is inherently a good person, but he's cut me off a couple times and acted quite arrogent. For someone who really should be a walking PR campaign and be quite nice, that is enough for me to say he's an asshole, at least from what i've seen. If he ever offers to buy me a beer, or even if i share a liftride with him where he seems like a decent guy, i'd change my tune.

Originally Posted by aspenskibum

...but he's cut me off a couple times and acted quite arrogent....

Another sandy vagina caused by bad driving. Please folks, drive defensively. Prevent road rage.



















as i endeavor not to be arrogant, i won't mention that you misspelled it

well, the sand in my vagina is just swimming. I hate happy happy fucks like that putting on a stoopid face to make money from gapers. My skin crawls the same way it does when I talk to a car salesman.
"So does Whiteface in New York." No, it fucking doesn't. And skiing every blue trail at Killington isn't very fucking challenging either. jeezuz, wait, I have to douche.........

People don't get better by staying inside their safety bubble.

People get better by skiing beyond themselves, falling, and then getting up and trying again.

If you aren't falling you aren't trying (unless you're as good as the maggots).

Originally Posted by aspenskibum

just judging from what i've seen. i believe that deep down everyone is inherently a good person, but he's cut me off a couple times and acted quite arrogent. For someone who really should be a walking PR campaign and be quite nice, that is enough for me to say he's an asshole, at least from what i've seen. If he ever offers to buy me a beer, or even if i share a liftride with him where he seems like a decent guy, i'd change my tune.

fair enough! just keep an open mind. he is a good guy.

Originally Posted by aspenskibum

he's cut me off a couple times and acted quite arrogent

Chris is a MASShole not an asshole

Originally Posted by powder11

Chris is a MASShole not an asshole

Ding, ding, ding!!! Wicked pissah Masshole he is.

Seemed like a pretty good interview, given the audience and publication. Chris is a great guy. It's his buddy PD that's the problem

Originally Posted by AjaxWSP

Chris is not an asshole. I will now have to question your psuedo personality on here. I would question anyone who lives here and thinks that he is a bad guy. Just not the case.

met him a few times when I lived in A-town and at a few events since.
always seemed a great guy and big advocate of the sport.
he has great respect for all aspects of it and those that came before him and those since.

Another vote for Chris being a great guy. He is as real as they come. He has great passion for any of the sports he participates in and is an amazing competitor. His skiing resume can be put up against absolutely anyone's. Of course anyone can find something to harp on others about, but I think he's a great voice for skiing and he backs up his talk with his skiing and by giving back to the sport.

Originally Posted by Chris Davenport

La Grave in France. Near the Italian border, this is a whole mountain of off-piste runs. It's a wonderful place - La Grave, the grave. Two big trams and no grooming at all.

When did La Grave get two big trams?