Fresh off his very first trip to Japan, Chris Benchetler’s imagination went wild as he illustrated the things that caught his eye. The mayhem of Tokyo is translated into neon colors and characters full of emotion. There’s even a wooly mammoth surfing on the bottom of the illustration—a subtle nod to his home ski hill Mammoth Mountain. But this larger than life illustration was more than a doodle for Benchetler; it served as the graphic for his first-ever ski design with Atomic. In 2008 the brand approached him with a proposition. Intent on getting him in their athlete lineup, they asked what it would take to convince him to jump ship from K2 to Atomic.
RELATED: Watch 'Fire On the Mountain' — A film by the Grateful Dead and Chris Benchetler
Benchetler negotiated with art. At the time, K2 was setting the standard for ski graphics with internal artist and designer Ryan Schmies, whose intricate and illustrative style elevated top-sheets into rideable works of art.
Atomic was still new to the freeskiing scene, and Benchetler saw this as an open door. By using art as his bargaining chip, he not only secured a sponsorship with the brand but was given complete control over the aesthetic of his new pro-model ski. “It can be a difficult canvas at times, especially having it split across two skis and accounting for bindings—but it’s a fun challenge,” he says.
Left: Chris Benchetler working on one of his paintings. Right: Elemental Dimensions is a piece Benchetler made in collaboration with Skye Walker.
Despite his growing presence as an artist, Benchetler is still in awe of how far he's come. “Even to this day, it’s still strange to call myself an artist,” Benchetler bluntly admits. Like any creative, he’s still growing and experimenting. As a kid, he was always drawing but ultimately leaned into skiing as his main passion. “I always looked at skiing as my canvas for creativity,” he explains, but now he’s drawing lines on more than just mountains.
In the ten years since that first project, Benchetler has now designed enough skis for Atomic to fill a garage—with each pair being unique.
Early on, his designs were much more animated. It’s a byproduct of his childhood, in which he’d create characters inspired by his environment and travels. Skiing opened many doors for him, and he celebrated those new experiences with art. Now that the outdoors have become a staple of his life, his work is becoming much more nature-focused.
Still, even with this evolution, Benchetler has never lost his roots. “I’ve done Old Man Winter a lot in mountains—so there’s still that element of character design but it’s just more inspired by nature,” he explains. But this year he decided to do something a bit out of the norm. On top of his trademark ski design, Benchetler released one of his biggest art projects yet: A Grateful Dead Ski Collaboration with Atomic and Teton Gravity Research.
A few of the skis Benchetler has designed over the years. Chris Benchetler Photo.
Months prior to our chat, I’m standing in Teton Gravity Research’s downtown town store. Except, tonight it’s not a store, but a full-fledged art gallery. The room is transformed for the grand reveal of Benchetler and Skye Walker’s Grateful Dead-inspired show. On the walls are a large collection of drawings and paintings that are whole spectra of color. There are scenes of mountains, waves, and forests that feel like windows into an alternate reality. Interwoven through all of this are, of course, a whole array of characters—some of which are subtle nods to the Dead. Of course, it’s got the iconic Dead logo, but the artists made sure to incorporate their own unique touch.
But right now it’s almost impossible to see the artwork because the crowd is packed so tightly. Moving from one elaborate mural to the next, my focus shifts to the show’s piece-de-resistance: the limited-edition Grateful Dead skis. The wooden pair of Bent Chetlers starkly contrasts with the colorful artwork surrounding it. Aside from the tactically placed pops of red, Benchetler kept the top sheet design simple with a laser engraved line art drawing. When flipped over, the bases mirror the mural hung right beside it. “Usually when the Grateful Dead collaborates with people, brands take their existing logos and slap it on the product and sell it. When I started drawing all the graphics myself they were really stoked and inspired,’ Benchetler explains.
Needing a breather from the sea of people, I escape to the Jones Snowboards shop in the back corner of the shop. There’s a man quietly surveying the crowd and he kindly introduces himself as Skye Walker.
Walker, a full-time muralist, shares Benchetler’s love for the outdoors. The two crossed paths about four years ago on a backcountry trip in Mammoth. When Walker learned that Benchetler was also an artist, he suggested that they collaborate on a mural. Initially the timing wasn’t quite right. But Benchetler kept him in mind, and a year later called on his help for his short film Chasing Advanture. The two created a 4x8-foot mural that served as the vinyl wrap for his van in the film. They then upped the scale dramatically, creating an 80-foot mural on the outside of EVO’s Seattle store. That initial collaboration was so effortless that it’s led to nine additional collaborations since.
“He’s brought me in to do so many fun projects with him,” Walker says, and it’s starting shape his own work as an artist. Taking a page out of Benchetler’s book, Walker created a custom art wrap for his own sprinter van which now serves as his mobile tiny home for a current mural tour across the country. “We both vibe off of the theme of mother nature. He’ll paint Old Man Winter and I’ll paint Mother Nature when we’re collaborating.” Because of this shared passion for the outdoors, working together comes easy. Similar to the Grateful Dead’s jam-band style, the two typically create on the fly while drawing inspiration from this free-flowing creative energy. It’s a kind of synergy that makes it possible for them to work on each other’s artwork, and not know which brushstroke belongs to which artist.
Following the show’s success, Benchetler had little time to breathe a sigh of relief. It was simply the first step of a much grander idea. He could have kept things simple by just designing a ski—but that’s really not his style. In addition to the artwork and product collaboration, Benchetler is also busy directing a short film called Fire on the Mountain. “Oh boy,” he says with a chuckle. “It’s been a crazy process but it’s very special.” It’s not your typical action sports flick, but a nighttime ski, surf, and snowboard film with a handpicked cast. And of course, he didn’t forget his iconic sprinter van—that’s got a custom created Grateful Dead vinyl wrap too,
When we first spoke, the movie still had a ways to go, but Benchetler was able to cross the first segment off the list.
Under a brilliant night sky in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, his team illuminated the mountains with a rainbow of colors. The stillness of the night is broken by a team of glowing skeletons who are shredding down the mountain. Closer inspection reveals that these skeletal figures are actually Kimmy Fasani, Rob Machado, Danny Davis, Michelle Parker, Jeremy Jones, and Benchetler himself. The whole concept was daunting to coordinate, but once it came together it took everyone’s breath away. An awestruck Jones penned this statement on social media following the experience:
“Ideas are cheap. I always hear people tell me about the movies they want to make, the mountains they want to climb or the jumps they want to build.
When Chris Benchetler told me about making a movie honoring the Grateful Dead and that for one of the sections he wanted to light up a backcountry face and ride it in skeleton suites I gave my normal answer of, “sounds cool, call me when it’s set in stone.”
After not hearing from him for months that call came. I had no idea what to expect. But I was dumbfounded when we saw this backcountry face lit up like it was from a different planet.”
Benchetler and Walker take in their finished painting, a collaboration that was inspired by the film and the Grateful Dead's music. Aaron Blatt Photo.
On top of a nonstop winter, and figuring out this whole crazy parenting thing (which he argues is one of the toughest jobs yet), the Grateful Dead project hasn’t been a cakewalk. But seeing it come together makes it all worth it. Benchetler, a music fanatic, discovered the Dead four years ago. Finding them was like discovering what skiing felt like but in music. “We never draw the same lines down the mountain or a wave—that improvisation is present in all the activities I like to do—and that’s how they operate as a band,” he explains.
In hindsight, the Grateful Dead collaboration has been a turning point in his career. Watching his ideas come to life with the ski, art show, and now Fire on the Mountain has only shown him that for future ambitions to dream big and boldly. “Life is a funny thing. If you put your mind to something, you can manifest your dreams and ideas,” Benchetler admits as it’s happening right before his eyes.
Be sure to check the film out on tour, which starts next month.
About The Author
stash member Katie Lozancich
TGR Staff Writer and photographer. Fond of bikes, pow, and dogs. Originally from Northern CA, home for me has ranged from the PNW to a teepee in Grand Teton National Park.