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Michelle Parker is a familiar face in the outdoor community. Honing her big mountain skiing skills at home in Squaw Valley, Michelle became a world-class racer by 15 and hasn’t let up since. And as you'd expect from the versatile lady shredder, Michelle has many layers underneath the numerous mountain accolades that make her a world-class human. From helping to lead the charge in women’s mountain biking to mastering photography with camera Jedi master and boyfriend Aaron Blatt, Michelle has a passion for growing and learning, no matter the endeavor.
Between desert bike adventures and filming for her Red Bull web series Originate, Michelle dished on her experience with the Dead, shredding Mammoth in a light suit, and choosing skiing over soccer. We all thank you for that Michelle.
Her first memory of the Dead was with her parents going to a show in Tahoe back in the early ’90s. Recently, she saw the latest iteration (Dead and Company) at the Gorge this past summer – Michelle is diving deep into her journey as a Dead fan, with or without tie-dye overalls. See our conversation with Michelle Parker below, and stay tuned for more in-depth chats with the athletes from the transcendent adventure film, Fire on the Mountain.
Michelle rips some turns under the lights. Peter Morning photo.
Bronson: Let's start a little bit with a little of how you got involved with the project, how were you approached on it and kind of the genesis of it from your perspective?
Michelle: Yeah, totally. I guess for myself personally, I've always been really close with Chris and Kimmy, and through everything that Chris has done in skiing, his webisode projects with Nimbus and everything that he's done on his own, I've always admired the way that he has taken his own control of his career and put stuff out that he's really proud of and that totally aligns with himself. So I've always wanted to work with him and we've been such close friends. Chris and Kimmy are two of ours, I don't know, we feel like family to them. And so when this project came up and he brought it up, he was like, "I've got a project I'd be really psyched to team up on." I was like, "Yes, 100 percent. I'm into that, no questions asked for sure."
And then as it unfolded, I realized how massive of a project it was. But yeah, it was simple as Chris reaching out and kind of for myself, I've always wanted to work with him on anything because outside of filming we hang a lot and we go on a ton of mountain adventures and so it was a really cool opportunity for myself.
Bronson: Killer. Yeah. He's slightly talented, you could say.
Michelle: Yeah, on many different aspects.
Bronson: Are you a real-life Dead fan or what's your relationship with the Grateful Dead?
Michelle: Well, actually one of my very first memories growing up was when the Dead came and played at Squaw Valley and I must've been like three years old or something. It was a long time ago. And my entire family came down from Washington and San Francisco to come to watch them play. My cousin dressed me up in all of this tie-dye stuff and he was like, "Just go up to your mom and say you're a Deadhead and she'll let you come to the concert." And I remember like, okay, yeah, I'm a Deadhead, and going up to my mom and I was like, "I'm a Deadhead. Can I just come?" And they didn't let me come, which now having attended a bunch of concerts, I'm like, "What? I totally could have gone." It would have been awesome.
But they all went, and I had the babysitter, and that was probably my first memory. And I remember just these legendary stories about when they came to Tahoe. So many of my friends and their parents have these hilarious stories of the fans and just the people that gathered here. And that always intrigued me, but to be totally honest, I didn't really consistently listen to their music for a very long time. And I actually like that, I'm not ashamed of it at all, but when Chris was like, "Oh, we're doing this thing," I was like, "Okay, I need to dive in right now." And it must've been this past summer or something, I was painting a room in my house and it was taking me so long to paint the room. And then I was like, all right, I'm going to dive in. And I started listening to all the music and I was like, okay, I got this. I'm super enjoying this.
And my boyfriend's been a Deadhead for a while. He went to a bunch of concerts with his dad, who was the ultimate fan, growing up. And so, kind of just like through him and his dad and the stories that they have and everything, I got pretty entranced. And then I bought Bill Kreutzmann's book and I read that. And then-
Bronson: Oh man -Deep dive.
Michelle: I was like, "I have to get some information, I need to know." And actually musical autobiographies and biographies became my favorite type of book to read. I went from Jimmy's book to Willie's book to Bill Kreutzmann's book. So I got pretty heavy in there and the history of it, and watched a lot of documentaries and was like this is such a cool thing, it's a different type of musical experience. And then as you know, well we went to Mountain View, I guess that was my first time seeing them live and then up to the Gorge with you guys. And then we just went to the Nassau Coliseum in New York. And so yeah, kind of got a little bit of a taste of it now.
Where's your skeleton, Jeremy? Aaron Blatt photo.
Bronson: Have you purchased some tie-dye overalls yet?
Michelle: No, because that is your style!
Bronson: I'm trying to spread a movement here, you know.Man, I can't imagine the Dead with your parents in Tahoe back in the day with its proximity to San Fran, and I bet that was pretty epic.
Michelle: And I lived in Squaw Valley, so I was really young. I did a report one time on my earliest memory and it was between that and going to Disneyland, but that was like a long time ago for sure.
Bronson: Yeah, that's awesome. As an athlete, what was it like... I know the actual process of shooting this film was pretty unique, and shooting a regular film is hard enough outdoors with the elements. But as an athlete, what was it like diving into something like this with all the lighting and night shoots, and everything involved there?
Michelle: Yeah, I was absolutely mind blown at how much production it took to host that one night shoot in Mammoth for example. I showed up not really knowing what to expect but really excited, knowing that we were going to be skiing at night, the weather was hammering with snow, I was like, oh my God, this is going to be a huge mission. But the first night that we went up there, I keep thinking about it and I'm like, man that was like a dream for a week. We would wake up at 4:00 PM and then get to the mountain around 7:00 PM and then we would like ski all night until the sun came up and then go have breakfast for dinner and fall asleep during the day and it was a little jet laggy getting into it, but ultimately the second that we were in our light suits out in this magical dream world, it was so beautiful.
It was perfect powder with beautiful rainbow-colored lights illuminating the snow. A bonfire down below, people came out of the woodwork when we all gathered on the first night. I was like, Oh my God, there's like 50 people or something. Like so many people here operating everything, from the cab drivers to Mammoth Mountain, who did an incredible job just allowing the shoot to happen and all the logistics that went into it from avalanche control to building cat roads to maintaining those cat roads. We had over 100 mile per hour winds consistently on a lot of nights.
And the lights that they had were big stadium lighting rigs. The generators were going out, some of the light suits were starting to die so they were like soldering the light suits together on the hill, fixing generators. But it was just hugely impressive. And immediately I understood how invested Chris and Kimmy both were in this project and how absolutely beautiful it was coming together like that. That shoot was literally like a dream. I can't really even... you didn't need hallucinogenics to experience the most amazing part of it and it was really, it was quite spectacular.
Bronson: That's so cool. Did you have to change your skiing style for the shooting, or did Chris let you guys go and capture what he captured?
Michelle: Yeah, a little bit. The light suits themselves were quite heavy and cumbersome. You had two massive batteries, basically the same size as a RED camera battery, on your chest. For me, I'm a smaller person than Chris, so they were right on my ribs, and those plugged in and powered the light suits. And then skiing at night, you can't see that well. I would compare it to when you're driving in a snowstorm and it's dumping out and you turn your brights on and all that reflective light, all you see is the snowflakes in the sky. And so a lot of it-
Bronson: A self-induced white out.
Michelle: Yeah, totally. So there was a lot of high-speed, Oh here we go. Like we're going into the darkness. The lights were only on the top part of the mountain, but it was also this super surreal feeling of shredding down. And then there were a couple of times we would all drop in together and you just see this lightning bolt screaming past you and you're like, What? This is so sick. So it was all just otherworldly and like such a visual show. It's much like the live shows, you know?
Ripping night-pow at Mammoth. Aaron Blatt photo.
Bronson: So on that, what do you think that kind of the Grateful Dead and jam music in general and the outdoor community and outdoor sports really kind have in common?
Michelle: I think one of the biggest things that I've taken away from this project and becoming a Dead fan is that it is so much about community and about family, to me. When we went to Nassau, saw that show with Aaron's mom and dad and I was like, this is kind of like a bucket list to go to a show with your dad.And he's singing every word of every song, and the whole time he's like, "Okay, this is the Elevens,” and he's given me the rundown on the beats. So, to me, that community vibe is what most translates, but that impromptu jam style music that they're doing is also super relative to the way that we approach the mountains I would say. Things are constantly changing and you're changing with them and you have to be open to that change with the weather, with the snowpack, with the group dynamics, whatever it may be. And then your line choice is never the same. There's the freedom of freeskiing, which I find to be incredibly attractive is that no day is the same. You're going out there and you're seeing something that you like and you're going for it. And as you're skiing it's constantly changing and the conditions are changing. And so it's very similar in that you're jamming as you're skiing.
Bronson: Well freaking said. A little bit about you. What are some of your other passions that you do outside of skiing? I'm sure there's thousands, but some of your highlights that you're working on this year.
Michelle: Yeah, my two other favorite athletic pursuits would be biking and climbing for sure. I became really into climbing after being here in Tahoe and I grew up on team sports and then when I graduated high school I was a professional skier immediately and then in the summertime I didn't really have that team to gravitate towards.
Bronson: What were your team sports - soccer?
Michelle: Yeah, soccer was my favorite sport. I wanted to be a professional soccer player for sure. Mia Hamm, I had her posters all over the place and then, and then ultimately when I was quite young, I was on a club team and the Nevada state team and trying out for the California State team.And my coach gave me a little bit of a, I was young, I was 15 or something, and he was like, "You need to go, you need to either choose between soccer and skiing, you're getting to that point." And I was like, "Well fuck you, I'm going with skiing."
Bronson: That's awesome.
Michelle: Yeah, and I'm pretty thankful I did. I think I've had a lot of opportunities as a result. But yeah, outside of athletic pursuits, I would say that right now my main focus is on photography actually. And I think Aaron Blatt probably has a lot to do with that and as well as music and playing our own music and yeah, that's kind of the two things that we tend to do together often that are two of my biggest passions that aren't athletically inclined.
Bronson: For sure. That's rad. I know I didn't even ask you at the beginning about Formation with Katie Holden. How was that event?
Michelle: That was absolutely incredible. So yeah, the last two years I've had my own web series with Red Bull that has premiered on Red Bull TV. And this year we promised six episodes, a total of four skiing, one climbing, and one mountain biking episode. And the mountain biking episode was originally going to be myself and Rebecca Rusch doing some like gnarly endurance ride, and I knew that I was going to get my ass kicked. But yeah we struggled with the permits on that one to get the actual trail we were going to ride to be legal but wasn’t quite legal yet because of the government shutdown this year. It got pushed back so that kind of saved me from having to suffer and I was like thinking of what to do for the mountain bike episode and Katie hit me up, who has been a friend for over a year now.
I met with them, we had a round table at Rampage last year with a bunch of the industry-leading girls and Rebecca Rusch and Katie, and some people from Red Bull Media House. And we just kind of chatted about how we can involve women in Rampage or at least give them the opportunity to drive that style of terrain. And from that conversation, Katie kind of took the horns and ran with it and she came up with Formation, which was more or less a progression camp for all the girls to come together. Rampage has been in existence for nearly 20 years with no women involved. As you know these girls are paid to compete and they're paid to race and that's what mountain biking has been for so long. And there's not really any girls that share my same job description that make a really good living off of just filming.
And so as far as equality goes in that sport, I was like, "Whoa, we need to change people's attitude, change the sponsor's attitude, figure out a way to entice these women to go and film." And Casey Brown, I would say right now, has been really pushing forward on that. She's kind of the girl that makes everyone else feel like it's possible. And for myself, when I'm skiing, I'm really focused on my sport all winter and then come summertime, I'm like, I don't know. It was a really unique opportunity for me to get involved in something and play a complete support role and go dig for them and carry their bikes and talk to them about mental strategy. And ultimately, I ended up bringing my film crew there because no one was really planning on filming it and making anything of it. And I was like, well it's a pretty cool opportunity. I don't want to put any pressure on them, we were super clear with that, you guys have zero pressure, you can do whatever you want, but we're going to be here capturing it and filming it. And I'm really excited.
Red Bull TV just released my entire series online today, or on Red Bull TV. And then we're doing one episode every week on YouTube and yeah, so that's available for anyone's viewing pleasure. But it was a really special event. And Katie, as far as progressing women's sport and for me I view action sports and women as the same as me. You know, I'm not just involved in skiing, I love climbing and biking as well and surfing and I've talked on panels with some big wave surfers about equality and whatnot. And so it was important for me to be able to showcase these women that are... It was history in the making. It was a cool event.
Katie just had a vision and she went for it and I commend her so much. It was a beautiful, beautiful project.
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Bronson: That's awesome. Fire around real quick. You've kind of already answered the sports activity you kind of want to get into, but what's your favorite concert venue you've ever been to?
Michelle: The Gorge. Hands down.Yeah. I was like, I need to come here every year and enjoy the music here because it's so beautiful and yeah, that experience was really special.
Bronson: Have you guys gotten into the Phish adventure at all ever?
Michelle: No, not yet.
Bronson: That's another fun weekend for the Gorge if that comes up next year.
It’s a little bit of an older crowd these days probably because there's not the John Mayer vibe, which is... I think John Mayer is unreal. I was a skeptic until I saw him play with the Dead, but.
Michelle: But he's got power. Yeah. Do you think that John Mayer's being new to the Dead and Co. has helped revive that band in a way?
Bronson: I think so for sure. And kind of brings up its cultural relevance, or the Dead's cultural relevance to a new generation. I mean it's incredible that people that are 20 something years old are buying Steal Your Face t-shirts nowadays when they haven't really come out with a new song in 30 years.And I think John's commitment to it, what he did, he essentially disappeared for a year to learn the entire catalog, and just sat in Montana in his ranch and got every song and then went and auditioned for Bobby and the boys and everything. I think that's just the kind of commitment that you'd like to expect from the Grateful Dead a little bit. And it's impressive that he took that on.
Michelle: Yep, I agree. And I feel like he does it in a way with so much respect to Jerry and the band and to Bob and everyone.
Bronson: Totally. Yeah. When he's even performing, like when we saw him at the Gorge, he's not trying to be front and center, he's completely in awe of Bobby and everybody. It's cool.
Michelle: Totally. I love that.
Bronson: But let's talk about Weir, do you follow Bob on Instagram? Because his workout routine is epic. (Side note - it’s @BobWeir and we highly suggest a follow if you’re not)
Michelle: Yes!And that's another layer of commitment on his part. Like he wants to be healthy and play this music for a really long time.
Bronson: Fully, yeah. That's pretty awesome. Ok…best backcountry territory you're allowed to reveal to us.
Michelle: I would say honestly my own backyard here in Lake Tahoe is pretty spectacular and then the entire East side of the Sierra, that's my favorite place. That's where I feel the most at home and comfortable, and in awe and just chipping away like the whole... I use Tahoe as my training ground for the Eastside. And I think like aside from other goals that I have in skiing, my goal is to be super fit so that I can go have these long days and experience this massive mountain range that is absolutely endless and around every corner it's like a new surprise and it's super inspiring to me. You can get as gnarly as you want or you can keep it super safe and just the surrounding, like you go to the third pillar of Dana and it's just like you're in awe and it's amazing. There are these huge granite walls, and that's kind of like my favorite. My favorite entire range would be my home range of the Sierras for sure.Then in Tahoe, it's like all your backcountry runs, you're skiing down towards the Lake. It doesn't get much more scenic than that. It's so stunning.
Bronson: For sure. That's a pretty spectacular place. Favorite Dead track.
Michelle: Althea.
Bronson: Ooh, that was a good one.That's what I tried to name my dog.
Michelle: Yeah, totally. Also, I'm not sure whether they played it at the Gorge, I think they played Black Muddy River, that is a beautiful, beautiful song as well.
On that note let’s close with a little of that Black Muddy River...
When the last bolt of sunshine hits the mountain,
And the stars start to splatter in the sky,
When the moon hits the southwest horizon,
With the scream of an eagle on the fly,
I will walk alone by the black muddy river,
And listen to the ripples as they moan,
I will walk alone by the black muddy river,
And sing me a song of my own.
