Shane McConkey Interview

• Shane McConkey Dead in ski-BASE Accident
• Shane McConkey Facts

Shane McConkey is my hero. Let me explain. In 1997 I was a junior in highschool and had been ski racing for the better part of a decade. I was burned out. The breaking point was a downhill race in Jackson Hole. It had dumped snow the night before, covering the entire mountain in 18-20 inches of fresh powder…and I spent the whole morning boot packing the course. I was pissed off I didn’t snowboard. Then I saw Shane McConkey ski and everything changed.

I remember it vividly; Shane was flying down some un-named mountain in Alaska, ripping super G turns on a pair of fat skis, busting a giant back-filp off a 50 foot cliff, stomping the shit out of it and straight lining the rest of the face. I quit ski racing, bought a pair of fat skis and fell in love with skiing again, all because of Shane McConkey. All because Shane and his buddies gave the finger to F.I.S and skiing’s geriatric upper-class establishment, changing skiing forever in the process. That’s why he’s my hero…he made skiing cool again.

Now it’s 2007, and instead of jumping off 50 footers he jumps off the Eiger (Think Matterhorn) in Switzerland and launches double back flips off 800 footers with the help of a parachute in a hybrid sport he invented (unless, of course, you count James Bond) called Ski BASEing He has been at the forefront of nearly every progressive development in ski design, and has pushed skiing forward with his imagination, dedication, and at times, just his balls. He has redefined what is possible on skis, and continues to do so. From skis shaped like pontoons to water skiing on waves, Shane McConkey is always looking forward. I caught up with him recently and got to ask him just what he sees in skiing’s future.

Lat34: As one of the pioneers of skiing’s new style, what do you think about the current state of the sport? What impresses you? What doesn’t impress you?
SM: I have been able to watch the development of skiing closely for the last 15 years. Skiing has come a very long way in the last 10 years.

From skier’s abilities to technology advancements to the ski industry doing a complete 180 and supporting freeskiing. What impresses me most is a bit of everything. What the young skiers are able to do these days is mind blowing. They are growing up skiing in terrain parks from the time they first put skis on. This has given them an incredible training ground to develop skills and air sense from an early age. The most interesting thing in skiing to me is watching all the young flippydoodlers huck their meat. Mostly because I can’t do that stuff. It fascinates me. I love watching guys like Rory Bushfield do crazy shit. I am also very impressed with how well the ski industry has tapped into this freeskiing movement and supported the athletes and supported the whole culture of freeskiing.

This is a far cry from where the industry was at when we first started trying to convince them to use skiers like us to promote their products. One thing that doesn’t impress me is this issue (barely) about the huge cliff hucks. People like Jamie Pierre and Julian Carr are getting disrespected by a lot of people. With comments like “It takes no skill to do what they do.” Or “They never even land on their feet!” I think that anyone who disrespects what those guys do doesn’t have a very good idea of what the sport of skiing really is. Its about using the snow and the mountains to push your own personal limits and to see how much fun you can have doing it. Massive cliff hucks have always been a big part of skiing’s history. These guys are taking it to the next level and usually landing safely in the correct position for a massive huck, on thier back and shoulders. All you horizontal huckers or freestyle guys who don’t like it should try landing a 150 plus foot vertical drop perfectly on your feet and then look to see where your feet are. Up your ass probably.

Lat34: How do you envision skiing in the next 50 years? Will everybody be wearing a parachute?
SM: I certainly hope not. Parachute assisted line skiing is very dangerous. There will without a doubt be many back country skiers with parachute knowledge and skill by then. It simply adds too much to the possibilities out there. We are already seeing a lot of ripping skiers learning how to use parachutes just for this reason. Hopefully in 50 years we will have figured out how to put shock absorbers on our skis. People always laugh when I mention this but I’m serious. Mountain bikes have them, snowmobiles do too. I want to stick an 80 footer to uphill ice dammit!

Lat34: Where do you think ski BASE is headed? Any new stunts you have planned or new places you would like to ski BASE?
SM: As far as it relates to skiing I believe that using parachutes is headed primarily in the direction of back country lines. Lines that otherwise would not be able to be skied. However, it would be really cool if over the years it developed to the point of there being designated ski base areas. Just like certain areas on the mountain are designated for the terrain park. There are many places in Europe where there could be a ski base resort. How bitchen would that be! I have not yet done much base jumping in Norway. Even though this is the place that base has developed the most in recent years I have notmanaged to get there. I hope to do some ski base jumps in Norway this season.

Lat34: You’ve always been on the cutting edge of progressive equipment in skiing, any ideas you want to share about new equipment designs? Do you use any specialized gear when you ski BASE?
SM: Well, my new ski called the Pontoon is finally out in stores now. K2 and I worked long and hard to create this next step in Powder specific ski design. It is truly a pleasure to work with such a progressive company. The whole rest of the ski industry is going to be following in our footsteps over the next few years with all this rockered ski design. It will be funny watching them try and claim that their rockered ski is new and different than the stuff K2 is doing when inreality they are all just scrambling to keep up with the ones who are leading the way. It all will just lend more credibility to my ideas and K2’s reputation as the most innovative company in skiing.

Lat34: You don’t seem to scare easily, tell me about something that scares you?
SM: That’s not true actually. I get scared shitless, a lot. Base jumps scare the hell out of me. The sport is dangerous. The possibility of an avalanche scares me. Steep lines with exposure scare me. The possibility of getting injured probably scares me the most. However, after being in any of those situations and then nailing it without the worst happening is perhaps the most satisfying feeling in the world. That’s why doing scary stuff is so fulfilling. If it wasn’t dangerous or scary then it usually isn’t going to be very fun.

Lat34: What’s your schedule looking like this winter? Any particular trip that you’re really excited about?
Shane: I hope to go back to Alaska again this year and shred some lines up there. I also plan on heading back to Europe to nail some ski base stunts that we have been claiming we are going to do for like 3 years now but haven’t yet pulled off.

Lat34: I heard somewhere that you’ve spent some time in Hawaii surfing…I even heard you towed into a couple of waves. Is that true? and if it is what did you think about that whole deal?
SM:Nope. You are thinking of Chuck Patterson probably. He towed into somewaves wearing some form of modified water skis. I’m a terrible surfer. Still struggling on a long board. You are probably confusing this with the water skis that I mounted up with snow skiing bindings and then took up to Canada and shredded some mountains with.

Lat34:I have to ask, it might be all bullshit, but have you ever thought about towing into big waves on some sort of ski set up? The guys who tow in on boards say it’s alot like snowboarding, but with a huge avalanche chasing you(what do you think about that analogy?). In your opinion, is towing in on skis even feasible or worth while?
SM: Yea I’ve thought a lot about it. I spoke to Chuck Patterson about it a bit when he was trying it. I would love to try it. That kind of wacky, but totally doable, idea is right up my ally. I have done some waterskiing behind a boat with my snow skiing gear. It was quite easy. I’m sure that stepping it up to a wave could be managed with a bit of practice. The problem is that I don’t have the experience in the water. I can barley read the ocean and big waves would kill me. I would have to try it on very small waves. It would be a neat stunt but I don’t see it being very practical. I would have to wear a life jacket because I would use snow skiing boots and snow skiing bindings mounted on water skis and then when the ride was over I might sink. I would need a experienced tow guy. I think this could be done easily though.

Lat34: Any pro tow in guys out there willing to try something ridiculous for a change?
SM: I’m ready.

Lat34: You pretty much get to do what you want nowadays, so what keeps you busy when you’re not skiing or ski BASEing?
SM: My wife Sherry and I have a daughter who just turned 1. Her name is Ayla. She keeps me very busy. She is hands down the most amazing little thing in the world. I was never sure if I would ever have kids. Now I feel like everyone on the planet who doesn’t have one is missing out on the greatest pleasure in life.

Lat34: Have you ever been contacted by Hollywood to do stunt work? If not, would you be willing to do it if “they” did contact you?
SM: Breaking into the Hollywood stunt scene is incredibly difficult. I have tried. I even got my SAG card. I got a couple TV commercial gigs which were really great. I got paid in one day about the same as what we as skiers get paid to do in a whole year. And it was normal every day stuff that we did which was called a “stunt.” Awesome! I would take any stunt job that came my way. The problem is that it simply doesn’t happen often.

Lat34: Any new hobbies or sports you’ve picked up recently?
SM: Well I haven’t picked it up yet but I want to learn how to speed fly. Speed flying is kind of a cross between paragliding and ground launching a high performance skydiving parachute. You fly very fast and very close to mountain sides. I also want to get better at wingsuiting. Wingsuits have completely changed base jumping. With a wing suit base jumpers are now mostly flying instead of mostly controlled falling.

Lat34: How about a top five of all time concerts?
SM: Artists can be living or dead, and the venue is important as well. (Some of mine would be Sublime at a back yard bbq in long beach, Guns n’ Roses at the beginning of their appetite for destruction tour, Bob Marley at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden, etc.)Without a doubt my daughter playing the maracas in her jolly jumper in our living room.

Lat34:Sponsors?
SM: Red Bull, K2, Oakley, Sessions, Dalbello, Marker, Squaw Valley.