Shane McConkey, Ingrid Backstrom, Kent Kreitler, Jessica Sobolowski, Jamie Burge... The famous local freeskiing icons of today have been featured in countless films, commercials and advertisements.
Distinct personalities, each of them, looking for a common denominator for their success can be tricky. All honed their skills and courage on the steeps of Squaw Valley and other Tahoe resorts and backcountry locations, and all used to compete — and win — in freeskiing competitions.
Which brings us to the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series and the Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open, held last Thursday and Friday, Feb. 14 and 15, on the steeps/cliffs beneath Squaw’s KT-22 and Cornice II lifts.
For chances are, if you were one of the hundreds of sun-drenched spectators drinking beer and cheering for big hucks and stylish lines from the competitors, you may have witnessed one of the next big freeski icons of the not-so-distant future.
Elyse Saugstad, Allie Donovan, Jaclyn Passo... all three Squaw Valley rippers and also the first, second and fourth place finishers amongst the women at the Squaw Valley Freeskiing Open.
Craig Garbiel, Kevin O’Meara, John Lange, Erv Wolf, Mat Jackson... also all locals — all claim Squaw as their home mountain except Garbiel, who is from Kirkwood — and first, fifth, sixth, eighth, and tied for ninth respectively.
All of these athletes have already attracted the attention of sponsors and film companies, and all are poised to make that next big leap to icon status within the industry, continuing in the footsteps of those mentioned at the beginning of this story.
Why do so many of the big-name freeskiers have a background in freeskiing/extreme skiing competitions?
Ski film star and local psychiatrist Robb Gaffney, M.D. gives some insight into why freeskiing competitors make natural ski film stars.
Speaking earlier this season about his Squallywood ski clinic — which allows participants to experience playing the role of an athlete in a real photo/video shoot at Squaw Valley — Gaffney explained what it takes to look good skiing for the cameras:
“[Skiing for the camera] definitely will put you in a position where you want to ski your best — you want to ski the best line and it’s got to look good...
“[You’ve got to think] about what your body position is... You don’t want to come down with your arms [outstretched to the sides] or else people are going to look at you and think: goonie. So you want to quiet the body position down... so you look smoother.
“When you’re in the air you’re just trying to keep your arms steady, rather than rolling the windows down.
“Of course, when you land you don’t want to bomb-hole it. You want to stick it and ski away. Unless you’re just [hucking] monsterly huge.
“If you’re just around a bunch of snow, [your viewers] don’t get any reference. But if you’re in a tight line, or there are rocks or trees flying by, or you’ve got some vertical reference with rocks and trees, that really enhances a shot... You can ski something with half the pitch but with a rock or two around you and it will look twice as good as the steepest thing on the mountain.
All of which corresponds pretty closely to the criteria used by the judges on the U.S. Freeskiing tour to decide who should be crowned the winner of each freeskiing competition.
“Big mountain freeskiing competition is judged on the following criteria: line choice, technique, aggressiveness, control and fluidity. Freeskiing allows competitors to utilize all natural terrain features between the start and finish area with higher points awarded for unique and difficult routes. Competitor's runs often include skiing down steep terrain at high speeds and skiing over cliffs and rock exposure.” — from the Subaru U.S. Freeskiing Series Web site (www.usfreeskiing.com).
Don’t believe me? Check out the slideshow and video from the Squaw Valley USA Freeskiing Open below (coming soon). Then order yourself a copy of local filmmaker Shennon Sarich’s documentary on the U.S. Freeskiing Series, “A Senders Rodeo,” released by Seventeen Twenty Films (www.1720Films.com).
For chances are, if you were one of the hundreds of sun-drenched spectators drinking beer and cheering for big hucks and stylish lines from the competitors, you may have witnessed one of the next big freeski icons of the not-so-distant future.
Ski film star and local psychiatrist Robb Gaffney, M.D. gives some insight into why freeskiing competitors make natural ski film stars.