Athletes: June 2008 Archives

In the fall of 2007 I was searching for a project to challenge myself and my desires to ski bigger and more challenging mountains. After completing my "Ski the 14ers" project and then going on to ski the Grand Teton, Mt. Rainier, and many lines on Denali in the spring of 07, I naturally turned my attention to the Alps. When thinking about the birthplace of skiing and alpinism, I immediately came up with four objectives that I thought would challenge my skiing and organizational skills, while at the same time being very interesting an inspiring to the general public when presented in film and photo form. The Matterhorn, Eiger, Mt. Blanc, and the Monte Rosa, the most iconic mountains in the Alps, served as the platform to take my ski mountaineering experience to the cradle of ski mountaineering in the spring of 08. 

With my old friend and skiing partner Stian Hagen, of Oslo, Norway, but living in Chamonix, I planned the project. Photographer and partner Christian Pondella signed on to join us on the climbs and ski descents. Writer and friend Jack Shaw would document the trip for Powder Magazine and several European Magazines. Photographer Peter Mathis would shoot the project for German Magazine Stern as well as Kastle skis and others, and Matchstick Productions, whom I have worked with for over a decade, would produce a film segment for their new movie, "Claim" as well as a television show about the project.