79.0°
The team celebrating at the summit of Mt. Foraker. Garre said that one of the best parts of ski mountaineering is that the summit is three-quarters of the battle, instead of the halfway point for mountaineers on foot. Photo by Fred Marmsater |
CommentsGarre Talks Ski Mountaineering
Adventure Slide Show Series
Published: December 18, 2009 * Web Exclusive *by Olivia Dwyer
The team traversed the Sultana ridge from Mt. Crosson (in the background), which Garre described as "on your game terrain," a three-mile long knife edge with long drop offs to both sides. Then the team began the climb to the summit of Mt. Foraker. Photo by Fred Marmsater
A view from Camp II on Mt. Crosson showing the ridgeline that Kip Garre, Andrew McLean, Courtney Phillips, and Fred Marmsater would use to make the first ski descent from Mt. Foraker's summit. Photo by Fred Marmsater
Garre skiing down from Mt. Foraker. "With every turn ... the air's a little easier to breathe," he said. Photo by Fred Marmsater
The group strikes a celebratory pose after completing the first ski descent from the summit of Mt. Foraker. Photo by Fred Marmsater
Mission accomplished, the team loads up the airplane for the ride out. Photo by Fred Marmsater
Click on images for slideshow
According to ESPN.com, skier Kip Garre is “The Most Interesting Man in the World.” On Wednesday night, a local audience had a chance to see what made Garre deserving of that title, as Garre was the second presenter in the Adventure Slide Show Series, a weekly event sponsored by The Back Country that will run through February 10 at Bar One in the Village at Squaw Valley. Garre shared pictures, film clips, and stories from his expedition to complete the first ski descent from the summit of Mt. Foraker in the Alaska Range. It took Garre and three other skier-mountaineers 19 days, 16 pounds of coffee, one handle of whiskey, and countless games of Scrabble to log the first ski descent of the 17,400 foot Mt. Foraker in May of 2009.
Dave Nettle, who gave a slide show last week covering his climbs of the Matterhorn, the Eiger, and Mount Blanc this past summer, has helped organize and promote the series since it was “born in the living rooms of local skiers and climbers” eight years ago. Nettle invited Moonshine Ink to the weekly roundtable of adventurers that meet for beer and pizza before each show, where he and Garre discussed mountaineering destinations around the world, Garre's “literary mystique,” sponsorship contracts, and what adventures lie ahead.
Moonshine Ink: Kip, ESPN.com reports that you’re an avid reader, quite the literary mind. I read that you spent nine days in tents waiting out bad weather on the Alaska expedition. What do you read to pass the time?
Garre: In Alaska, I read "The Billionaire’s Vinegar," and a book about the PGHM [Chamonix mountain rescue service], and “Wager in the Wind.” Everyone brings their own book. Trashy, easy to read books. It’s so nice to be sucked into it.
Nettle: It’s why you’re on the expedition.
Garre: Yeah, it’s hard to find time at home.
Garre: The “literary mystique” thing is blown out of proportion.
John Morrison [local ski mountaineer]: Kip, I didn’t know you could read.
Nettle: It cuts into his time with the National Enquirer.
MI: How can skiing down a mountainside with crevasses everywhere and dangerous conditions be safer than climbing down?
Nettle: If you’ve gotta cross a freeway, are you going to walk or run? Speed is your friend.
Garre: He nailed it.
Nettle: And with skiing your weight is more distributed.
Garre: It’s so much faster and quicker.
MI: You’ve both been on expeditions all over the world, including Pakistan. What was it like for you to be in that country?
Garre: A friend of mine had been in China and had the worst experience. Then he went to Pakistan and had the best experience. People in Pakistan were genuinely nice. People in the mountains were amazing.
You are worried at times. We had a curfew once in Islamabad. … The women on the expedition were uncomfortable at first, but they got salwar kameez [traditional clothing] to wear and it was fine. Even in Islamabad, there was no tension.
Nettle: I was in Pakistan in 2007 and there was no animosity.
MI: Kip, you travel all over the world to ski and take on these huge expeditions, but you don’t really have big sponsor deals and haven’t chased the money and the movies and the fame. How do you support the lifestyle?
Garre: I just signed my first big sponsor — Mountain Hardwear. First big contract, it’s really fresh. It’s really just being passionate about what you want to do. As soon as you make it a job, you lose a little of that. … It means following a job description. People have gotten killed doing that, or made really bad decisions. I like the R&D [Research and Development] process.
Nettle: The sponsorship thing gets you in contact with good people.
Garre: Yeah, you’ve gotta know people, and being involved with some companies gives you that.
MI: What does the future hold? Ideally, what’s next for you?
Garre: Just to continue getting into skiing, traveling, and climbing. I’m pretty lucky. … [When we travel] we’re going into their country to climb something and people there have to work 12 hours [a day] to survive. I’m pretty lucky.
Nettle: The best part of a life of travel and adventure is the more you do, the longer your list gets.
Since his successful ski descent of Mt. Foraker, Garre has traveled to Nepal and Antarctica for skiing adventures. The New Year will find him in the Tahoe area and skiing at Squaw Valley before returning to Kashmir, the Himalaya and Alaska for guiding and other ski-related work.
The Adventure Slide Show Series takes place every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. through Feb. 10. Click here to see a full schedule of presenters. Next week Moonshine Ink will be back for more pizza and beer, along with stories from John Morrison, who will give a slide show on his 14,000 foot ski descent from the summit of Denali and making tracks in the Sierras, Cascades, and the Grand Tetons.
0 Reader Comments so far ...
Be the first to comment on this article!