Seth Morrison beskriver et typisk år, med filming, sponsorer, produktutvikling, trening og fritid.
Alle bilder: Endre Løvaas
Neste tirsdag vil vi publisere 3. og siste del med kapitler med innsikt i Morrisons hverdag.
A typical year for me is light filming in January to mid February involving snowcat shooting, sled ski, and ski area skiing/shooting. Some of the shoots may be for sponsors or film companies or both at the same time. Getting in some of the last ski training for the season pretty much in January when the snow is the best it can be from all the storms up to that point, blowing off the dust in a sense. Attending a few industry functions like the Powder awards in Aspen towards the end of January, where in a 2 hour period you run into over 250 people that you know or know you. I would rather not go to the SIA Las Vegas Trade Fair and just go to Aspen, since all the people I want to speak with will be at thus event because the X-games are going on at the same time. Similar to being out on the ski hill and people always commenting on your gear and explaining what its all about many times during the day. Its like constant marketing all the time, like you’re a walking billboard. At resorts there are people that recognize you which is fine, but some are very obnoxious and yell at you from a distance to get your attention. Why do people act this way I guess they are just excited or something. Flying around from different airports you run into all different kinds of people, from fans to athletes, to old friends and industry people. Some you never met and others you have not seen in years. Its nice to run into people, sometimes the new ones you meet have a preconceived idea of how you are supposed to be and then you are different then they expected. That bums them out, but you can’t please everyone.
Funny to have stalker skiers try and race you down the hill showing off in a sense. When that happens or if people start following me, I just pull over and let them go by and go the other way. I have had these people come very close to crashing into me, so being away from them all together is a better plan than yelling at them.
Snowmobiling is the best to me. There is not many people out there so it’s a good place to focus and try new things. Then it moves into the main film season with film crews. 3 Ski movie crews and 2 Hollywood crews this past season. Trips vary, but mostly I would like to focus on Heli skiing trips, since it takes out most of the struggle of getting around and finding the best terrain. It is also the best in the event that you get hurt and need to be flown to a hospital, couldn’t be any faster. The film season ends at the end of April into May sometimes. Film trips vary from 10 days to 3 weeks. 3 week trips are best since most of the places we like to film are on the West Coast of Canada and Alaska. Those kind of trips will happen starting February. Weather plays a huge roll here, so it’s not easy. There are down time periods that have last 13 days in a row. So waiting around can be hard at the same time. I have found a good way to deal with it. Just relax. Many people go crazy because they aren’t doing anything and this can mess with your head being around those types of folks. Trying to keep a good mental focus on skiing and not the outside world is important for me.
The biggest part about filming in Big Mountains is that you are comfortable out there. So having a good pilot and guide play a huge roll with the comfort level. If those parts are not in line for me, not much will happen in my performance. Trust I guess is what it is. The biggest worry besides falling on a run is avalanches. Slough is one thing, but a full on avalanche taking you down the mountain is another. The thought of avalanches is always in the back of your mind and skiing after you were in one is a hard thing to do in that same day experience. Sometimes it could be because it is a high avalanche condition state, or its just an isolated incident. People don’t see what really goes on out in the mountains or on the down time, they just see the nice bluebird shots from the movies and think that’s how it is all the time for us. Its hard to keep your mental cool with all that’s going on with helis, avalanches, the people around you and their drama, getting home sick and even just being plain scard out there. At the end of a trip you may feel total relief to be out of the danger zone or sad that those great days of skiing in places no one is at are over till next trip or next year. It’s a tough balance between being in some middle of nowhere place like Haines, AK and then being in the hustle and bustle of the city.
Generally in March I get a few pairs of promodel test skis to try out. Giving some input earlier in the season and then it takes a few months to get them made to test. I try 2 days of testing on these 3 pairs and end up chosing one, or a combo of all 3 or of 2. Skiing the end of my season on a pair that is similar to what will be production for next season. I have been invited to tests in South America for final adjustments or to test some main line skis. Then when the next season starts I will ride that ski, but the same as what comes off the rack at a shop. As for testing clothing that varies to about 3 tests a year with the Oakley R&D guys in either South America or New Zealand during the summer time for a week. Then another time or 2 in the Northern Hemisphere around December to get rolling on the last minute fixes on the out coming samples. These trips are quick. As for some other sponsors like Hestra and Troy Lee Designs, I give feed back on their product as well. Most of the input is improvement orienated. With the skis it is improvement orientated, but more making it easier for the average skier.
(fortsettes neste tirsdag)
