How would your mother describe you in one word?
“Perfect” of course. What do you expect? I’m a spoiled only child.
What animal best describes the kind of guy or girl you’d be interested in?
Flying squirrel
Who is your favorite historical character?
It’s not really one person. I admire the ancient explorers. The ones from many thousands of years ago that we don’t have any exact record of. The ones who traveled great distances and over seas and continents in search of new possibilities or because of necessity.
Glam rock or ghetto hip hop?
Hmmmm… tough one. Gonna have to go with the ghetto hip hop even though I am tremendously white.
Planes, trains, or automobiles?
Parachutes
Finish this sentence: “Happiness is a thing called…”
Heli budget
The funniest trend in skiing is…
Bandannas on the face. Oh and life style shots in movies of pro skiers trying to act tough and intimidating.
Legendary skier, innovator, personality and all-around snow industry superhero Shane McConkey passed away Thursday in a tragic ski BASE jumping accident in Italy. He was 39.
“BASE jumping kills people very quick,” says Jeb Corliss, professional BASE jumper. “It’s one of the few sports in the world where you make mistakes, you get killed.”
Documentary filmmaker Jens Hoffmann met the Norwegian freeskier Karina Hollekim in 2002 when she first became interested in BASE-jumping. He immediately started filming with the intent to follow her for a period of time in which he hoped to understand her addiction to such a sport.
Throughout the five-year filmmaking process, the director is able to capture a young woman as she opens up toward the camera, creating a view into life and mindset that is often misunderstood. Over the years, the film documents Karina through many stages of her BASE jumping career, from birth to sudden and tragic end.
20 seconds of joy traces the story of the athlete, past and present; but also explores the psychology behind life, death, risk and the confrontation of fear. It is an intimate portrait and a unique documentary in which reality is more captivating than any fictional script.
“I don’t want to die, I want to live. I’m pretty good at running away, and this is my escape!” This is how Karina Hollekim describes her dedication to BASE jumping. Documentary filmmaker Jens Hoffman first met the now 30-year-old Norwegian in 2002. He immediately started to film, accompanying her through many stages of her BASE-jumping career, until it comes to a sudden stop, changing all aspects of her life.
20 Seconds of Joy was screened for the first time in public recently. The occasion could not have been a better one, as the movie being chosen as a finalist of the Banff Mountain Film Festival this year, one of the most prestigious and respected festivals of this genre worldwide. Even though rumors were around and expectations for the movies were high, the reaction of the audience towards “20 Seconds of Joy” was described as absolutely unique in the past years of the festival by its staff members.
During the screening the director of the movie, Jens Hoffmann, was surprised by the sensitivity of the viewers, but as the last credit was disappearing from the silverscreen and the audio faded into mute, he was not the only one being confused by the silence in the big theatre. It took some seconds until the crowd exploded in applause and overwhelming cheers, like a wall of noise, and did not stop for a longtime. When the obviously touched presenter of the theatre came back on stage to guide the audience into the brake, applause rose again, giving 20 Seconds of Joy such a warm reaction, that it could not have been expected any bigger.
At the official award ceremony in the big Eric Harvie Theatre 20 Seconds of Joy was awarded as BEST FILM ON MOUNTAINSPORTS, the same award achieved by Fatima’s Hand last year. It was also chosen for the PEOPLE’S CHOICE as BEST MOVIE OF THE FESTIVAL, a highly credited award not chosen by the jury but by the audience. The movie achieved two of the most prestigious awards on mountain and adventure films in its first appearance ever.
Because kayaking isn’t extreme enough, because it’s on your list of resolutions or because you’d rather not actually get stuck in a ski gondola: The reasons to go BASE jumping this new year are plenty, and we’ve been hearing more and more about the insane sport recently.
In Whistler, two nuts dudes leaped from the new Peak2Peak gondola, which is at its highest point more than 1,400 feet above the ground. Meanwhile, three jumpers in Minneapolis were nabbed by cops after they flung themselves from the 32-story-high Foshay Tower–and then returned to the building, now a W Hotel, to brag about the feat in the lobby bar.
But lest this trend seem too safe, an English jumper snagged his ‘chute on a cliff face in Devon in December and had to be rescued by the local coast guards. While he was uninjured, authorities said a similar incident in 1996–when BASE jumping was truly cutting edge!–left a thrill seeker seriously hurt.
Forego the helmet, pads and wrist protectors but whatever you do make sure you’ve got an iMULTISPORT-certified ACCIDENT policy in your back pocket.It pays cash when you land in the ER after breaking or fracturing something.It even pays you income if you’re outta work as a result of the accident. All for about 71 cents per day.
Deep water soloing in the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, Spain is the finest on the planet. Join a cast of climbers as they explore the majestic sweeping limestone of this climbing paradise.
Among Mallorca’s fragrant almond groves, famed nightclubs and speedo-sporting Eurotourists, limestone cliffs rise straight from the sea like sentinels, their steep pockets beckoning to climbers the world over.
A fall means splashing into 80° water, drying off and trying again – from the bottom.
Some call it traditional climbing in its purest form. Others call it a hell of a way to spend a few weeks.
Last season, a small group of climbers traveled to those sea cliffs to learn the intricacies of deep water soloing and to try, unrehearsed, some of the hardest – and most aesthetic – routes in the world.
Perfecto captures the beauty, adrenaline and purity of the Mallorca experience. Movie release is this summer. Details
Planning to travel outside the US for these types of adventures? When packing your gear don’t forget to outfit yourself with proper travel coverage.
It had been almost a year to the day since Stephen Murray’s life was changed forever.
During the BMX Dirt final of the Dew Tour’s Panasonic Open in Baltimore, Murray suffered injuries to his spinal cord and vertebrae in a horrific crash that left him in a wheelchair.
The BMX rider from England attempted a double back flip on the last hill. The missed trick sent chills through the action sports community.
But Friday night, Murray, 28, was on the sideline of this year’s final, and the fans in Baltimore gave him a standing ovation. Fellow rider and friend T.J. Lavin had written a song for Murray called “Survivor,” which debuted on the big screen next to the course.
Murray was in great spirits during the event, smiling as he sat with wife Melissa and kids Seth, 5, and Mason, 2 1/2 . Despite having to use a motorized wheelchair with head support, Murray is still hoping to walk again. It will be a lifelong fight, but he enjoyed taking a break from his rehabilitation to see the first stop of this year’s Dew Tour.
“This is absolutely phenomenal,” Murray said. “The amount of support that I’ve had from everybody, not just the riders and action sports athletes, but everybody all around the world. People supporting such a catastrophic injury, it means a lot to me.”
Murray started a clothing line, “Stay Strong,” to help raise money for his rehab. Many of the shirts and tank tops he created could be seen during this weekend’s event. His presence didn’t go unnoticed by the competitors.
“The crowd was amazing, and everything involved with Stephen being here and stuff, it was just crazy-like, weird mixed-emotion night,” first-place finisher and reigning BMX Dirt Dew Cup holder Ryan Nyquist said. “It’s awesome seeing how good he’s doing and that he’s in high spirits and everything.”
Action sports athletes risk life and limb on a daily basis. It’s part of the sport, and many have learned consciously not to think about the danger they put themselves in on every run.
“When you’re riding every day, you try not to think about [getting hurt]. That’s the last thing you want to think about,” said Corey Bohan, who finished fifth in the BMX Dirt event. “You just do your tricks and don’t come in here and ride over your head. You’re just trying to bring confidence that you can perform all your tricks safely.”
Safety becomes even more important when you consider that athletes have to pay for their own medical insurance. Murray’s injury might change that.
Aaron Cooke, a friend of Murray’s, is the executive director and president of the Athlete Recovery Fund. ARF provides medical and educational assistance to professional athletes who participate in action sports. Cooke started ARF three months ago after seeing the mounting medical costs athletes face after catastrophic injuries.
“When I started helping Stephen through the steps of the process, I found out a lot of interesting things about insurance companies and about where they fall off in coverage,” Cooke said. “A person like Stephen is just expected to take that over, and there’s a huge gap, and it’s pretty important that we create this support system to try to help bridge that gap for these athletes.”
ARF is trying to raise money and get donations from companies involved with action sports. The Action Sports Tour, the umbrella brand of the Dew Tour, was the first organization to pitch in.
“I think Stephen’s injury raised awareness amongst the entire community and really motivated a lot of people to start putting an infrastructure in place,” said Wade Martin, president of the AST Dew Tour. “We’ve been working directly with the Athlete Recovery Fund. It’s something we believe in, and we think the industry needs it. We’ve been very supportive of it from the get-go, and we want to see it keep growing.”
ARF is in the early stages. The organization is focusing on giving money to athletes with severe injuries while it gathers additional funds so it can provide insurance to professional action sports athletes. The hope is that one day it will have enough money to completely cover all professional action sports athletes.
Many athletes hadn’t heard much about ARF, but Cooke is using the Panasonic Open as a means to get the word out.
“I’ve met with a couple athletes face-to-face, but for the most part, they just found out about it this weekend,” Cooke said. “They’re endorsing it and backing it so strongly that a lot of them are donating 5 percent of their prize purse earnings to help support this fund.”
Cooke is in discussions with brands such as Nike 6.0, PlayStation and Verizon to get donations. As ARF grows, athletes believe it can only help action sports grow stronger.
“Now because this happened with Stephen, which [stinks] it happened, but now things are starting to roll on and we’re going to get insurance,” said Luke Parslow, who finished sixth in the BMX Dirt event. “There are kids out here that are so amazing that just can’t afford insurance. As soon as that insurance comes into play and they help us out, it’ll be awesome for the sport.”
Murray’s injury was one of the low points of an otherwise successful Dew Tour last year. But if there was one silver lining from it, it was ARF.
“Whether it’s a small injury or a catastrophic injury, it’s great to be able to have avenues to go down – the right hospitals, the right rehabilitation, the right roads to go down without being blindfolded,” Murray said. “In my case, I was blindfolded and didn’t know where to go. Now I know where to go for all the hospitals, all the top doctors and all the rehabilitation centers. It’s growing and growing.
“It’s going to be great towards helping people getting better.”
In a photograph made available today, a car collides into cyclists participating in a race in Mexico’s northern border city of Matamoros on Sunday. At least one person was killed and 14 injured when a driver slammed into the bicycle race. Although nothing can fully prevent this from happening, good coverage is advisable
Legendary skier, innovator, personality and all-around snow industry superhero 
