23.0°
Lynsey Dyer in Crested Butte. |
CommentsOver Night Sensations
Warren Miller's New Release: Interview with Daron Rahlves
By Robert FrohlichPublished: November 11, 2008
click for slideshow
For more than 25 years Warren Miller Entertainment filmmaker Tom Day has traveled to ski shoots via more than one or two unorthodox manners. He’s ridden Camels in Morocco, hitchhiked with camera gear in the back of open trucks, survived intrigue aboard the Orient Express and weathered near gales aboard a schooner making its way to South Georgia Island.
But nothing came close to the styling luxury of being aboard Daron Rahlves’ charter bus for 10 days in Austria last season during their filming segment for Warren Miller’s 59th annual action sports film “Children of Winter.”
“It was a plush pad,” says Tom. “Daron had the stateroom in back while my son Danny and I slept in cozy bunk beds. Cruising the Austrian Alps in such a tour bus allowed for living in style and great freedom to search out the best snow. A lot of the time we weren’t exactly sure where we were heading the next day.”
Daron’s original ride back in the day, sponsored by Red Bull, was a 40-foot (14-meter) customized Mercedes bus from a company called “Beat The Street.” It had been Daron’s land yacht his first year on the World Cup. Designed originally by Frank Zappa for concert tours, other former occupants include Madonna as well as other rock bands. Equipped with marble floors, three TVs and a one-touch cappuccino machine the deluxe multi-level mobile hotel comes equipped with stationary bike and exercise room. The next year, Daron had a brand new Van Hoole bus laid out the way he wanted. Daron’s fellow U.S. teammate and Squaw Valley native Julia Mancuso happened to get the same Zappa bus from Beat the Street when she traveled across Europe in pursuit of World Cup podiums.
This past February, harkening back to the good ol’ days, Daron picked up his bus keys and took off to film his segment for Warren Miller.
“Daron brought the concept to me,” says Tom. “He really liked how Warren Miller films play up the people as much as the action. His idea was to get back on the bus and revisit the places of his greatest triumphs, Kitzbuehel and St. Anton for some free skiing outside the gates.”
Adds Daron, “The mission was to explore more of Austria while revisiting the two places where I had incredible success as a racer. Two weeks after my X Games Ski Cross victory in Aspen, we hooked up with my good friend Axel Naglich. He was our guide who has Austria wired with the right network of friends to make our trip unique.”
During his career the 35-year-old Rahlves earned 12 World Cup victories, a Super-G World Championship gold medal in 2001, two medals at the 2005 World Championships and over two dozen second and third-place podiums. The Sugar Bowl Ambassador of Skiing ended his World Cup career March 16, 2006 in Are, Sweden on top of the podium by placing second in the Super-G behind teammate Bode Miller. Other highlights included winning the Hahnenkamm downhill on January 25, 2003. He captured the SG World Championships in St. Anton. He eventually nailed seven podiums at Kitzbuehel including a Super G victory. On March 26, 2006, in his final alpine race, Daron captured the Super G at the U.S. Nationals.
But it wasn’t his results as much as the way he presented himself as a champion that earned Rahlves the respect and admiration of spectators, sponsors and fellow racers. A perfect example was at the Torino Olympics when Daron skipped the opening ceremonies in order to help fellow Squaw Valley skier Marco Sullivan analyze video.
Hardworking, competitive as all hell and gracious in victory, Rahlves secured himself forever as one of the world’s best.
Yet settling down with wife Michelle in Truckee and having twins a year ago didn’t exactly deter the notable skier from pursuing new ski frontiers on his red sled Atomics. Taking up professional Ski Cross, a race discipline as reliable as roulette and sort of a cross between hockey and NASCAR on skis, Daron found himself landing jumbled in safety netting more than once.
“I’ve always thought it important to show young kids what is possible and that the more you risk the more you feel alive,” explains Daron about his skiing. “ It’s not for everybody. Every kid should do what feels good and right for them. I think it’s okay to feel scared and pushed by others. That way you’re digging deep and reaching new levels. Like anything else in life, competition makes everyone stronger and progresses. Don’t be stupid and do something completely out of your skill level, but taking a chance will let you know what you’re made of. I have respect and get inspired by all skiers who throw down.”
Well, throw down is as throw down does, and Daron, much like his new found Big Mountain skiing brethren, has been wooed by extremism to the point where it changed his perception of ski terrain radically. It’s really nothing new. High risk means high pleasure and, though attempting defy-defying acts for most sane folks is tantamount to digesting a bowling ball, Daron and his off-piste tribe became drawn more than occasionally to chasing cliffs the way a dog chases tires, called and crazy, willing to be hit.
It’s one thing to free ski down the bulletproof Strief at Kitzbuehel over the hollowed Hahnenkamm terrain in vertigo followed by cameramen Day and his son Danny. (All Daron said at the top was, “This is a no fall zone, okay?” He remembers the moment and says, “You should have seen how big their eyes and smiles became.”)
It was another thing hiking into the backcountry of Stuben and Krippenstein. Located between the two resorts in the epicenter of the Austrian Alps, snow conditions were sketchy at best.
“I had two hairy hikes,” explains Daron. “One where I had to walk and crawl over rocks with a good drop on either side. Walking on rocks with ski boots isn’t fun especially under those circumstances. I felt like I was on a tight rope and lost all balance. I had my guide Axel helping me out. We would get over some rocks and then slide our Atomic Big Daddys to each other one at a time. It was not a place to slip and fall. It was my first run of the trip. The run was a mellow ski down a chute that had some sweet snow.
“The second and most hairy encounter was another hike/crawl on a snowy to a steep face called Albonaska. It was intense. The snow, that went through some heat and cooling cycles for a good week before we got there, had turned into sugar on top of rocks. I was post holing and using my skis to help ascend to my line. All of a sudden I broke through, but no rock was there to stop me. I luckily had my skis sideways and they braced me with my feet dangling over a big drop to rocks. I pulled up on my skis and crawled out. I was alone on this hike and no one would have seen me if I fell through that hole. I had to take a moment before going ahead with my trek to the top of that line. Damn was I relieved to get my skis on and get off that one.”
I have to admit it’s always fun seeing friends up on the big screen. Aside from Daron, “Children of Winter” includes other Tahoe athletes such as Kevin Quinn and his wife Jessica along with Marco Sullivan in Alaska, Incline’s Wendy Fischer in Crested Butte, Cam McCaul mountain biking in Vancouver and Squaw’s Jonny Moseley burgerflipping bumps in Steamboat and Japan.
It’s Miller Time. The technically flawless “Children of Winter” continues to rise above other imitators that also try to portray pinwheeling freakhuckers launching themselves off cliffs in a relentless auto-reverse of ski pornography that never quits until the producer has run out of money.
Speaking of which, when asked what kind of porn he likes best, Daron quickly responds, “Porn makes me horny for about five seconds then I get grossed out. Ski Porn is what I dream of! It’s cool. I made the next step in my career with this Warren Miller segment.”
Warren Miller’s “Children of Winter”
When: Friday, November 28 and Saturday, November 29
Time: Two shows per night at 6:30 and 9:15 p.m.
Where: Crystal Bay Casino, crystalbaycasino.com
Tickets: Dave’s Skis & Boards, Crystal Bay Casino
0 Reader Comments so far ...
Be the first to comment on this article!