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5 Questions with "Older" Skiers Who Rip: Dan Egan

martyg

Making fresh tracks
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Nov 24, 2017
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https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-questions-older-skiers-who-rip-dan-egan-marty-grabijas/

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This is first in a series that brings the collective wisdom of skiers who have contributed greatly to snow sliding. Like the career of Johnny Cash, the skiers that I will be featuring transcend time. They have staying power and are the real deal. For my purposes "Older" is defined by those who have reached, or about to reach, the 55 year old mark, when the DIN scale indicates that our binding setting drops a notch.




When someone throws out the word "Extreme" my visceral reaction is to throw up in my mouth. It has been overused so much that the word is meaningless.

There was a time however when the word meant something. Athletes in several domains were pushing the boundaries of what we thought possible. Along the way a few created new athletic domains. One of those pioneers was Dan Egan. With his brother John they were staples of the extreme skiing movement.

I first worked with the Egans when setting up US distribution for LEKI. Dan and John were among our sponsored athletes. Over the years we've run into each other at resorts and industry events. Throughout the years their grace and generosity in sharing their knowledge has been their staple.

In 2016 Dan was inducted into the US Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame. His clinics across the US and in Europe help spread the stoke and are a must attend for those pursuing a journey of improving their craft.

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Q1. As a youngster, how did you develop your skiing chops? Standard ski school instruction? Race camps? A lot of caffeine and sugar induced through hot chocolate?

Dan: My family was part of a ski club that ran bus trips all winter from Boston to the surrounding ski areas in NH and VT. My mother needed a day off from 7 kids, so she signed us up and put all the kids and my dad on the bus each Saturday morning at 5:30am, it was a major project getting all of us prepared with proper clothing, equipment, lunch and up and out the door. It was a requirement to take group ski school lessons. There was a merit badge system and so you wanted to improve and graduate up the ladder of ski school from class to class and eventually to the "Demo Team". I took traditional ski school classes until I was 17.



Q2. You and brother John were two of the pioneers of extreme skiing. In the footage that the public has been honored to see you are both moving with grace. Tell us about a time when the wheels came off and it was more of a train wreck.

Dan: John and I were known as the Siamese Twins of skiing, we joked that we were attached at the soul, which is true. Because our styles are so much alike for me to watch him ski was like seeing a mirror image and watching each other ski a line or jump a cliff would unlock a puzzle and allow the creative process to happen, if he went first I could seen a new possibility and the same was true with John. in the early 90's we worked with a Japanese film crew making promotional films for a clothing company in that country. The clothing made us look like the characters in the cartoon the "Jetson's". Anyways any time the still photo guys would attempt to take non action shots of us, standing around the producer would yell..."Stop...Egan Brothers too ugly". And that became the running joke for years on film locations around the world.



Q3. Dan Egan the skier today… Do you have a movement pattern or sensation that you are working on?

Dan: Today at 54 years old my main focus on snow is the same as it was back then. I'm from the turning generation and being an east coaster that means making the most out of each run and each patch of snow. I strive to be calm and strong, fluid and loose. For me my skiing has always been an art form, I want to complement the beauty of the mountains and leave tracks that will inspire others. I rarely jump off of anything these days, however I am still drawn to the bumps will launch from bump to bump if the conditions are right. Skiing is about constant fluid motion and my style is unrefined, my arms still fly around over my head, I still stand tall and move my hips up and over my feet. My stance is narrow and tight and now with the wider skis I like making long directional arcs down the mountains with a large smile on my face.



Q4. As you think about your future in the sport, is there a person or point of inspiration that guides you towards being the best version of yourself as a skier?

Dan: Its a broad question, the future of skiing is being challenged by the economics of the resorts and the entry point for skiers and snowboarders is getting very narrow. We need to take a serious look at disconnecting the ski activity at major resorts to real estate. This is creating a barrier of entry to the sport. As far as the future of extreme sports, I believe the trend of "multi sport" will continue. We are seeing this with the "Speed Flyers" who have a small parachute and can touch down on the snow and lift off again. Or Ski Base where people are skiing off of cliffs, dropping their skis, wing suiting away and then parachuting to the ground. I think we may see the park become integrated with moguls, you know, that sort of thing.



Q5. What do you think the future of skiing looks like?

Dan: The future of skiing looks like more innovation in equipment, maybe the boots and the skis become one or the apparel becomes more protection like gear. As far as lifts at resorts, I think they will become more like amusement park rides, so consumers will have a thrill ride to the top and a thrill ride via skis and snowboards to the bottom.



Extreme skiing pioneer Dan Egan has appeared in 12 Warren Miller Ski films and countless others. He has authored two books and is an award winning film and video producer. Egan was inducted into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2016 and is a sought after international keynote speaker. Today he teaches clinics and guides trips at locations around the world including Big Sky Montana, Killington Vermont, Val D Isere France and Valle Nevado Chile. To find more information on Dan Egan camps and clinics, go to skiclinics.com.)
 

SSSdave

life is short precious ...don't waste it
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Sep 12, 2017
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Silicon Valley
Dan >>>I'm from the turning generation... I strive to be calm and strong, fluid and loose. For me my skiing has always been an art form, I want to complement the beauty of the mountains and leave tracks that will inspire others. I rarely jump off of anything these days, however I am still drawn to the bumps will launch from bump to bump if the conditions are right. Skiing is about constant fluid motion and my style is unrefined, my arms still fly around over my head, I still stand tall and move my hips up and over my feet. My stance is narrow and tight...

Yes the turning generation when everyone had to. Bumps are indeed so so right now about Tahoe...another unrefined style guy.
 

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