Chris Davenport, a Snowmass resident, is the 1996 world extreme skiing champion.
What is your best training technique?
I believe the best technique for training for skiing is to do many different types of plyometric exercises that mimic a typical ski run. So your timing might be anywhere from one to two minutes on these. We use the Stairmaster and do intervals down in a low tuck position for 45 seconds, then a minute, then 1:30 and so on, each time resting for three minutes in between. We do the same exercise on the treadmill. After these exercises on machines, I like to build power by doing explosive plyos on stadium steps, bounding up certain numbers of steps at a time, sometimes on two legs, sometimes on one. The best place in the world to do this is Red Rocks Amphitheater, where one hour will make you suffer beyond belief.
What is your worst injury?
I have been lucky in my career to not have any serious injuries. I have had four knee surgeries, of which two were fully torn ACLs, a broken tibia and broken arm, but that’s it. Oh, yeah, I put 17 stitches in my rear end this winter from landing on a rock … ouch!
Most frightening moment?
We had a pretty scary moment this winter while I was guiding a group of clients heli-skiing in Bella Coola, British Columbia. The avalanche danger was quite high so we were sticking to very gentle powder runs. I was tail guiding, and the lead guide and three clients skied down the run, and when the fourth client went, a large Class II avalanche let loose above me and engulfed our client. I immediately began a beacon search down the avi path as the others did the same from below. We found our friend in two minutes in a very efficient search, and he was buried under a foot and a half of soft snow. He had his hand in front of his mouth so he had a nice air pocket, and we dug him out expeditiously.
What is the sickest thing you have ever seen?
That guy who recently landed his helicopter on the summit of Mount Everest was pretty sick, but closer to home I always like watching Shane McConkey ski BASE off large cliffs.
What’s in your CD player?
Well, I haven’t bought a CD in four years, but my three iPods have 100 gigs of every type of music out there. But for events and contests I like old Metallica, Motley Crue or any live Widespread Panic.
