Copper Mountain – Traced back to its European roots, the unusual discipline of monoskiing takes its name from a French description of the singular plank mounted with two ski bindings, side-by-side and facing forward.
Not entirely lost on the small but dedicated group of fun-loving practitioners is the Spanish translation of their preferred prefix. In France’s neighboring nation, “mono” means “monkey.” And for four days last week, a barrel full of them was dumped onto Copper Mountain during the annual reunion known as “Monopalooza.”
Monoskiing might very well qualify as a sort of missing link between skiing and snowboarding, a melding of one broad board and an old-school skiing stance that keeps knees and feet glued together as riders swivel down the slopes in a unique style. The sideways stance of snowboarding that some consider awkward is swapped for a more familiar skiing posture while crossed ski tips are removed from the equation.
Scott Gordon, one of Colorado’s most devoted monoskiers, describes it as nothing short of “skiing nirvana.”
“It’s easier to do than any other snowsport, by far,” said Gordon, 39. “For 90 percent of the people I teach it’s a three- or four-run learning curve.”
The other 10 percent, Gordon admitted, “just can’t figure it out.”
Gordon, who settled in Leadville in 1990 and began riding a monoski in 1991, created Monopalooza in 1998 with the understanding that more than 90 percent of the skiing and snowboarding community at large has yet to “figure out” monoskiing and monoskiers. Typically portrayed in skiing magazines and movies as retro goofballs in fluorescent one-piece snowsuits, monoskiers have received a bad rap from the industry for years, Gordon said. Monopalooza offers an opportunity for the humble community to unite and prove itself as a legitimate piece of the snowsports puzzle.
It might come as a surprise that the sport of monoskiing has been around for more than 40 years, peaking in Europe in the mid-1980s and making its way to the States with the help of pro surfer Mike Doyle before he – and several thousand others – abandoned it in favor of snowboarding.
While some still tout it as a “future sport,” Gordon – a former monoski manufacturer – recognizes it as a “failed sport” with a huge potential for growth given a change of attitude and the necessary industry investment.
Until that occurs, there’s Monopalooza, which attracted more than 100 riders over the weekend. In addition to sharing space on the slopes, attendees took part in goofy games (monoski “wheel barrel” races, three-legged races and the like), social events at the “Mono House” in Frisco and sampled new equipment from a small cadre of board builders.
“It’s mostly just a social meeting for people that all ride the same way,” Gordon said. “There are a lot of eccentrics and a lot of people who find monoskiing on their own. Some people have ridden around for years and never seen one other person on a monoski anywhere. Monoskiers are definitely a lot more unique than most.”
As a result, it’s not unusual for monoskiers to face a seemingly endless barrage of questions from puzzled onlookers accustomed to seeing skiers on two boards or snowboarders standing sideways as they skate into the lift maze. But no one fields more queries than monoskiing stuntman C.J. “Turbo” Turner.
Turner, a long-time Ridgway resident recently relocated to Bozeman, Mont., discovered monoskiing while competing on the World Pro Mogul Tour in 1992. A decade or so later, he discovered rocket science, melding his two passions after receiving a Level Two certification from the National Association of Rocketry and designing a small engine that attaches to his custom-built 210cm monoski. Combining gravity and rocket fuel, Turner claims to broach speeds of more than 100 mph.
“It’s the skiing equivalent of a top fuel dragster,” Turner said. “I guess you could say I’m a bit of an Evel Knievel of skiing. I’m just doing something different that nobody else has done.”
Turner, 46, describes monoskiing as the “lunatic fringe” of skiing and readily admits his antics move well beyond that perimeter. He prefers the stability of the monoski platform, he says, primarily because of the precision timing involved in firing off a rocket roughly 6 inches behind his boots.
For less adventurous monoskiers, however, the preference for the single plank almost universally comes down to ease of use.
“The point I was at in skiing, I figured I was just going to hurt myself if I kept going, so I needed to try something different,” said Kerry Lauren, a five-year monoskier from Lyons. “This is perfect.”
Tom Alexander, a 15-year monoskier who traveled from Anchorage, Alaska, to attend his third Monopalooza, agrees.
“I feel totally out of place on two sticks,” Alexander said. “I’m not the greatest monoskier, but I can get down the mountain and enjoy every bit of it. I’m almost 60 and I’m skiing with people who are 20 to 30 years younger than me and I’m skiing with people who are 10 years older than me.
“I can see it extending my skiing career another 15 years and I love it. I think everybody should give it a try.”
Staff writer Scott Willoughby can be reached at 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com.
