Chris Davenport in Alaska, by Christian Pondella/
Skier has set his next goal. On May 5, the man who skied all of in less than a year packs into an RV with some friends for a south-to-north, three-week road trip to ski the volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of a spring project,鈥 he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e been thinking about it for a long time鈥攋ust getting out and seeing a new part of the country.”
He鈥檒l be sharing his journey on and the . In this special as-told-to version of Expedition Watch, he dishes on the details of his next big project.
Origin:听罢丑别 idea came from a project I did in 2006 where I was skiing all of these 14,000 peaks in Colorado. During that time, in April of 2006, I had a camper RV for a month. I hit the road in Colorado with a bunch of friends and we did 22 14ers. It was such a cool, grassroots experience鈥攇oing from trailhead to trailhead, getting up at three or four in the morning, hitting the mountain, getting down, having a big meal, moving to the next zone, and doing it all over again. It鈥檚 the most fit I鈥檝e ever been, and I wanted to replicate that experience.
Who:聽Starting off in California, it鈥檚 going to be me and Daron Rahlves and . Daron鈥檚 got somewhere else to go, so he鈥檚 bailing after the first week or so. Jess is with me the whole time, so we鈥檙e going to do as many as we can together. Then I鈥檝e got a few friends from Aspen, Ted and Christy Mahon, coming out. They鈥檙e in Canada on a hut-to-hut trip right now, but they will hook up with me in the last 10 days. Christy was the first woman to ski all of the Colorado 14ers and . They鈥檙e great partners and good friends of mine. Then we鈥檙e hooking up with whoever wants to meet us along the way. We鈥檝e been putting things up on social media and, since that , people have been calling and and saying, 'We want to join you.' It鈥檚 exactly what I wanted to happen. We鈥檙e going to get together and have some great fun.
When:聽We鈥檙e going to start on May 5, probably on Lassen or Shasta in Northern California. We might start on Lassen because it鈥檚 further south and it鈥檚 shorter, as a warm up, and then move to Shasta, which is 14,000 feet, the second biggest of the whole project, and really great skiing.
The Toughest Mountain:听罢丑别re鈥檚 a couple. Certainly Mount Rainier is a tough one. It鈥檚 heavily glaciated. It鈥檚 14,000 feet. It鈥檚 often an overnight mission. I鈥檝e skied it a couple times before with camps up on the mountain. It鈥檚 possible to do it in a day, but it鈥檚 a big day. Then the other one will be Glacier Peak. It鈥檚 the highest peak in the upper volcanoes. It鈥檚 only 10,500 and change, but it鈥檚 fairly remote. It鈥檚 a true wilderness experience, and it requires a camp at least one night, if not two. Plus, they get so much snow up there so you can鈥檛 drive very close.
On Avalanches:聽We鈥檙e always careful. This season is no different than any other season. Yes, there was a tragic avalanche accident. It wasn鈥檛 an abnormally bad winter鈥攖hat was just an abnormally bad accident. So, I鈥檓 not taking any precautions with this project that I wouldn鈥檛 take anyway. We do this professionally as guides with clients, or with kids in our families, and I鈥檓 always looking to be safe and to use the smartest protocols that I can. This trip is nothing if we don鈥檛 finish it safely. We go into it knowing that, and approaching the mountains in a very humble and respectful way. We hope Mother Nature will be kind to us and give us good conditions. If she doesn鈥檛? That鈥檚 just part of being a skier anyway. But I certainly am not going to take any unnecessary risks or push the limits for the sake of accomplishing a goal. That鈥檚 absolutely not going down. It鈥檚 just about going out there and being as safe as possible.
The Goal:聽Ideally, I would say 20 would be great. There are 16-20 major ones. If we did 16 of the peaks during this 21-22 day period, I would be happy. If we did 10, I would be happy as well. We鈥檙e not promising to conquer all 20 peaks. We鈥檙e just out there to have a good road trip and explore.
Why:聽I鈥檓 a lover of mountains and a lover of skiing. So, for me, this is about discovery. It鈥檚 about finding new places, that if I didn鈥檛 set this goal for myself, or create this project, I would probably never visit. I鈥檝e skied Mount Hood, Mount Adams, Mount Rainier, and Mount Shasta already, but there鈥檚 a whole group of lesser peaks, like Glacier Peak and Mount Jefferson, that I would probably never visit otherwise. So I鈥檓 really excited to ski some places I鈥檝e never seen. And it鈥檚 not just the mountains themselves, but it鈥檚 driving along the way; visiting small towns, trailheads, and back roads; and finding new parts of the country. It鈥檚 about discovery and sharing with friends.
Following:听罢丑别 is part of what we do: create content and share it. We are working very closely with two principal sponsors: Spyder and Whole Foods Market. All of the content that we generate鈥攙ideo, blog, and photo鈥攚ill all be aggregated on the homepage of 鈥檚 website as well as . Nutrition is a crucial component of this and we鈥檙e relying on to help us out. Not only are they providing us with an amazing array of foods, but they're also giving us a nutritionist to work with. Each day, after we鈥檙e done skiing, we鈥檒l be going through selects and writing updates about what we did. We鈥檙e also building a mobile app where people can learn more about the volcanoes, follow along on Google maps, and see flyovers on Google Earth. That鈥檚 being built right now.
–Joe Spring