Just recalling this nearly disastrous river gap jump that left skier Chris Whatford holding onto a cliff for dear life. Whatford first saw the potential in jumping his skis over this river gap while on a hike 11 years before attempting it.
It took a phenomenal snow year to make it possible and he and friends ended up dedicating 25 hours of work to groom the in-run and landing to perfection. When everything was all set to go, Whatford pointed his skis and went for it, unfortunately he came up 2 feet short and had to cling to the cliff face to prevent plunging into the icy waters of a rushing river below:
“There is a long story why this seemed like a decent idea at the time.” -Chris Whatford
Undeterred by his initial failure, Whatford made a few adjustments and ended up landing a majestic backflip over the river in what he describes as the most “mentally taxing” thing he has ever done. This is his account of the failed attempt and redemption.
Chris Whatford:
“First off I want to give a huge thank you to Dan Walker for thinking of this silly idea 11 years ago on a hike with me. 4 years ago we went to look at it with snow and I honestly thought it wasn’t possible with the speed. After a record setting year Dan thought that it may be possible. He rallied Jasper Donley to go look at it with him.
That was day 1. Today is day 5 for Dan and 4 for Jasper and I. 2 days ago Jasper took the drop of a lifetime to show it was possible and I’m forever grateful for that. After lots of learning and some actually near death experiences we were ready for round two. Went up this morning and jasper laced it first try!!!
I went next and came up 2 feet short. Again, after composing, Jasper waxed my skis while the team and I threw all the salt we had on the in-run. This is the point I decided I was going to flip. No way I was going to come up short again, and clearly it’s impossible to go too far. Got my old racer mindset on and gave her the onion. As happy as I was to know I made it after setting the flip, I was equally terrified of reaching the uphill on the small landing that took 25 man hours to make.
In the end I smashed again. This time, it was filled with a weird feeling of success. I wasn’t willing to deal with speed issues and the stress of trying again. I was amazed I wasn’t more hurt, and also so content with the outcome at the same time. What an experience. Thank you Mother Nature for the experience and lessons. I’ve never done anything as mentally taxing as this.”
