Colby West

Informationen

Name:	Colby West
Sport:	Ski
Warren Miller Destination:	Kitzsteinhorn

Colby grew up in Canterbury New Hampshire, a small town about an hour and a half outside of Boston. He had a late start and was only 13 when he first started skiing. At 19 he made the decision to move out West to pursue his dream of becoming a professional skier. He has competed in almost every freeski event in the world and is no stranger to the podium.

If you couldn't be a pro skier what would you be?

I would be a comedian. I love to make people laugh.

How did u get involved in the Warren Miller Films?

My first shoot with Warren Miller was in 2008. I was just coming up as a pro skier and they were covering a half pipe contest at that time and wanted some interviews and footage of the people doing well in the contest. I ended up winning it and had a couple of shots in the movie. I remember being very nervous during the interview process, but it worked out.

Who did you ride with this year?

I did the Warren Miller shoot at Kitzsteinhorn, in Austria, by myself. But I rode a lot with my Australian friend Russ Henshaw, my Norwegian friend PK Hunder, and my english friend James "Woodsy" Woods.

Describe us a typical shooting day please ...

We usually wake up early to check the weather and get a little food at our hotel. If the weather is good, then we get all of our stuff together and head for the mountain. I love shooting really big jumps, so hopefully our schedule for the day includes a lot of that. Once we are at the jump, I do some warming up on the kicker while the cinematographers get their stuff ready and hopefully by the time I am ready to do some more gnarly tricks, they are ready to film. If we are staying up for a sunset shoot with a helicopter, then the morning usually is the same, but we take a big break in the afternoon so I can be ready to power through with good tricks for another two hours during sunset. It's tiring, but incredibly fun!

Where do you get your inspiration for new tricks?

I like skiing with positive skiers that have skill level beyond mine. That way, I am always pushing myself and gaining confidence on the hill.

What would you do if you would won the WINTER-X-Games? You have been close to it!

If I won the X-Games, I would probably retire from competing. It's been a long time goal of mine, and I would love feeling the rush of success that you get when accomplishing a goal like that.

What do you think about the development in the extreme sports, Especially in freeskiing, it´s become higher, faster? Is it ever gonna end? What´s next?

Well, I sort of think that it never can end, with all the possibilities. I think it's great that it keeps expanding. The backcountry side of our sport offers endless new creative ways of making interesting and fun things happen on skis for people to do, watch, and enjoy. For me, I like the idea of making comedy in the segments that I have in films. That's what is next for me. Definitely more of that.

In "Seven Sunny Days" we have seen you filming with a big helmet on your head - how has filming changed since there are cameras like GoPro nowadays?

That helmet we used was really heavy! It had a 16mm camera strapped to one side and the battery strapped to the other. I had to be careful that I didn't fall, or else I could have broken my neck! Luckily, these days, I have my trusty Contour GPS video camera for the side of my head. Sometimes, I even forget I'm wearing a camera at all!

How do you practice your tricks, does everyone practice differently?

I practice on trampolines a little bit, but I mostly just ski everyday and see what it brings. Something new and interesting happens pretty much every day on the slopes. To be honest, I would say that I personally get the most training in on a shoot day because I get to lap the jump really fast, I am hitting a big jump, and the cameras push me to land new things for the films.

You developed a new Ski Line - tell us about it! How is it to create your own ski? What does your ski kit must have?

It was an incredible opportunity to be able to make my own ski line! In fact, my ski kit includes my three pro models. The entire line is symmetrical. I wanted this, because I think it is the best for doing tricks in the park and the backcountry. I have skied on symmetrical skis my entire career and fully back them. The "Colby" is a park and pipe ski that is skinny. It's my favorite in the line. I use them every day. When the snow starts falling or I need to get out of the park for a bit, I use the mid sized, all mountain "James" ski. It's 90 under foot and has an early rise. Perfect for getting into the woods for some tree skiing. But when the snow gets REALLY deep, I bring out the big boys. The "West" is a fat ski made for deep pow and it's incredibly fun. I always can't wait to get on those!