by Wiley Miller
Mentally, I know it’s always going to be scary at the top of a line for skiing. Even after all those runs, I’m still trying to find and build confidence in those areas without taking it to the point of injury. We’ve had so many deaths in our sport in the last five years that it’s hard not to think about injury, or worse. But as it was for those who died, and as it is for me, skiing is about exploring personal boundaries and pushing the limits of creativity.
Today I’m fortunate enough to be able to live this life where I am in constant search of the next zone, the next feature, or the next line. And while it would be easy to get bogged down in all the bad things happening with avalanches and whatnot, that search for that next frontier is what keeps me going. It keeps things fresh. It keeps things creative.
That wasn’t always the case, though. When I moved to Utah from Montana, things kind of changed for me. I entered some pro contests like the US Open (which isn’t around anymore) and I made it to finals. That was when I kind of realized that I might be able to make something of all this. That same year I filmed with Theory 3 Media which has been now converted to Poorboyz. My friend Mike Hornbeck, who I met here in Utah, was friends with them. That year I produced a segment for their film — one that happened to be nominated for Breakthrough Performance with the Powder Awards.
And that was when I began getting sponsors, but nothing that serious. But for me, once I received that nomination, I saw my strength being in the backcountry in front of the camera. That’s what I wanted to focus on — and that’s what I did.
Mentally and physically, as a skier, the creative space that you can get into is huge. Skiing is super dynamic: you have big mountains, and then there are all these tricks that are going on in the park, so there are all these different aspects to consider. Being able to draw inspiration from each aspect — whether it’s mountain skiing, park skiing, or whatever — and putting that into one package is more of what I’m interested in doing.
And even more so than being an all-around skier, I’m motivated by this desire to explore the unknown. For me, that means doing things that haven’t been done in the backcountry before. I’m not talking about double cork 1520s on backcountry trails. I’m talking about creative skiing, working with working with taps, and stalls on natural features is just one example. I think definitely the most challenging thing for me is just being creative and pushing the limits of creativity out there. That’s what I strive to do every time I ski.
With regard to planning for it? I actually think about that a lot. For me, it’s both strategic and organic. For a while now, at the beginning of each season, I write down a list of things I want to do. But what I’ve come to find over the last couple years is that the snow determines where I’m going, and what I’ll be doing. There is brainstorming, but it’s less specific than mapping out exactly what you’ll be doing the next day or month or year — instead it’s usually over a cup of coffee or sitting around, and you think about what you are looking for more than anything. I’ll go through the list and see if anything stands out to me as an immediate opportunity. But there are also times when I’ll see some an opportunity I wouldn’t have thought of before. I’m finding that it’s more important to determine what I’m able to do and where I’m able to go than what it is that I actually want to do. Obviously, I think you can be more strategic with some kind of a trick you’re trying to accomplish. To the extent that you can, it is good to find the opening or knuckle where a landing would be realistic, but I think when you’re using the terrain and you’re trying to work with some sort of tree path or feature or line, it’s more determined by the natural landscape than by you. It’s most productive if you carry an open mind out there.
It’s when you’re not open minded that safety issues come up. There are times you feel forced into a situation, and that’s a challenge for any passionate skier surrounded by similar people. It’s about knowing when to pull back and knowing when to go — it’s about balance. Balance is key for everything, but it is especially key in skiing.
But balance, and being smart, doesn’t mean not pushing the limits of creativity. There are times when being smart leads to the opposite. Take this example from the season before last. I had been looking at doing a gapping some glacial seracs. There are all these glaciers that are exposed in certain areas. It’s a little tricky getting close to the ice because there are crevices there, but we found a feature, made sure we were good to go, and I ended up successfully jumping it and getting the shot. We were basically done with what we had come out for, but I wasn’t done quite yet. I remember seeing this wall of ice and thinking that it’d be cool to ride it. You see, in exploring personal boundaries, I found myself in a new situation with new opportunities. It actually worked out to where you could build a little bit of a transition on the ice and you could get up onto it, and I rode the wall, getting another shot. By having a plan but being open minded, we were able to get two great shots.
Those sorts of experiences — and that mentality — are what keep me going.
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