» alpine Conor Davis

Day Tour: Titus Lake Area

Yesterday, I went on an amazing day tour with my friend and rippin-tele-chick Simone Kastner. We were greeted with a blue bird day and warm sun as we started our hike out Titus Ridge from the top of Galena Summit. With no new snow in the last few weeks, the a hike out was on hard, wind scoured, snow. However, a few hundred vert below the ridges, we were surprised to find some really good skiing. After a two-ish hour hike out, we skied a fun alpine style line to start things off. Then we hiked back up to find one of the last remaining pillow lines in the area! Our second descent lead us into the flats, but a short double pole through the plains put us right back at Road. After getting shut down for 40min we were finally able to hitch a ride back to the top of Galena Summit. It was a great day, and I can’t wait to get out there again!

Titus Feb 3-11

February 4, 2011 | Categories: Day to Day Skiing | Tags: alpine, alpine style, amazing day, area, bird day, blue bird, chick, descent, Friend, Galena, galena summit, hike, hitch a ride, ish, new snow, pillow, pole, ride, simone, Simone Kastner, skiing, snow, sun, tele, Titus Lake, Titus Ridge, warm sun, Yesterday | Comments Off

AK Comp Update #3

Yesterday was the last day of the Telepalooza World Comp. After hiking the Headwall four times in order to compete in both Alpine and Telemark I made it into both Super Finals!!! In the Telemark Super Final I pioneered a gnarly line, billy goating down a narrow 65° rocky face named the “Headstone.” From the Headstone i dropped into a chute, and then skied back into exposure as i hit a few features on the spine on the left side of the chute. I continued to down into the skirt making fast tele-turns through the sluff/avalanche debris fields. I stomped the telemark super final run, but a bobble/hipcheck from the day before kept me from reaching the top spot, I ended up in 6th place.

The Alpine super final didn’t go as smoothly, I skied the same line down the Headstone (it had considerably less snow the second time) all was well as I made my way to hit the other, higher scoring, spine on the right hand side. However, after I aired a small feature near the top, my skies loaded up, threw me, and I got high-sided. I rag-dolled over rocks and down the steep face, and I was finally able to use my pole to self-arrest after having it break three times on previous attempts. I saw blood pouring from my face and I immediately waved for help. Thanks to my helmet, spine-guard and mouth-guard I only ended up with a broken pair of goggles, a broken pole, a broken nose, a few cuts on my face, and a black eye… I did however, win the “Tough Guy Award” for both hiking up the head-wall a total of six times, and getting my self together and skiing down after my crash. I’m going to take a day off, but I might be up for night skiing later…

Ak Crash Aftermath

[img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-crash-aftermath/thumbs/thumbs_getattachment-2.jpg"]
[img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-crash-aftermath/thumbs/thumbs_getattachment.jpg"]
[img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-crash-aftermath/thumbs/thumbs_untitled-1.jpg"]
[img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-crash-aftermath/thumbs/thumbs_15315_373968583505_710103505_3882225_5605666_n.jpg"]
[img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-crash-aftermath/thumbs/thumbs_15315_373968588505_710103505_3882226_376751_n.jpg"]
[img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-crash-aftermath/thumbs/thumbs_15315_373968603505_710103505_3882228_270352_n.jpg"]
[img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-crash-aftermath/thumbs/thumbs_15315_373968718505_710103505_3882247_8117953_n.jpg"]

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March 27, 2010 | Categories: Freeskiing Competitions | Tags: alpine, avalanche debris, black eye, chute, comp, debris fields, Exposure, feature, goggles, Guy Award, hand, headstone, helmet, hiking, hipcheck, mouth guard, pair, pole, rocky face, second time, self arrest, six times, skiing, skirt, spine, spot, steep face, telemark, Telepalooza, three times, tonight, total, tough guy, World, world comp, Yesterday | 1 Comment »

AK Comp Update #2

I’m exhausted from today so I’m quoting Brooke…

“Everyone killed it today on the headwall at Alyeska Resort! Huge kudos go out to star telemark athletes: Paul Kimbrough, Jake Sakson and Conor Davis who hiked the Headwall (A HUGE STEEP FACE) FOUR times to compete in two runs tele and two runs alpine (on tele gear) and all three are advancing to the super-finals tomorrow in both disciplines! Way to represent for our sport!” -Brooke Edwards

AK Day 1

[img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-day-1/thumbs/thumbs_picture-1.png"]Paul Kimbrough, Jake Sakson, Conor Davis
BILL ROTH / Anchorage Daily News [img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-day-1/thumbs/thumbs_picture-5.png"]Jake Sakson
shred alert! BILL ROTH / Anchorage Daily News [img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-day-1/thumbs/thumbs_picture-4.png"]Conor Davis
BILL ROTH / Anchorage Daily News [img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-day-1/thumbs/thumbs_picture-2.png"]Conor Davis
BILL ROTH / Anchorage Daily News [img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-day-1/thumbs/thumbs_picture-6.png"]Hiking Up The Headwall
BILL ROTH / Anchorage Daily News [img alt="" src="http://www.conordavis.com/wp-content/flagallery/ak-day-1/thumbs/thumbs_picture-7.png"]Paul Kimbrough
sending BILL ROTH / Anchorage Daily News

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March 26, 2010 | Categories: Freeskiing Competitions | Tags: alignnone, alpine, Alyeska, blockquote, Brooke, brooke edwards, caption, class, comp, Conor, Davis, disciplines, everyone, FACE, FOUR, headwall, height, HUGE, Jake Sakson, paul kimbrough, som, sport, STEEP, steep face, tele, telemark, today, Update, www.conordavis.com | Comments Off

Comp Update… Finally!

I’ve been having so much fun traveling and skiing, that I haven’t found the time or motivation to sit down and write. However, after driving through countless snow caused accidents on the California highway, and then having to entertaining myself in the Nevada hell-hole that is I-80, I’m taking a day off.

I can’t believe that this season is but a few months from coming to an end, and that the first comp in Revelstoke, BC was almost two months ago. Now over halfway through the comp season, the 2010 Telemark Big Mountain/Freeride Comp in Alpine Meadows, California is also already over. This last comp went smoothly even though the weather and snow conditions didn’t feel like cooperating. I did however, have a major break threw, in that I was finally able to stay on my feet, and not get lost for at least one comp run! Even though a hip-check/slide would put me into the 8th spot, I feel that my falling/getting lost streak is finally over! Hopefully I can finally “have one” at the next stop in Kirkwood and show those alpine skiers that a guy on tele-boards can SKI. With three comps down and three more to go, there is still a lot of skiing to be had.

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Josh Madsen from Telemark Skier Magazine also did a fantastic job covering the comp:
(if the video doesn’t open in a player click the transparent “facebook” I cant figure out why some videos load and some don’t)

February 22, 2010 | Categories: Freeskiing Competitions | Tags: accidents, All, alpine, alpine meadows, alpine skiers, Big, california highway, check, comp, comps, Day, didn, EVER, facebook, Freeride, fun, height, hell hole, Hopefully, href, job, kirkwood, madsen, major break, Meadows, motivation, mountain, pictures, season, ski, skier, skier magazine, skiers, skiing, snow, snow conditions, src, tele, telemark, video, way, weather, width | 1 Comment »

Poster Child

I found out that I’m on the poster for the Alpine Meadows Telemark and Freeride Festival! I’m so stoked, and I can’t wait to shred up Alpine Meadows this February!

December 3, 2009 | Categories: Exposure, Freeskiing Competitions | Tags: alpine, alpine meadows, alt, Child, comp, cursor, February, Festival, Freeride, height, Meadows, poster, poster child, Red, shred, src, style, tele, telemark, vert, wait, width | 2 Comments »

3000 miles later…

Two weeks, two comps, and 3000 miles later, I’m finically back home in Sun Valley, Idaho. It all started with the Subaru U.S. Extreme Freeskiing Championships in Crested Butte, Colorado. In typical ski bum style, North Parker, Bryce Newcomb, and I all mobbed over to the Comp in my mothers Big Blue Van. We were greeted with a much need blanked of fresh snow, followed by an amazing blue bird sunny weekend. With these ideal conditions I had the most fun I’ve ever had at Crested Butte. North kept his Jr. title for the second year in a row, and Bryce and I both fell which caused us to place further back than what we wanted(I ended up in 36th). I also skied the most burly line I think I have ever skies and aired a 50-footer at the bottom of the Dead End Chute. I got to meet lots of the alpine athletes and make friends outside of the SV-Possy. Then we were on the road again headed back to Sun Valley. After I dropped Bryce and North off, I only had time to Unpack, do laundry, Repack and get some food, before I was on the road again headed to California for the first extreme Telemark comp at Alpine Meadows.

The Alpine Comp was another great competition, and it felt good to be back in the company of so many rippin’ Telemark Skiers. The First day I skied well but I had an unfortunate bobble upon landing the bottom cliff out of the “Key Hole,” but I redeemed my self second run, with the highest total run score for the whole comp, which put me into 3rd place, right behind Jake Sakson, and JT Robinson. The next day in the Finals I was hoping to bypass JT and Jake by skiing the “money-line” faster and better than I had done the day before. I ended up being too aggressive and I lost my balance as I dropped into the keyhole and I fell in the “NO-FALL Zone.” Obviously my scores suffered, but I with the great run the day before, I was able to pull off a 8th place finish.

Now it feel like have time to breath, but im back to training, Crested Butte is coming up in a few weeks…
Click here to see my Videos

March 2, 2009 | Categories: Freeskiing Competitions | Tags: Add new tag, Air, All, alpine, alpine skiing, Amazing, ambassador, Athletes, backcountry, Big, black diamond, Butte, Canadian, Championship, Championships, comp, competition, Conor, Crested, crested butte, Davis, Day, extreme, extreme freeskiing, Finals, Freeski, Freeskiing, fresh snow, fun, Idaho, key, line, mother, mountain, mountains, Open, place, Powder, Red, resort, season, ski, skier, skiers, skiing, snow, Star, style, sun valley, tele, telemark, train, training, U.S., world championships, www.conordavis.com, year | Comments Off

Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships 2009

The Canadian Open Freeskiing Championships at Red Mountain Resort was my first big mountain competition of this season. In training I fell and when I self arrested I injured my wrist. I decided to take a more conservative line than I initially planned because I didn’t want to hurt my wrist any further and because the crash rattled me and shook me up a little. The event went well although I missed the cut to the finals by 0.8points! Even though I was cut, I feel good about the line I decided to ski and I stomped it. Also I feel that it is worth mentioning that this was an alpine skiing event and I beat over half the field on telemark equipment, and I’m happy about that… Hopefully I can heal up my wrist and come back strong and do well in my next comp at Crested Butte.

January 15, 2009 | Categories: Freeskiing Competitions | Tags: All, alpine, alpine skiing, Big, Butte, Canadian, Championship, Championships, comp, competition, conservative line, crash, Crested, crested butte, didn, equipment, event, Finals, Freeski, Freeskiing, Hopefully, line, mountain, mountain competition, Open, Red, Red Mountain, red mountain resort, resort, season, ski, skiing, take, tele, telemark, train, training, wrist | Comments Off

Why do I Telemark???

Besides the cliché half-binding/half-brained hippy statement: “because the turn looks and feels so sweet dude,” I telemark because it is a key to unlock the hidden treasures of the mountains and because it allows access the backcountry. Telemarking allows me to enjoy mountains, and express myself better than I could do with tradition alpine skiing. “Then why don’t you just A.T.” you might ask? We all know that A.T. means “Almost Telemark.” I feel that A.T. doesn’t allow the seamless and fluid movement through the mountains, that telemarking does. I believe that A.T. is a great way for beginners to experience touring, but why not loose that clunky heelpiece?

To me, telemarking is like using handwritten calligraphy instead of type: it’s more technically challenging, it boasts additional style, and it contains an individual flair unique to each artisan… Plus it just looks cooler. Duh!!!

Haig Glacier