Question 1 [Click to hear audio]
How does it feel to be an icon for extreme skiing, and how do you see your personality fitting into the growing culture of extreme sports?

I don't know how to feel about it... it just kind of happened. I find it a little bit hard to fit into this new generation. You know, all the colored hair and pierced everythings. It seems like you have to be a character to be noticed, and that's not what I ever relied on, it was just my skiing, basically. So it seems like you need to be really flamboyant to be noticed these days, and I don't really understand that. You know, I don't know where to go from here or what's going to happen, but whatever is allright.

Question 2 [Click to hear audio]
How has the role of skiing changed in your life in the last five years and where do you see it fitting into the future?

Everybody always kind of wonders how long I can do it, and I often wonder myself, but I have no physical problems. I'm not limited with that. You know, as you mature, your ideas and what you want to do with your life seem to kind of change. So, skiing isn't as much of a priority for me as it used to be, although I still love it and I love being in the mountains. But, I've done so much of it that there's other things that I'd like to do, and skiing will always be part of my life, but it's not always going to be my total focus.

Question 3 [Click to hear audio]
What skiing plans do you have for this year?

Well, with my skiing each year, I can never really know for sure what's going to happen and I've never really made plans. I kind of have the consistency of my pre-season promotional work every year through my sponsors. As far as projects go, you just never know; there could be a major motion picture. You never know, from year to year, which ski films are going to be made or not. There's a lot of brochure and catalog work to do sometimes and sometimes there isn't. I've never really gotten attached to goals. You know, I just kind of let things come and let them go. There seems to always be enough projects, and I've never been bored.

Question 4 [Click to hear audio]
You are an advocate for the environment, with the Gathering Foundation for example, and often times extreme sports are at odds with environmentalists. How do you hope to bridge that gap and bring the two sides together more?

Well, we're trying to be as conscious as possible about the land we're using and I've got a sense that the land appreciates being used when it's respected. We're not mining or logging here. We're clearing some weeds and moving some stumps. It's all in your intention and if you appreciate the beauty and the setting then I think the land is happy to have you here. It's a sensitive issue – it'd be nice to just to leave it completely alone, but I think if we use it in a way and set an example for other land owners -- you don't need to log to make money. Eco tourism and adventure tourism and educational things or private bookings – I think that's kind of what we're looking at.

Question 5 [Click to hear audio]
How do you balance sponsorship and your feelings about the outdoors? Are you choosy about who you work with?

I've been pretty fortunate with my sponsors. They've been my original sponsors from the very beginning. They've been very easy to work with. They don't try to force anything on me. It hasn't been a struggle, you know, they respect where I'm coming from and I appreciate the support that they've given me. So, I've got no complaints in that department. The sponsors have been great, and companies like The North Face are starting to expand their philosophy of why we do this – why we go on adventures, why we go exploring, and why we go on expeditions. It's all in the spirit of the adventure and that's what it's all about, and that's what gets people out there I think.