andwhichtoavoid.They’dflownto
thiscorneroftheCoastMountains
insearchofa pristinebackdropfora
snowboardfilm– thetypethatattracts
anaudienceenthusedbydeath-defy-
ingverticaldrops.
Crouchwasthemaintalentonthe
mountainthatday,oneofthechosen
starsofAbsintheFilms’latestmovie.
Thetransatlanticproductionhad
justwrappedmonthsofshootingin
theSwissAlpsandwasnowgather-
inglast-minutefootageoftheteenin
BritishColumbia– thebirthplaceof
commercialheli-skiing.
ThecompetitivesurferfromCali-
fornia and rising talent in the world
ofslopestylesnowboardingwasa
breakoutstaroftheWinterX Games,
famousforhishigh-f lyingacrobat-
icsoverobstaclesina terrainpark.
Buthe’dnevertestedhisskillsany-
whereasremoteasthemountain-
sidehewasonthatAprilafternoon.
Thoughhewascapableoftakingon
almostanydrop,hewasrelianton
hisguidestohelphimdecidewhich
treacherous cliffs to descend. Chief
amongthoselookingoutforhimwas
ShinCampos,a 46-year-oldretired
prosnowboarderturnedfilmpro-
ducerandmountain-safetycoordi-
natorwho’dlivedaroundWhistler
andworkedinthearea’speaksand
ridgesfornearlythreedecades.
Camposknewtherisksassociat-
edbetterthananyoneandhaddug
morethana fewofhisclientsoutof
near-deathexperiences.Hecount-
edhimselfamongthemorefortu-
nateguidesinthearea,butheknew
aboutloss.Lessthanamonthhad
passedsincehisclosefriendandfel-
lowguide,LisaKorthals,haddiedin
anavalancheona nearbyridge.She
wasstillonhismindashemonitored
theAbsintheteam’smovements.He
tendedtoremainhighonthepeak,
asitgavehimtheabilitytorespond
inanydirectionifoneofhischarges
gotintroublebelow.Hestayedoutof
theframewhileCrouchandanother
snowboarder,CamFitzpatrick,carved
theslopes.Thenhewatchedthechop-
perbringthembackup.
At25,Fitzpatrickwasa veteranof
snowboardfilms.LikeCampos,he’d
justmetCroucha fewdaysearlier,
butCrouch’stalentanddemeanour–
drivenbutnotarrogant– hadalready
madeanimpression.
WhenthechopperdepositedFitz-
patrickandCrouchontheridgeline
forthelasttime,themenrodeacross
toCampostodiscussa wideareaof
freshpowderthey’dspottedfrom
the sky. It was a perfect line, wedgedCROUCHHADNEVER
TESTEDHISSKILLS
ANYWHEREAS
REMOTEASTHE
MOUNTAINHEWASON
THAT AFTERNOON55
Wompf!