and which to avoid. They’d flown to
this corner of the Coast Mountains
in search of a pristine backdrop for a
snowboard film – the type that attracts
an audience enthused by death-defy-
ing vertical drops.
Crouch was the main talent on the
mountain that day, one of the chosen
stars of Absinthe Films’ latest movie.
The transatlantic production had
just wrapped months of shooting in
the Swiss Alps and was now gather-
ing last-minute footage of the teen in
British Columbia – the birthplace of
commercial heli-skiing.
The competitive surfer from Cali-
fornia and rising talent in the world
of slopestyle snowboarding was a
breakout star of the Winter X Games,
famous for his high-f lying acrobat-
ics over obstacles in a terrain park.
But he’d never tested his skills any-
where as remote as the mountain-
side he was on that April afternoon.
Though he was capable of taking on
almost any drop, he was reliant on
his guides to help him decide which
treacherous cliffs to descend. Chief
among those looking out for him was
Shin Campos, a 46-year-old retired
pro snowboarder turned film pro-
ducer and mountain-safety coordi-
nator who’d lived around Whistler
and worked in the area’s peaks and
ridges for nearly three decades.
Campos knew the risks associat-
ed better than anyone and had dug
more than a few of his clients out of
near-death experiences. He count-
ed himself among the more fortu-
nate guides in the area, but he knew
about loss. Less than a month had
passed since his close friend and fel-
low guide, Lisa Korthals, had died in
an avalanche on a nearby ridge. She
was still on his mind as he monitored
the Absinthe team’s movements. He
tended to remain high on the peak,
as it gave him the ability to respond
in any direction if one of his charges
got in trouble below. He stayed out of
the frame while Crouch and another
snowboarder, Cam Fitzpatrick, carved
the slopes. Then he watched the chop-
per bring them back up.
At 25, Fitzpatrick was a veteran of
snowboard films. Like Campos, he’d
just met Crouch a few days earlier,
but Crouch’s talent and demeanour –
driven but not arrogant – had already
made an impression.
When the chopper deposited Fitz-
patrick and Crouch on the ridgeline
for the last time, the men rode across
to Campos to discuss a wide area of
fresh powder they’d spotted from
the sky. It was a perfect line, wedgedCROUCH HAD NEVER
TESTED HIS SKILLS
ANYWHERE AS
REMOTE AS THE
MOUNTAIN HE WAS ON
THAT AFTERNOON55
Wompf!