In case you've been vacationing on the beach somewhere for the past year, Seth Morrison is currently in the midst of producing a two-year film entitled The Ordinary Skier.
Check out the full story from our Vol. 13 February issue.
A couple of photos and videos from his latest adventure to Chamonix recently surfaced on the Web, and so being the investigators that we are, we hit up Seth to see if he'd hook us up with a little travel update.
Seth happily obliged, and below you will find a blurb from the man himself about his recent travels, and what's in store for The Ordinary Skier later this Spring.
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The Ordinary Skier, Movie Trailer
For Seth Morrison, skiing is much more than a sport or job, it’s a way of life. It’s not a privilege he was born with; it’s a passion he discovered on his own. Through hard work and dedication, Morrison has become one of the best skiers in the world. The Ordinary Skier traces his journey from the middle class suburbs of Chicago to the Colorado Rockies and into the underground ski-bum subculture that would eventually become Freeskiing. This is the story of how a collection of misfits turned an elite sport upside down, and how an ordinary kid chased his dream and became one of skiing’s most iconic heroes.
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Seth's Travel Update:
In the weeks leading up to our trip for “The Ordinary Skier” we got JP Auclair (my ski partner for the trip) dialed in on a gear list, just to name a few items: ice axes, crampons, narrower waisted skis, harness, and essential climbing gear.
In a nutshell Chamonix is lift accessed mountaineering. Trams take you up to the top, then you ski to a skin point and climb after that with crampons and ice axes. This was JP’s first time there as well as first time doing such mountaineering.
The conditions were prime for “Extreme” skiing regardless of how bad everyone told us it was going to be. Sorry, but everyday isn’t a powder day! That’s fine, its what we wanted for what we went there to do.
Climbing the Cristeaux.
CP [Constantine Papanicolaou] and Alex Pro.
We started off with a bang for our crew. No many people out skiing the lines this year, more people into climbing and ice climbing due to the firm conditions. We were more than glad to have it this way, less to deal with. Some of us had been there for a number of weeks last year and it showed by our movement through the mountains and JP had no problem fitting in.
Everyday is a learning experience and a plan is never set in stone till you get out to the objective. As days went along small problems turned into time consuming events that cost you getting to the top sometimes.
That’s just a matter of safety, turning back is a let down, but more than often the right decision. The mountains make the decisions for you, you just need to be able to read them.
One of the best walls in the world, Argentiere Basin.
Nate telling us some names.
JP, Chris Figenshau, CP and Alex Pro brining up the rear, just an ordinary day.
South face of the Mont Blanc, Italian side.
More than anything this trip was a preparation for the Chamonix spring trip. Get our heads back into the game and more experience. Spring is when it turns on and the ice covered faces get a nice coating of snow on them.
The town felt like spring as there was not many folks around skiing the mountains. Looking forward to getting back and tuning back into Chamonix life. The energy of the people and mountains draws you in, in a way no where else can. Till next time!
-Seth
Check out the full photo gallery.
