WINTER/SPRING2017
MLCM
39
He can’t hold it anymore. Plake breaks the silence with the
distinctive, contagious laugh I’ve already gotten used to from
the ride in. Then a diamond in his tooth (I’m not even kidding)
catches the sun and blinds me. What a dick! What a beauty.
We rip fresh pow all the way to the bird, then go do it again.
Who is Glen Plake? If you have to ask, you’ve obviously never
skied or even snowboarded… or perhaps you grew upAmish?
Plake’s legendary status spans decades and generations.
Now 52 years young, Glen Plake is a member of the U.S.
Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and has skied in numerous
ski films including 1988’s standard-setter
The Blizzard of
Aahhhs
. He is also a Level 3 ski instructor, an accomplished
mountaineer working towards his UIAGM (Union Internationale
des Associations de Guides de Montagnes) mountain guide
accreditation, is fluent in French, can rebuild any type of engine,
is an avid cyclist, a competition-level water skier, and one of
the nicest humans you will ever have the pleasure of spending
time with. And his 36-inch, oftenmulti-coloredMohawk haircut is
among skiing’s most iconic symbols ever.
Glen Plake is also an encyclopedia of ski history knowledge.
Turns out that the mountain-topmonologue he laid onme is
from the openingminutes of the 1968 film
Ski theOuter Limits
.
“Amust see if you call yourself a skier,” Plake assures me.
Glen Plake is definitely a skier. He grew up ski racing in Lake
Tahoe, California until he got fed up with the “cookie cutter”
scene of organized racing at the time. The freedom of expression
and style of the late-seventies Hotdoggers suited himmuch
better. And so did skateboarding andmotocross, which enabled
the thrill-seeking young Plake to enjoy a little speed and
excitement in the summer months. When filmmaker Greg Stump
cast him in 1986s
MalteseFlamingo
, Glen’s spirit (andmohawk)
captured the attention of an industry. Extreme skiing had its first
true celebrity.
“Ballet skiingshould
still bearound,”he
saysat onepoint.
Andnoonebatsan
eye. IfGlenPlake
says it should, then
youbetterbelieve it."
