WINTER/SPRING2017
MLCM
41
But you’d never know it to sit with him in the lodge at White
Wilderness Heliskiing outside of Terrace, BC. Plake’s infectious
laugh and sense of humour shines through après and dinner as
he mingles with staff and guests alike while conversations flow
with the wine and beer. I overhear Glen chatting with the chef
about a certain type of pastry he is familiar with and asking
about different cooking styles. A guest wants to know about the
Elan skis Glen is testing and he spends 20minutes explaining
details of the production process and why they use the materials
and shapes he has designed. After that, he’s speaking with
a couple of the guides about mountain travel techniques. He
listens intently, constantly learning from and respecting others.
After dinner, he discusses geothermal heat systems withme,
explaining the one he planned out and installed at his ranch
property in Nevada a few years back. We also discuss his home
in Chamonix, his favourite spot on the Baja and the last time he
was in the Himalaya. Seriously?! I thought Glen Plake was the
coolest person on the planet when I was a kid; as an adult I’m
not even sure he’s human.
“Ballet skiing should still be around,” he says at one point. And
no one bats an eye. If Glen Plake says it should, then you better
believe it.
The next day we ripmore pow (WhiteWilderness is on to a
good thing up there) and I’m still in awe to be skiing with the
master of stoke whose pictures once adornedmy high school
locker door. Now, having the chance to ski with him, joke around
with him, learn from him, witness him interact and add value
to everyone that he spent time with that week, is simply a
mind-blowing experience. Glen Plake is the epitome of what a
professional athlete should be, at any age.
“I’m just another link in the chain,” he says when I ask him
about the evolution of freeskiing and his pioneering ‘extreme’
days. “But all my childhood dreams have come true.”
By the end of the week, so have a lot of mine.
Plakebreaks
thesilencewith
thedistinctive,
contagious laugh
I’vealready
gottenused to
from the ride in.
Thenadiamond
inhis tooth
(I’mnot even
kidding) catches
thesunand
blindsme.What
adick!What a
beauty.
