RIP Shane McConkey

Don't cry. Don't cry don't cry don't cry. Dammit. Don't wipe away the tears, cause then they'll know you're crying.

*sniffffffffffffffff*

Oh thank god, Travis is crying too. 

Last year when MSP came to the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird to premiere Superheroes of Stoke there was a strong party atmosphere. There were tons of schwag tables and Oktoberfest was still going on, so it was a night of free(ish) shit and drinking.

This year was a different story; MSP brought us different fare than normal ski porn. They brought us McConkey. Initially premiered last year at a film fest (Tribeca or something like that) in NYC, it's been getting rave reviews and I was stoked to see it. I knew it was going to be an emotional sucker-punch of an event, and it didn't disappoint. It was exceptionally well made, with raw interviews from friends and family intermixed with shots of him skiing and old interviews. One moment you're grinning from his joking around, then they cut to that fateful Dolomites trip and you wonder if that's the run, then they cut to his daughter learning to ski and you're grinning again. Then you remember and it becomes bittersweet. At some point the tears start and at that point you're done for.

The editing in this movie is great. I don't know if the following actually qualifies as spoilers so. . . (possible) spoilers? But not really. There are two truly great editing moments in the film that I love, and I don't know if either are intentional. I'd guess yes. The first comes about halfway through the film. It's a shot of a tram moving by with Shane and. . . I want to say JT Holmes inside. There is one word on the glass in front of them as it passes by the camera: EXIT. My favorite part of the movie (from the film-making aspect) is the end, the moment where we lose McConkey forever. It cuts from his POV footage going off the cliff to an aspect behind and to the right of the heli-cam operator. When things go fatally wrong all you as the audience see is the camera slowly lowering from the operators eye. Without hearing or seeing anyone's face that shot conveys such incomprehensible and uncomprehending sadness. It's one of those moments where a man simply loses the ability to understand what he just saw. Witnessing a person's death is one of the most tragic things a human can experience, but watching a friend knowing that things have already gone wrong and there's nothing that can be done and in seconds they'll be gone. . . that's something that can kill a man's hope and spirit and that's what we watch in that shot.

It's a great homage to Shane, and shows his impact on the sport and on so many people's live. It's a great film, and, as someone who respects the athlete that this man was and the role he had in shaping the thing I love most in the world, I enjoyed and was moved by it. All that said, I still had one thought going through me head:

Shane McConkey was a selfish asshole.

People have 2 choices in life: have kids or doing crazy shit. While it's still somewhat selfish, doing dangerous stuff after you get married is acceptable if your partner in life were fully informed before you make a commitment like that. But as soon as you have kids, you STOP. It's too selfish not to do so. If you're a person, like McConkey, who wouldn't have thought he was living if he wasn't doing his thing, don't have kids! It's as simple as that; procreation is not necessary, and you are not immortal. Leaving a kid behind to deal with growing up without you is unfair. At best they lost a parent, at worst they get a complex from thinking they weren't important enough for you to stop. They kind of touch on this idea in the movie, but it's McConkey so no one will vilify his actions as being selfish. Sherry McConkey is an amazingly brave woman, to have knowingly fallen in love with a man who needed to do these things, but even she was terrified of having kids because of his lifestyle.

As a skier, a BASE jumper, an athlete, and an entertainer, Shane McConkey was brilliant. As a person he was, without a doubt, selfish, in addition to loving, friendly, innovative, etc. So celebrate him, but don't emulate him in everything. Search for the steeper side, but please stay safe and protect those you love.