Eric Henderson
Home Base: Jackson Hole/Grand Teton National Park
Current Quiver: Storm, Spire
Recent Accomplishments: AMGA-Certified Ski Guide, the first telemark-discipline guide to pass in North America, at Valdez, AK. I’m also credited with creating the most extreme spicy coco-peanut sauce ever seen in eastern Idaho.
Recent Media: Tough Guy Productions’ Harmless, Backcountry Magazine (October 08), Rush TV 2006.
There is a power in skiing that transcends all other realities for me. The time spent in perfect sync with the snow, ski and terrain is unmatched by anything else I know or understand. I am head-over-heels for the combination of frigid temps, constant precipitation, craggy terrain and the ability to do it again tomorrow. I am in this for the long haul; there is no such thing as bad day, just short ones.
The reality of the situation is that I lied about being a telemark skier before I ever had the boots. In seventh grade, my parents thought it would be educational for me to go spend my spring break with Aunt Mindy in Steamboat, Colorado. It was educational alright, and among the many things I saw – while being taught the wedge on top of the Bar-UE lift – was the telemark turn. I was hooked instantly by the look of the turn… the quickness of the feet and the bright smile on her face. Upon returning East my classic race skis quickly found themselves breaking and twisting in ways my coach or father had never seen. My dad wanted to know what I was doing. “Oh, I’m telemarking.”
After two seasons of self-mutilation at McCauley Mountain in high school, I took my Snowpines and Haute Routes, moved into the heart of the Adirondack State Park and arrived at college a telemark skier. Here my passion for exploring the mountains by ski was born. I really thought world peace was one telemark turn away, and the slide paths of the ‘Daks held the key. With the birth of this new passion for exploring both up and down by freeheel ski, I thought I was ready to try the big mountains of the West, and so began the awakening to the big picture. I spent the next three winter terms bar-backing and shoveling roofs in Little Cottonwood Canyon, getting spanked by over-the-head pow. Which brings me back to where I am now, living the dream in the Tetons. It’s just about the turn, and nothing more. Every day I am empowered by the type of snow underfoot, the movement from fall-line to fall-line, and the joy that comes with being comfortable in such a wild landscape like the winter.
Video courtesy of Tough Guy Productions.