Anyone who has ever skied or snowboarded Jackson Hole knows just how nerve-racking it can be to send it into the infamous Corbet's Couloir, even in the best of conditions. Doing it in icy conditions on mountain bikes is nothing short of insane, and that's exactly what we did.
Corbet's Couloir is one of the most legendary and challenging ski runs in the world. This spring, Cam McCaul and Casey Brown attempted the first ever Mountain Bike descent of the double black diamond ski run. There's a litany of other adjectives you could prescribe to the lines McCaul and Brown threw down - Sketchy, heavy, and borderline suicidal all come to mind - but ultimately, the end result was jaw-dropping.
MENTIONS: @TetonGravityResearch
Who cares about a professional athlete's individual right to wear what makes him/her comfortable? According to you and lluvRIDING, parents have zero power over how their kids do anything thus all the power lies with pro athletes. Yup, they're not people to watch and to be entertained or inspired by in terms of how far you can progress, they're actually surrogate parents who are responsible for raising society's kids!
To be serious for a minute, people like the both of you who use flawed logic as a premise to try to force others to recreate the way you see fit are f*cking pathetic.
I'm not a parent, so I can't fully understand that side of your debate, and I agree, old mate can make his own choices. . .
But if I was a major sponsor of this guy, I'd be saying 'thanks for throwing your self off 40ft cliffs without a helmet, good role modelling for a 10 year old who gimmicks every pro they look up to'
Me protecting my head is my opinion, I also think others should wear a helmet when doing stuff like this (not going overboard saying they have to wear every form of protective clothing)....
I also lost my father to a road accident while I was living OS, he came off a motorbike and died of blunt force trauma to the head going 60km/h on a road he frequented daily.
To each his own
Yeah well most major sponsors know there's a thing called PARENTS who can educate their kids so they're not mindless globs that copy (mimick is the word, not gimmick) every single thing Joe Pro is doing on the big screen.
You protecting your head is an opinion, a smart one, but when you start trying to force your opinion on other grown adults under a false and stupid pretense like, "Kids will copy you! You're risking the safety of kids by riding like this! Your job is being a role model!! not skiing!!!" that's when you start sounding like a jackass.
If for some reason you really believe that then why aren't you complaining about all the slope/DJ riders who aren't wearing chest protection or full face helmets or all the DH riders who don't use a LEATT brace? Why aren't you crusading against every edit that shows partying, drinking or swearing? I mean according to your logic, they're role models with absolute control over how kids think/act, right?
You're an idiot for completely misunderstanding why certain athletes don't wear helmets. They're not wearing them because they think they're "uncool", they're not wearing helmets because they've never worn them before. To perform at their level, they need to be the most comfortable which for some is not wearing a helmet. Its all about risk management. Helmets are safer in the event of a crash, no one is arguing that but you clearly lack any sort of understanding regarding top-level athletes and the decisions they make as to what safety gear to wear/not wear.
I wasn't forcing anything, I simply stated my opinion that I think wearing helmets is cool during sports that can cause brain damage, and according to my upvotes, others agree.
I'm sure you have a whole army behind you too, but getting fired up on pinkbike is about as useful as setting your money on fire. Jog on
I don't misunderstand either, it feels freeing and better to not wear one, but that is no excuse. I would never wear one unless I had to for years, or like other coaches in the spring and summer not buckle it if we were mandated to wear one. It was idiotic. It sets a bad example, and even though it's anecdotal, I've seen the results of "small" falls in inane scenarios that have led to TBI's and other injuries. Risk management starts with the easy ones, like PPE.
You are literally saying that to perform at the top level, a helmet will hinder someone who is so talented they are a professional. They can't train with a helmet? That is absurd. Top level athletes performances do not hinge on the presence of a helmet, I'll even go one further and say many big mountain skiers (again anecdotal from my own experiences) are emboldened by a helmet and mouth guard when considering larger features and lines.
I'm not saying it should be a mandate or that it's always irresponsible, I'm saying it is absolutely idiotic to not wear one most of the time while participating in any action sport in most situations. See, plenty of room for exceptions.
If you think image doesn't have something to do with it, you are absolutely wrong.
I'll never understand people that get upset on the internet when something/someone is disparaged in a generalization, especially without looking at direct context. Doing one thing idiotic, like not wearing a helmet while dropping 20 or so feet into a steep, slush field with sleeper shark fins and slide debris under melt out, isn't a reflection on anything else about Durtschi other than one guy on the internet thinks he should wear a helmet. Kids are sensitive today, like I insulted him personally. He's a pro, I'm not, but when I dropped Corbet's, I wore a helmet and I'll be wearing one when (mostly if) I get a chance to drop S&S.
Yes that's exactly what I'm saying and what a bunch of other professional skiers say that prefer not to wear helmets. You can go on about how you're a coach and that somehow makes you an expert, but how about you chat with some of those pros that don't wear helmets instead of blindly stating, "oh they don't wear helmets because they don't think its cool, what idiots!!!"
Action sports is a massive mental game. Whatever a person needs to do to perform their best and with the most confidence is up to them. You can say its stupid or whatever but its up to them, not you or anyone else. Get over it and focus on yourself.
Some people smoke cigarettes. I think it's idiotic, but I'd die to protect their right to be idiotic.
I agree with most of what you say, other than the helmet is a line for some that prevents them from their best. That's an excuse, and in my opinion, a bad one.
It will always be up to them, but I still get to state that I think it's stupid. It doesn't make someone who doesn't wear a helmet stupid, it just means I, focus on the I, think that decision is stupid.
Idiot is a mild insult. We are all idiots sometimes. The origin of the word is interesting (just googled it), it was an epithet by the ruling class in Greece who had the ability to vote, to the working class who were not allowed to vote or more generally, applies to anyone who is not an expert on the subject. I'd have to be in middle somewhere, while I've never been a pro, I worked in the industry for many years. The word has passed down through the centuries as someone who is ignorant, so maybe idiot isn't the right word for those that don't wear a helmet while skiing at a high level since they are not ignorant of the risk. Maybe moron is better (just googled again, etymology is neat), as it implies the reasoning of a child, who often don't have the experience, maturity or foresight to weigh the risk of their actions. Haha, probably shouldn't have called anyone any name as it's an ad hominem fallacy. Their action may be moronic, but not themselves. Cheers and keep riding, with or without helmet, your call.
Its mandated to wear helmets in comps, there's no choice. There's more to skiing than just comps and comparing this to smoking cigs is absurd and now you're going into the definition of "idiot". Just stop, you sound like a jackoff.
I don't see how you can still think that, but hey, freedom right. I even recognized that I was foolish to call a name and then shared some newfound knowledge that will help to not call names in the future, or at least do so with some background knowlege.
Doing something that has the potential to cause self-harm certainly seems comparable. Anything is comparable. Jackoff is hilarious, haven't heard that one in a long time. Maybe it's due for a comeback.
I've met many pros through the years, but never thought to ask or it was back when I didn't care and didn't wear one often myself. I will if I get a chance, almost tempting to sign up for some form of social media to do it. Maybe on newschoolers.
No hard feelings, not fair to call anyone an idiot, even if I think it's idiotic to not wear a helmet when going the same speed as two people wearing full face helmets.
Not trying to compete for the moral high ground here, just giving some perspective. I'll spare you the whole example to the kids routine 'coz you're probably and understandably bored of that one.
Bottom line, helmets are cooler than wheelchairs. Have a safe season.
Casey's crash is so brutal.
One thing though "icy conditions" seems like good ol spring slush to me...
And btw Casey is absolutely insane! Love her attitude and skills, go on so you're a beautiful and inspirational person ! If you ever come to Tuscany i'll be pleasured to show you some of our trails.keep it rockin
Cam and Casey: "Hold our beers"
no?
Giving the skier a ride to the bottom.
cute!
seriousy sick riding!
Free riding at its best.
Look at how Durtschi had to ski it. That snow was refrozen garbage. If either of them came off the bike theres a good chance they would have slid right into those huge rocks at the bottom.
Check this link posted by kylesnod above and tell me it wasn’t spring snow...
Don’t get me wrong, I would not suggest for one second that what these guys are doing is absolutey incredible and amazing, and I am certainly not trying to minimise the insanity of this whole thing either, they’re just not doing it on ice...
And of course this wasn't shot on ice....
Let them figure out on there one, great idea.
I shattered my skull into 32 pieces playing golf and had to learn how to talk again. Am I also a moron in your eyes?
Beat it nerd.
Should have listened to the masses and been wearing my helmet when I woke up that morning.