Rembering Shane

Courtesy Red Bull

Shane was the consummate adventurer.

I was snowboarding at Whistler Mountain in Vancouver last Thursday when I heard the news that big-mountain skier Shane McConkey had been killed in a ski BASE-jumping accident in Italy. Born in Vancouver, McConkey, 39, was a pioneer in his sport and one of the most well-liked and well-respected athletes I've had the privilege of writing about. He was also damn funny.

Shane was among a small group of athletes we refer to around The Magazine as The Coalition of the Willing, a term coined by our Editor in Chief. If left Shane a message, he called back. If you sent him an e-mail, he responded quicker than most PR folks who are paid to answer our odd-hour requests. If he had a neat trip or stunt coming up, he might even let us know in advance that we could tag along. And he was a dream to interview.

My favorite conversation with Shane was for a piece that ran in the Fall 2006 issue of EXPN Magazine. He came by our office early that summer, about a month after fellow big-mountain skier Doug Coombs was killed in a fall in the French Alps. Buzz that McConkey and a select group of skiers had started combining BASE-jumping and skiing was circulating the industry, and we wanted to know more. Turns out, he was excited to talk about his new hybrid sport and what it meant for the future of skiing. Needless to say, it wasn't tough to fill my tape recorder.

What follows below is the edited version of that interview, which ran as a two-page story in EXPN, in Shane's words. Looking back over the transcript this weekend, I noticed a section that didn't make the final edit. Shane McConkey was known as much for his enormous personality and limitless sense of humor as he was for his oversized skis and big-mountain skills. On that day three years ago, I asked him, "How do you want to be remembered?"

This is what he said:

"I've found that having a reputation, no matter what it is … if it gets people talking, then you will be remembered. You are important and valuable to companies you work with. As long as people don't think what you're doing is the wrong thing. I want to be a good guy and an inspiration to kids, a good husband, a good dad. What else matters?"

At the moment, I can't think of anything else.

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine