It’s that simple.
That project with Victor brought me kind of to my mental limit, I think.
Haha, and with the super tight crew we had we were just super freaking quick.
We ended up hitting all the stuff pretty much without any warmup.
That was super intense actually, Adrenaline overdose!
In the movie, you talk about deciding between tricks or big lines.
Now you cant say both or big tricks on big lines, but whats your priority for a shot?
I pick tricks on playful terrain over big lines for sure.
Im ok with heavy crashes where I might just end up tomahawking or something.
Exposure definitely freaks me out more.
The holy grail is obviously to do both together.
Nice, what about that big booter you built?
Had you ever done that in Alaska?
Id never done it up there.
It was such a cool spot and such a good jump.
I was thinking wed definitely find more spots to build jumps, but that didnt happen.
Next time I wont waste time on tricks Ive done already, thats for sure.
Fair enough, what would you say was the highlight of the trip overall then?
Well, that wind-lip feature leading into the serac air was awesome.
Thats kind of what I was searching for the whole time.
Obviously riding the legendary spots was a dream come true as well, its like skate spot vibes.
The dub backy at 3 Amigos and the 540 on B-Day Bowl Im really stoked about.
Not sure if that gap has ever been hit like that before.
The camping part was an absolute trip as well!
Being up there, away from everything, and fully immersed is absolutely special.
The couloirs turned out to be quite the gamble through with all those huge overhanging pillows.
They would kind of fall off the walls and cause avalanches whenever they wanted.
So, we stayed around the camp a lot which was super fun too!
I wish though I was a bit better prepared for the camping itself.
We really got to hang out in 2019 on the FWT.
We traveled together and helped each other scope out our competition lines.
We both ended up winning the tour that year, so that was super unique.
Weve got similar paths, he came from the freestyle scene and so do I.
We look at the mountain in a similar way.
I think thats what made the difference.
Thats hard to say.
I grew up with snowboarders.
The older group of friends who kind of adopted me into their crew, are all snowboarders.
They took a skier kid under their wing.
Victor and I compliment each other super well.
Whatever wed find, we were both able to do something.
No matter how big or how small the face is, wed always find something interesting.
Have you been involved in any of the planning?
16-year-old me would have never thought to be sitting in a call with these guys.
They were a huge part in getting me hooked for freeskiing.
Been there, won that.
Markus knows a thing or two about big mountain contests.
Photo courtesy of FWT
Which other skiers are on the Riders Council?
Ive actually spoken to a few skiersand they were desperate for something like Natural Selection in skiing.
Do you think theres been a need for this?
I definitely think so.
To me, the stretch between FWT and park comps is just really big.
Never mind other contests!
Arent you organizing one of your own?!
Yeah, weve got something cooking over here in Europe as well.
Its been in the making for a while now actually.
What exactly that is I cant tell you yet though, but itll be quite different.
I wish I could tell you more about it but were keeping it low-key for now.
Lots of airtime is guaranteed though, and itll happen sometime in March.
That’s all I can tell you.
He says its exciting because its all different and unique.]
So, Im not calling you old, but youve been around the freeski scene for a while now!
Hows it changed since you first came through?
Every comp was different and creative back then.
No coaches, no federations, no rules really and no guidelines.
That was absolutely rad.
The level is so insane these days!
I remember people saying Oh we reached a limit.
Its boring now, everyones doing the same stuff.
Seeing how much thats evolved and it keeps on evolving, its mindblowing!
Now, the freestyle scene is taking the next step with all the bringbacks and stuff.
I dont think that evolution will stop very soon.
Now you have to be so committed to the discipline you do as the level is so crazy.
Speaking of the next generation, werent you skiing a bunch with some youngsters in Zermatt this summer?
Haha those were my young homies from home!
I started shredding with those kids three years ago.
Simon was 14 then and already a walking freeski lexicon.
They know all the OG videos and the underground skiers from back in the day.
All the edits that I watched when I was young.
Its cool though, we just started a freestyle club at home.
Its not about performance, Im not a coach or something.
Its about shredding and doing sick sh*t together!
Ive learned so much in my career and Im stoked to pass it on.
Do you want to give them a shout out?
Its Simon Heinz, Valentin Auer and Elia Hofer.
What does your future look like?
Im happy to be home more but what the future looks like, I have no idea.
Shredding is still what gives me the most joy, so that Ill keep doing for sure.
I cant stop the ideas rolling in and yeah theres some stuff coming up.
Well see what happens after that.
For now, Im going with the flow.
Haha thats actually insane to even think about!
Its crazy to be considered in the ranks of those guys.
I grew up watching them year, after year, after year, the videos of all of them.
In your opinion who is the GOAT then?
For me personally Id say its Candide and Tanner.
I grew up with their segments in Happy Dayz basically till the DVD started glitching.
They paved the way in so many ways, from filming to competing in every aspect of skiing.
So many riders came and went over the years but Skiboss and Candide stayed and keep pushing it!
Thats so crazy to think about and true dedication to me.
Its such an inspiration to keep pushing myself as well!
To me theyre floating somewhere above everyone.
