Cover Photo: Jay Wilder
At this point, there is no denying it.
Colby Stevenson is one of the defining freeskiers of the current generation.
Were you waiting for a part like this to show your skiing outside the park?
For sure, a lot of people dont realise how much Ive been skiing backcountry over the years.
My last part was Ignite which we filmed in 2019.
Wed had an insane February in Utah that year.
I filmed a sick backcountry part then.
I was just waiting for the right moment to top my last video.
Ive also been skiing a lot bigger lines, so I wanted to incorporate that too.
Until this last year, Id never done any freeride comps or anything.
While still mixing in a bit of my freestyle background.
Are freeride contests where you want to go?
Growing up thats the route I thought Id take when I started competing in slopestyle a little less.
Id love to do a freeride contest with good conditions.
If they permitted a longer weather window I definitely would be interested.
That kind of stuff is so sick.
And if skiing gets a Natural Selection key in event… maybe thats something I start in the future.
Well see about the FWT, Id be down to do an event.
If I got a wildcard at a sick spot, Id definitely be interested.
Its just not something Im focusing my energy on.
Is that something youll always have a go at incorporate?
Even on those bigger lines?
Did you take anyone in particular as a big mountain inspiration?
I took inspiration from a bunch of different people.
There was no one specific person.
I knew, for sure, that I wanted to do more of that.
Maybe theyll bring that back.
Its just so fun.
Thats how hard it is to land in fresh snow.
It would always be snowing so wed always have the opportunity to get fresh pow shots.
When we were in Jackson, Kai Jones hit me up and we combined forces with TGR.
We got some of the sickest shots of the season.
We shared footage and that was super helpful.
It takes partnerships to make it happen.
There you go, Sammy and I are on an AK trip, with MSP.
Everyone was happy, we had a big crew, the right filmers.
It takes so many moving parts to come together to work out how it did.
On top of that, probably the biggest issue was pushing through injuries.
What injuries did you have?
The light was so good but I was so tired.
My filmer was like:
The lights so good!
I dont know when well get it this good!
I ended up crashing and scorpioning pretty bad.
I pretty much broke my back.
I couldnt arch back for like a month.
So much sh*t I just had to power through.
There was never time for a break because it just kept snowing.
I figured Id pick the pieces up at the end of the season.
It was worth it for that part though!
Yeah, but people dont realize how much goes into these parts.
After my car crash, my pain tolerance is super high.
If I didnt push through a bunch of injuries I would not have the part I did.
How did it work?
We all kind of split up into separate groups.
That was kind of the vision with Good Company.
Theres MSP, Theres Level 1 and theres TGR, those are the main big ski production companies.
Just whoever wants to get together and film.
Having Tim McChesney out and Thayne Rich in the backcountry together was crazy too.
We all just combined our footage and it ended up being a really sick movie.
It just takes easy-going people and the right place right time.
My filmer, Jack Francis, it was his first year filming.
We grew up snowmobiling together for the last eight years.
We already have really good communication and understanding of the backcountry together.
The music matches so perfectly.
Even if the music might not necessarily be to everyones taste, it fits the images so well.
Was that your choice?
Yeah, I chose that song.
Ive actually had that song in a playlist for a few years.
Fuzz is a pretty dope rock band.
Kind of hard rock, but it just has such a sick vibe for an intense segment.
Itd have to be hammers the whole time!
I was psyched that we got the rights to it.
Which was kind of sad, because the way the song escalates, not looped, is so nice.
We made it work and I think it turned out really sick.
What did it feel like to stand at the top of those huge lines?
I skied some sweet lines in Utah in March, right before I went up to Alaska.
I just used all that experience in training for Alaska.
So I just moved with caution and had a lot of respect for the mountains.
You have moments where you wonder if its really worth it before you go.
You know that youve trained your whole life for this kind of thing.
I knew when I was in Elementary school that I wanted to go to Alaska, skiing big lines.
Funny quote from my buddy, in Alaska, a few years ago.
He said he had a: I need my mommy moment and I felt that.
That heli is not coming back to pick you up!
How hard is it to balance competing with getting that much footage?
The hardest thing about competing and filming is just the toll on your body.
You still want to do well at both.
The lack of training definitely cost me in some comps, but I had success in others.
The good conditions just allowed more time for filming, but no time for rest!
Good conditions do help…
Looking to the future a bit, what are your plans for this next Olympic cycle?
I definitely want to see how far I can push my slopestyle in the next three years.
Obviously, Id do it then.
Ive never been there but Ive just heard good things and that really motivates me.
To have an Olympic experience, not during COVID sounds really special.
My family didnt get to go last time.
The Olympics is more for families and unity of our country and the world.
Thats getting healthy, getting ready for X Games and getting psyched to ski.
Id like to go to the Olympics and after that, well see man!
I might just go full film guy!
Thats my whole thing with Slopestyle, Im just addicted to learning new tricks.
Ive been thinking about hitting some street in the last couple years.
I used to ride a lot more street when I was younger.
I always picked gnarly spots and Id just get wrecked.
Hopefully I can find some time in the busy schedule, to get out there and do it.
Good Company’s Crescendo, featuring Colby’s Award-winning segment drops at 5pm MT, today
