As the last USA rider standing, he currently ranks 12th in the Swatch Freeride World Tour.
Tabke demonstrates true passion for the sport while balancing a life in the city.
We caught up and spoke to the ever changing world of competing.
Basically growing up in PC makes you spoiled as fuck.
I think pipe makes a sick foundation for any bang out of skiing you want to do.
But my city-mountain lifestyle and my relationship with my fiance works out really well for me.
Where in the world would you be if you never got serious about skiing?
I was born skiing.
The cliched answer is probably living a similar lifestyle around surfing, but even that is hard to fathom.
I just feel at home around skiing.
FWT Snowbird 2014 // David Carlier photo.
What else do you do when youre not skiing?
Work in ski shops as a bootfitter.
How have freeride competitions changed since you began participating?
They have changed so much since my first events ten years ago it is virtually a different sport.
We’d run rain or shine, fog or snow, ice or powder.
Maybe pictures and video would be uploaded sometime, maybe not.
Its been insane to watch the growth.
Whats the most frustrating part of competing?
Traveling around the world for just one run is tough.
I’ve been arguing that we need an updated format to allow us multiple runs.
I also disagree with selecting venues that are generally pretty similar - its almost always big steep rocky faces.
Crossing the finish line on a day like that is pretty magical.
How do you mitigate fear- is that something you have to deal with a lot during competition runs?
That just isn’t my style.
Skiing is a frivolous, ridiculous and massively wasteful way to spend time and money.
But as long as we all keep doing it together, the dream can continue.
