A Short Winter with Dave

Dave Short is a Canadian freerider who resides in Whistler. He has spent the last few seasons capturing crazy lines and steep spines on his headcam. His POV angles give us a glimpse into Dave's introverted life and nasty shred skills. Continuing to push the radness barrier out in the backcountry with his sled and a close group of friends, Dave has definitely made his Point Of View clear! So drop that tab of acid, kick back and brace yourselves cuz shit gets hectic as Dave gets after his cold gold.

DAVE SHORT: 2012 for me has been an epic winter for a number of very different reasons. I finally had the great opportunity to visit Japan, and I am kicking myself for not getting there sooner in my life. C'est la vie. I was in a kick-ass crew with the brothers Huffman, Mads, Carter, Shem Roose and Mark Kohlmann. We shredded on the North Island with Neil Hartmann and the Gentemstick lads during a spell of weather that can only be described as "fucking bursting at the seams". We shredded under the gondola straight up to our crib in the Niseko Hilton (don't ask me how we pulled that one off). We were all riding on very suitable swallow tail and deep pow-specific boards, and the snow continuously came billowing down through the night, then it would crack blue through the day whilst maintaining with the snowfall. So it was always diamonds in the sky.

We continued to the Japanese Alps outside of Tokyo. Tenjin is a resort stuffed into the end of a ravine-like valley. I was feeling different spirits in these mountains, more somber and heavy spirits lurking, I presume. I was overindulging in culture shock during my tour through Japan, and it is eye-opening to travel to places that were not even showing up on your radar as far as you were previously concerned. During our stay around Minikama we were taken good care of by the TJ brand crew. They build incredible powder snowboards, and their domain is inspiring. We had a gigantic resort to ourselves and there were reindeer roaming along the ridges under the gondola in the midst of howling snowstorms. We showed up, it was sunny and we were hearing the "should have been here yesterday"-type beaks, and then it began to snow. It didn't stop snowing for a week. The terrain is steep. The layout of the area is like a giant hand laid down flat and every finger is representative of a ridge line, with slippery slopes as it were. Riding through the trees and having every turn you make break while your slough is crashing into trees and gaining momentum is a heavy and intrepid experience.


Aside from Japan I have not strayed far from Whistler, delving deeper into my local mountains. I have fun ripping freeriding lines around here. There are so many jump crews and I have no fun building kickers compared to ripping lines in their natural state, straight fucking with slopes is where I thrive.

I remember crashing around Europe and hanging in Innsbruck at the Method Mag head office back in the summers of 02/03. I was rolling around with Friedl Kolar and Steve Gruber, shredding the glaciers and swimming across lakes. We would come by the office like gypsies and leave with Drew (Stevenson) and all the other employees for DasSpiel battles out on a mountainous battleground that doubled as a field for grazing cows. I remember thinking it was nuts we were shooting each other with pellets, because in Canada we shoot each other with paintballs for fun. Method Mag has been hardcore since day one. Good times. I have visited Europe about 6 times in my lifetime. I really love how passionate and embracing the shred scene is in Europe. The mountains are incredible and the life is good.

The mountain community the world over is a very tight-knit group. I have noticed that the world seems small because I run into friends in different places quite often. I am grateful to be a member of the global mountain community. And while the world seems small to me, I invariably experience moments where I am very cognizant of the fact that the world in the physical sense is enormous. Billions of people on the planet but it is still easy to find yourself totally alone in this world. Up in the mountains, solitary existence is a draw for me, but I also take it as a deterrent for a number of reasons. What I am getting at is that mountains can be very humbling and are always welcoming.

I just did my 69th day on the mountain this season. Way too many days up there. I ought to have 69 sled days under my belt, but that figure is probably more like 35 days. Around this time of year I always reminisce about the season and always decide that it went by quickly. But upon further contemplation it always becomes clear as day that in fact the season was extraordinary and long, and that packing a season's worth of experience into one reminiscing session certainly reiterates the fact that the season was in fact long. I went sledding at every single sled spot between Whistler and Pemberton save for maybe one or two of the harder to hit zones, and I spent many days in particular mountains that I adore.

It was a dangerous season with hazardous conditions for most of the winter, so it is very rewarding to emerge from it unscathed and without any major mishaps. There have been some majorly close calls, with cornices popping and big crown releases happening, but thankfully everything has been anticipated and avoided.

I have included a bunch of screen grabs from my season. I only take out my Contour helmet camera for lines that I am nervous about riding. There is one photo from Mount Seymour that I am very proud of, and it coincides with an edit comprised of 2 evenings and 5 runs down a wall in a place that doesn't see much freeriding or human traffic for that matter. Although it is not the longest of vertical drops, the real allure and beauty of this line is that it looms directly above and in direct sight of downtown Vancouver.

In this shot above, that ski jump structure was at a small Japanese resort with vines growing in the long-neglected structure. It was $1.20 for the lift pass, and there was tons of powder everywhere, including down the run-in ramp for the ski jump. The only others in the area were about a dozen soldiers practicing skiing drills.

Below are screen shots from Canada from my most fun moments. I've been ripping with such a solid crew of freeriders this year (Joel Loverin, Cam Unger, Dave Henkel and Lappo) and they are always after heavy lines in the mountains. I find it easier to get loose when I am being inspired by the riding of my friends, so I am fortunate to have found these good people.

Even after the most epic winter, filled with the best experiences, I am never fully satisfied and am thus inevitably left with a strong yearning for wintertime and the coinciding good times to remain. But the seasons always screw us and change. First spring then summer, it makes me wish I had an all-access airplane pass to chase winter through the seasons, but alas the golden ticket is fleeting, always sought after, and perhaps imaginary. We are heading into summer and I am shopping around for a job for the first half of summer to amass enough loot to fuel another jaunt down south. I am applying to a Master's program for the fall term because I recently finished my Bachelor's degree and still have aspirations I need to attain in the scholarly realm. I am enjoying the sunshine in Vancouver for a few days before heading back to Whistler for the expected new snowfall later in the week.
I have made 17 edits in the last year. I have more edits queued up and the quality, steadiness and addition of supplementary angles make the forthcoming releases more exciting. My primary goal with my edits is to create watchable clips that are free of "Blair Witch"-type shaking and full of scary lines to experience vicariously.


As the summer rears its head, I am becoming antsy to get to the beach and surf some fun waves, I want to disappear with my sweet girlfriend to a secret beach all summer long! Looking ahead to new and exciting opportunities and horizons. The only constant is change.


Stay in the loop with Dave Short at oddave.blogspot.com