Shane McConkey facts for kids
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McConkey at 2007 BASE Race
Romsdalen, Norway |
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | "Saucer Boy"; "Cliff Huckstable" | |
| Nationality |  Canada |
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| Born | December 30, 1969 Vancouver, British Columbia |
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| Died | March 26, 2009 (aged 39) Dolomite Mountains, Italy |
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| Sport | ||
| Sport | Big Mountain, Ski-BASE, Wingsuit flying | |
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Medal record
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Shane McConkey (December 30, 1969 – March 26, 2009) was an amazing professional skier and BASE jumper. He was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Later, he made his home in Olympic Valley, California. Shane traveled a lot when he was young. Because of this, he never felt like one place was truly his home. However, many people said he was from Boulder, Colorado. This is where he began his exciting career as a professional skier. He started skiing professionally after leaving the University of Colorado Boulder to follow his dreams.
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Shane McConkey's Skiing Journey
Shane McConkey won many awards and competitions during his career. He first started as a competitive ski racer. But he soon moved on to star in many thrilling extreme skiing movies.
Shane was famous for combining BASE jumping with skiing. This meant he would ski off huge cliffs and then open a parachute. One amazing feat was skiing into a BASE jump off the Eiger mountain. Shane also went to Burke Mountain Academy, a special school for skiers.
He was also known for helping to design new kinds of skis. He is often called the "father" of skis with "reverse sidecut" and "reverse camber." These skis are also known as "rocker" skis. He first put ski bindings on water skis to use them in Alaska. Later, he helped create the Volant Spatula and the K2 Pontoon ski designs. These designs made it easier to ski in deep snow.
A high-speed chairlift and ski area at Park City Mountain Resort are named after his father, Jim McConkey. Jim was also a very early supporter of extreme skiing in the U.S.
On April 2, 2011, Shane McConkey was honored. He was added to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. Other famous skiers from the Tahoe area, Daron Rahlves and Glen Plake, were also inducted.
How Shane McConkey Passed Away
On March 26, 2009, Shane McConkey sadly passed away. This happened during a ski-BASE jump in the Dolomite Mountains, Italy. He was jumping from a mountain called Sass Pordoi. During the jump, one of his skis did not come off correctly. This made him spin around. After he fixed the problem, it was too late to open his parachute safely.
Shane McConkey's Achievements
Shane McConkey achieved many great things in his career:
- 2005: He was nominated for the Laureus World Alternative Sportsperson of the Year award. He was also ranked #1 in Powder Magazines Reader Poll. He won Powder Magazines Full Throttle Award.
- 2004:' He was ranked #2 again in Powder Magazines Reader Poll. He won the Full Throttle award and the Best Helmet Cam award from Powder Magazine. He went ski BASE jumping all over Europe. He did a double front flip off the Eiger mountain. He also got married in Thailand.
- 2003:' He was ranked #2 in Powder Magazines Reader Poll. He completed his first of over 700 BASE jumps.
- 2002:' He was ranked #1 in Powder Magazines Reader Poll. He also invented a new kind of ski for powder snow. This was the Volant Spatula with reverse camber and reverse sidecut.
- 2001:' He was named ESPN Action Sport Awards Skier of the Year. He came in 1st place at Red Bull Ultra Cross’s Big Air Comp. He was also ranked #1 in Skiing Magazines Top 25 skiers in North America.
Shane McConkey's Films
Shane McConkey appeared in many exciting ski and adventure films:
- McConkey (2013)
- Ultimate Rush (2012)
- G.N.A.R. (2010)
- Superheroes of Stokes (2012)
- In Deep: The Skiing Experience (2009)
- Claim (2008)
- Seven Sunny Days (2007)
- Steep (2007)
- Push (2006)
- The Hit List (2005)
- Warren Miller's Higher Ground (2005)
- Yearbook (2004)
- Focused (2003)
- Immersion (2002)
- Ski Movie III: The Front Line (2002)
- Ski Movie 2: High Society (2001)
- Ski Movie (2000)
- There's Something About McConkey (2000)
- Global Storming (1999)
- Sick Sense (1998)
- Pura Vida (1997)
- Walls of Freedom (1995)
- The Tribe (1995)
- TGR's The Realm (1994)
- Nick Nixon's Alpine Rapture (1993)
- Nick Nixon's Ski Theater (1992)
The Shane McConkey Award
The Shane McConkey Award was created to honor his memory. It works with the Shane McConkey Foundation. This award is part of the yearly Wasatch Mountain Film Festival. This festival takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah. The award celebrates the best short adventure films of the year.
Award Winners
- 2015: Stu Thomson - The Ridge
- 2016: Jason Piszczor - Without An Image
- 2017: Josh Lowell, Nick Rosen, & Peter Mortimer- Dodo's Delight
- 2018: Tyler Wilkinson-Ray - The Frozen Road
- 2019: Nate Dappen - The Passage
- 2020: Tommy Joyce - The Trilogy
- 2021: Niobe Thompson - The Long Today
- 2022: Tim Jones - Rite of Passage: The Story of the Wurl
