10 Minues with... Rob LaPier
Living the Dream
Jackson skier wins the North Face Amateur Skier of the Year
Rob accepts his award at the 2007 PVAs
Grant Ellis |
As told to Matt Hansen in Aspen after many beers and during the lethal tunes provided by Powder’s own King Cannon, the record slayer.
Though he had the hairdo, ‘stache and plaid jacket, one of the coolest things about Rob LaPier was the authenticity he brought to the annual Powder Video and Reader Poll Awards, and lest we forget, the dream he represented. Known as the Academy Awards of ski movies, the PVAs certainly aren’t known for generating much modesty. There are a lot of people in the various athlete entourages who we don’t recognize on the red carpet; all we know is that they’re better looking than most skiers we know. And then there are the athletes—Tanner Hall, Rory Bushfield, Mark Abma, Seth Morrison, Sarah Burke, Ingrid Backstrom, and everyone else. This year, though, there were the amateurs Sam Giffin, videographer, and LaPier, the skier dude down front with the curly red hair and mustache to match—giving everyone around them a breath of fresh air about what it all really meant in the first place.
Chosen as winner of first ever The North Face Amateur Skier awards, presented in conjunction with this year’s Powder Video and Reader Poll Awards, LaPier and Giffin represented anyone who’d ever filmed a friend, or dreamed of glory in front of a lens each time he flies down the mountain—most of the time unseen, unheard, unrecognized. This time, courtesy of The North Face and Powder, they were. Giffin and LaPier, each submitting their own respective video, were chosen from nearly 50 entries to the contest. They both won VIP passes to the Powder Video Awards in Aspen, as well as gear packages from The North Face.
Stay tuned for more on Giffin, but right now, learn a little something about LaPier.
LaPier, 25, is a native of upstate New York, who after college moved to Leadville, Colorado. He then moved to Jackson Hole, and that’s how he got started on his brush with fame.
I moved in with a crew of guys who wanted to make ski movies. They got me a beacon, woke me up early in the morning, and made me hike.
A lot more of what we’re trying to do is incorporate an environmental ethic into our movies. As skiers, we are impacted by a lot of what’s going on around us. And we need to know what we can do to make a difference, as skiers.
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