powdahbonz Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 For the other fellow 2 plankers out here, Shane McConkey died today at the age of 39. Stunt went bad while filming w/ Matchstick and RedBull in Italy. Much respect for what he brought to the sport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex1230 Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 This is hitting me like when CK died...so sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack M Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 royally sucks. http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/blog?post=4018726 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kent Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Whoa... Tough to see someone go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinecure Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 I've been in a total funk since I heard this news a few hours ago. I actually helped him track down some of the bindings he uses for those jumps - old Tyrolia 380/480 - the ones you pull up to release. My kids both have his signature on their helmets. I'm so sad. My daughter said today at the dinner table: "I was really hoping to ski with him some day, he seemed like a really nice man." He was. I hope they have fat reverse camber skis in heaven. I'm going to miss you Saucer Boy. Rent or buy any of the Matchstick movies to see Shane do his thing. Claim, the most recent, had a reincarnation of Saucer Boy. Seven Sunny Days had the best James Bond tribute ever. I don't know if I'd call this a "stunt." He was skiBASEing. Its where you ski off a great line that ends in a huge cliff. Then you toss your chute. I think he may have had a wingsuit on in today's (wingsuit = fllying squirrel). Did I mention that I'm going to miss him? :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Donnelly Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/133457 Writer: Troy Hooper Byline: Aspen Daily News Staff Writer <!--paging_filter--> Legendary skier Shane McConkey died Thursday after he skied off an enormous cliff in the Italian Dolomites and his parachute didn’t open. Details of exactly what went wrong were sketchy at press time but filmmaker Scott Gaffney, a longtime friend of McConkey’s, told ESPN Action Sports that McConkey, 39, was performing a double backflip after launching a cliff when his releasable bindings didn’t release properly. McConkey, an avid B.A.S.E. and ski-B.A.S.E. jumper, was wearing a wingsuit, which along with a parachute, he intended to use to glide to safety. “But one ski did not come off. And when that happens the drag on the skis causes you to flip over, so the skis go over your head. So he was struggling with the one ski. Then he also got into a bad spin. So he may have never even pulled his pilot chute. And that’s coming from JT Holmes, who Shane was with in Italy and who reviewed the footage of the accident. So the combination of the ski, the spin and the pilot chute, apparently, [cause the accident],” Gaffney told ESPN ski reporter Tim Mutrie of Aspen. McConkey, who lives in the Tahoe area of California, reportedly fell hundreds of feet to the snow-covered ground below. Italian emergency responders arrived within minutes, pronouncing him dead at the scene. An incarnation of James Bond on skis, McConkey had performed similar stunts hundreds of times and was considered a pioneer of radical skiing. His interest in wingsuits and B.A.S.E. jumping had grown to the point in recent years that he began to combine those skills with skiing. Wingsuits are special jumpsuits designed to create lift that allow users to fly seemingly horizontally, though they are still falling rapidly. At a planned altitude, wingsuit fliers deploy a parachute, unzip their arm wings and float down. McConkey was in Italy filming a movie with Matchstick Productions and Red Bull. He was well known in the Aspen area, where he had many friends including big-mountain skier Chris Davenport. McConkey was an annual coach at Davenport’s ski camp in Chile. Davenport’s younger brother, Ted, an avid B.A.S.E. jumper himself, was also very close with McConkey. “Shane loved life and innovated both sport worlds he touched: Skiing and B.A.S.E. Jumping. Unfortunately, the sport he pioneered also carries inherent risks,” read a statement Red Bull released Thursday night. “Shane was a pioneer, a character and a consummate professional. His magnetic personality made him even more unforgettable.” Without a doubt, McConkey liked to get silly. At Davenport’s ski camp in Chile, which this reporter attended a couple of years ago, he was the constant cut-up. He was at the center of every food fight and his outrageous sense of humor left those around him in stitches. He would also organize a large group of expert skiers to bomb down the slopes “gaper style.” Nobody could pretend to look like a dork on skis better than McConkey. But in reality McConkey was the king of cool. He was admired by those around him and a rebellious trend-setter in ski fashion, etiquette and lingo. “You made everyone around you laugh and inspired a generation of skiers and snowboarders. You were a truly revolutionary figure for the ski industry. ... You will be missed sorely and remembered always,” one of hundreds of wall postings left for him on his Facebook page read. Others called him a skiing icon, a comedic genius, a great husband and even better father. “It’s like hearing Superman died,” noted another one of his countless fans. While unclear at press time, it was suggested that McConkey might have skied off the same cliff the day prior to his death. If true, his good friend and colleague, JT Holmes, had successfully launched the wingsuit ski descent on Wednesday and McConkey had skied off it deploying just a parachute. Regardless, this is an excerpt from his final Internet blog Wednesday describing his adventure of what he described as the Val Scuraa couloir in Italy: “Today was quite cool! ... This was extremely satisfying getting to ski such a unique line. Conditions in the couloir were still very hard and icy in places so the skiing was slow and careful. Traversing/hiking the ramp out of the couloir did not present much of a problem and it was a very cool feeling knowing what we were heading out to. The snow on the slope above the cliff was firm and icy and not much fun but it was only about 3 or 4 four turns long before the jump. We spent a lot of time on a rope looking over the edge of the cliff in a few different spots and throwing rocks to figure out how big the cliff was and how to manage this jump. I must say that it seemed a bit more spicy than we were expecting,” he wrote. “The cliff bulged out further than we were hoping at the bottom and this made for a very intimidating looking jump. There was a minimal amount of snow at the edge of the cliff due to melt back so the best spots to ski off from were not doable. JT threw some rocks and we got a few 9 second rock drops and then we knew it was on! I had opted to not even bring my wingsuit today so I geared up for a standard slider up ski base jump. JT had brought his wingsuit and was feeling the wingsuit ski base. We called the MSP film crew on the radio and they fired up the heli and it as time to charge off this sucker! I went first and punched it hard into a big ol front flip with as much speed as I was comfortable taking in those conditions. Everything went great and I had an on heading opening. I flew down completely stoked and landed high up on the hillside so I could watch JT from a good angle. No more than 30 seconds after I landed I see JT flying off the cliff with a lot of speed. He yanked his skis off right away and began to fly immediately. It was a perfectly executed wingsuit ski base. Skis off quick and stable and into forward flight with no potato chipping or instability. I was jealous. Today was a good day!” He is survived by his wife Sherry and daughter Ayla. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingCrimson Posted March 27, 2009 Report Share Posted March 27, 2009 Had to watch Steep for the 9th time after seeing this. Tough to see a revolutionary of such a bitchin' thing go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinecure Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 Memorial service scheduled for 4:30 at Squaw this Sunday. Apparently (according to JT's 1st hand observation), Shane jumped and his skis didn't release. He reached down to manually release them, which sent him into a spin (not a big deal according to JT). After about 12 seconds, he finally got them released and got himself ready to throw his pilot chute. Because of the delay, he impacted the ground before he could even release his pilot. I don't know if there will be footage of the crash in the upcoming Matchstick Productions movie, but you can be sure there will be a big Shane shout-out in the film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex1230 Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 If I make it to tuck's this year, there will be one run in snowblades, neon, and a jack daniels holster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dold Posted March 31, 2009 Report Share Posted March 31, 2009 " He is survived by his wife Sherry and daughter Ayla." It's very hard for me to keep my mouth shut right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loc Posted April 1, 2009 Report Share Posted April 1, 2009 Sigh. http://superstoker.com/2009/03/a-tribute-to-shane-mcconkey/ I didn't know he was one of the two guys who BASE jumped off Whistler's Peak-2-Peak until now. I arrived a few days after that but man, what a legend. I'll pour one for Shane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 I heard about this on my b-day at the top when a tele buddy Josh(rocks the bishops) got off the quad dressed as saucer boy with a fresh bottle of jd in hand. Had a couple shots in tribute & went to drop a favorite rock. this tribute from squaw made my heart sad & my spirit soar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik J Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 So how is Shane Mckonkey different than this kid? http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=25712 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinecure Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 So how is Shane Mckonkey different than this kid?http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=25712 In so many ways you'll never know. You may be in that kid's league. I'm glad you live far away from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik J Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 In so many ways you'll never know. You may be in that kid's league. I'm glad you live far away from me. So tell me about the kid who died. What was he like? He must have done something good in his life. I feel really bad for Shane's wife and daughter - I know nothing about the guy, except that he died in an accident jumping off of a cliff. What makes Shane an idol after death and the 16 year old kid gets ragged on after dying? Both deserve respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted April 10, 2009 Report Share Posted April 10, 2009 So how is Shane Mckonkey different than this kid?http://www.bomberonline.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=25712 any perceived recklessness on Shane's part did not endanger anyone else's life, nor did he blatently break laws of basic common courtesy. hard to do much of note before your out of high school, a little discipline, self or parental, can go a long way. If I wrecked the car when I was 16 there would be no freedom to play. Shane may have been priveledged at that age but it was grounded in mountaineering ettiquete, respect for other people. crotch rockets at 70 in residential neighborhoods is blatant disregard for others. there is no compairison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pukas Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 Shane McKonkey - the Story of Rockered skis And a McKonkey asked Moseley to play on Faction at the end of an interview. RIP brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.