CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Grand Montets, Chamonix, France. Of all of the friends I had the opportunity to ski with in Chamonix, good friend and mad telemark skier Francois de Pfyffer had the greatest “fun fac-tor.” Francois had incredible form on telemark or downhill skis and was always up to collaborate on crazy ideas when I was starting my photography career. We would go on to to make a number of first descents on telemarking skis and produced some great work for Patagonia during our tenure working together. Steve and Todd Jones, cofounders and co-owners of Teton Gravity Research in the Valley of the Tusk, in the early ’90s near Valdez, AK. The operation has gotten a little more professional since then, but the enthusiasm for this special collection of mountains has never waned. My good friend Francois de Pfyffers made these flying wings from sail board cloth. Patagonia ran with the shot in its ads, including a classic, “Lunacy is the mother of invention.” De Pfyffer trying out his contraption in Les Grand Montes, France in April 2000. 090 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume 15, Issue 2: Page 90
