Words MAX RITTER IN April 2023, Parkin Costain got the call he had been long awaiting—Alaska. Teton Gravity Re-search. Spines. And it came laced with an op-portunity to obtain a master’s degree in extreme skiing from two athletes that had helped define burly Alaskan descents: Sage Cattabriga-Alosa and Ian McIntosh. The phone started to feel a little heavier. Of course he wanted it, but the reality had started to sink in: This was more than a film trip—this was a passing of the torch. at Mammoth, cementing their dedication to mountain-town living when they moved to Montana to start a family. Today, the Costains live and breathe mountain sports, owning and operating a successful mountain bike trail-building company and running a private bike park on Flathead Lake. They had Parkin and his younger brother Ladd on skis when each were 2 years old, and mountain bikes and snowmobiles fol-lowed shortly thereafter. Parkin says his dad is his biggest influence in skiing, and from an early age, Pete instilled a sense of backcountry wisdom into his sons. That came with lots of early mornings walking uphill and careful observation of the terrain along-side the skintrack. “My dad gets all the credit for bringing me up in the backcountry,” Parkin says. “He was the one who taught me how to visualize skiing something and, more importantly, learn how to back off and say, ‘I’m gonna ski another day.’” It had the makings of a dream come true for the 23-year-old Montanan, who was raised watching the two big mountain su-perstars. Still, Alaska is never a sure bet. Skiing big mountain lines in the Last Frontier has always been about playing the long game and this year would be no exception. An extended dry period, intense warming, massive avalanches and a stout surface crust gave way to two weeks of clouds and heavy snow-fall, none of which created confidence-inspiring conditions. If Parkin wanted to make an impression during his dream trip, he knew his window was going to be small. But, always the tactician, Parkin also knew that TGR had opened a rare door, and he was ready to find out exactly what lay on the other side. BORN INTO A FAMILY of self-proclaimed ski bums, Parkin grew up in the small mountain community of White-fish, MT. His parents Pete and Linda met as ski instructors 042 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume 17, Issue 1: Page 42
