Let’s talk about your wife, Kimmy Fasani. Kimmy is obviously a ripping snowboarder and she’s a huge part of my story and shaping me into who I am. We’ve been together almost half my life now, which is crazy. I met her while scooping ice cream at a shop in Mammoth. She used to come in with her friends, and I’d give her a little extra scoop every time. She was rad and funny, but I think what really connected us was she’d lost her father to cancer as well. She’d met my brother snowboarding, and heard about my dad passing away. She was really open about it, and I was wearing my emotions on my sleeve too. One day she said, “If you ever want to talk about your dad, I lost mine too.” And then I was like, “Blah-blah-blah,” just talked about it right away. That definitely sparked our connection. We obviously had a physi-cal interest as well, but we got into deep, heavy conversations really quickly, and got really close. I knew right away there was something real between us. It’s been a wild ride since then, and she unfortunately lost her mother to cancer too this last year. So, for this event at evo, we partnered with both Protect Our Winters and a nonprofit cancer research foundation called Young and Brave. Earlier, you mentioned that filming Chasing AdVANture presented some surprises and ultimately wasn’t quite what you’d envisioned at the beginning. But you also seem to be OK with that. Do you think that is something skiing has taught you, to roll with conditions and adapt? One hundred percent. I’ve always said, “Movement is my meditation.” Mother Nature is my happy place, essentially. Being in nature really helps me stay in the present mindset. I don’t know if it was just the way I was raised, but I’ve always avoided dwelling on the past. With my dad, for instance, people deal with death in different ways, and I tried to take all the positive from it and just be thankful for what I learned and the extra time I got to spend with him, that it made me grow up quicker and that I had skiing as an outlet. I think it’s important to be present and try to appreciate why life throws its curve balls, to stay the course and just accept it. Obviously, I think it helped me realize that life is short, and that you never really know what’s coming. We’ve lost a lot of friends in the sport to avalanches and whatever else. I think you have to enjoy what you’re doing, and do it for the right reasons and really be truthful to yourself. Ask yourself why you’re doing these things, what they give you, what they give your friends. Are you giving back to the community? Are you giving back to the environment? These are all important questions. TOP TO BOTTOM • “During a catalog shoot in New Zealand with Atomic, some locals offered to show us a secret surf location—probably not the best idea on a ski trip, but when the swell is firing it’s nearly impossible for Chris to pass up good surf. His enthusiasm was so genuine he convinced the entire group to wake up at 3 a.m. and drive four hours in a torrential downpour, all on the possibility of catching a few waves. We were glad we’d agreed.” Photo: Garrett Grove “I have never ridden powder like I did on this trip to Hokkaido, Japan in January of 2016. Chokingly deep snow, empty chairlifts—basi-cally perfect, until Chris broke his collarbone on a cat track right after this photo and had to fly home. At least the hand drag looked nutso.” Photo: Nate Abbott Did you grow up with any sort of religion or spirituality? My grandparents and dad were from the “Old Country,” and Catholicism was very deeply rooted there. My dad was awesome about it—we would go to church every Sunday, but if it snowed we’d go to the mountains. Someone told me once that it’s better to be in the mountains thinking about God or the creator and being thankful, than inside of a church thinking about the mountains. I know there’s something bigger than us, and I’m very open-minded and I still believe in God and a creator. But I also have a brother who’s an environmental engineer, who’s very scientific and aware of the science that supports a lot of other things. Still, there’s so much that can’t be explained—so many other-dimensional things that I’ve experienced—like seeing my dad, in dreams or daydreams. There are just certain things in our life that don’t make sense scientifically whatsoever. It’s cool to have faith and just know that you’re going to see people again, and that their spirit is still present in your life. 064 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume Eleven, Issue Four: Page 64
