The story behind this edit was to create a piece that showed that it really wasn’t just for me. Even though it is me skiing, the skiing is in tribute to these good friends of mine that I’ve lost in the last year. The vision behind the edit was to show that even though we are moving ‘FORTH’ in our everyday lives these friends will never be forgotten. In a sense, we’re moving forward with them and carrying on their love for the mountains and passion for skiing one powder turn at a time. It means a lot to me, so it was hard to not put it in a clichéd way that made me look like I’m just copying everybody else out there. I wanted to try and be a little different with the way we produced the film, which I think all comes from who is helping edit the piece. That’s where my best friend Axel Peterson came in to help with the making of ‘FORTH’: he is an incredible videographer and editor. I cannot thank him enough for all the help.
The three individuals that I have paid tribute to in ‘FORTH’ were friends that were very involved in the skiing community. Names that have made a huge difference in my life, that we still think of a lot and still hold close to us in our hearts. The loss of Matt Heffernan last year to a fatal cliff jumping accident was devastating. Matt was a dear friend and was one of the first friends to show me around Salt Lake when I moved there. We skied a lot, skateboarded and threw back quite a few cold ones together. He was the type of person you wanted to be around due to his positive energy and radiating smile. Matt and I also found ourselves studying a lot at the University of Utah. Not much studying got done because we were too busy watching ski videos and being way to loud in the library’s quiet sections. He was a force to be reckoned with and had one of the most diverse skill sets when it came to his skiing abilities. He could definitely ski park better than most of the greats out there today but also jump on big lines, pow, and get nasty on big backcountry booters. Hands down the best cork 720 tail grab in the game. His laughs and smiles now live on through us! #senditforheff
The second person I paid tribute to is Jordan Niedrich. Jordan was a great friend who I grew up with in Ketchum, Idaho. He passed away this spring in a speed flying accident on our home mountain, Baldy, in Sun Valley. Another kid whose positivity was through the roof. One of the happiest guys I have ever met to this day. Jordan was pushing a different envelope with the likes of Will Burks in the new sport of speed fly skiing as well as making quite the name for himself in the Freeride World Qualifier competitions. Jordan’s positivity and love for skiing will always run through me as well as the likes of many others. He’ll never be forgotten and his passion for this sport will be carried on through the likes of many.
Lastly, I paid tribute to a dear friend of mine, Caleb Baukol. Another Ketchum local who has struggled with health issues for last couple of years and passed away this August. An older friend who helped the likes of me and many others in the community of Ketchum achieve a lot of greatness in skiing or mountain biking. I remember one time he was working at one of the bike shops in town and I had forgotten my biking jersey. Caleb took a new one off the rack and said here just have this one. Being a kid of 13 at the time, I was the most pumped grom ever to get handed a brand new biking jersey. It just showed what type of person Caleb was, he wanted to see the youth of our community succeed. As the years passed on Caleb started his own ski company, Big Wood Skis. On one part of the shop was where he pressed and shaped his skis and on the other half, as we all called it, was a garage. A garage fully stocked with tuning and waking benches, foosball table, and a full keg on tap at all times. This turned into the late night hang out in the winter months where everyone would gather to tune their skis and drink beers. For Caleb to open something like this and put his heart and soul into his skis, showed that he was doing something passionate with his life. I’m fortunate I got to see this passion he had for skiing and the lifestyle we should be living with it. That not taking anything too serious, and just having fun at what you love doing is so important. I owe him for showing me the importance of having this attitude in life. We will miss him deeply but know every powder turn will be for you him.
