Backcountry
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[Sponsored By Scott Sports]
Sam Cohen is a professional freeskier that grew up skiing at Alta Ski Area, UT. He’s a well-known member of the Scott Sports Freeride Team. He recently released his newest video, In The Meadow. It was a sick film that was shot a backcountry hut near Golden, British Columbia. Lately, Sam’s been running all over Utah climbing and getting ready for ski season. He’s the son of famous photographer Lee Cohen. His dad put him on skis when he was 2 years old and it’s been game on ever since. He grew up at the mountain.
“I used the mountain as a babysitter. I’d just drop off Sam and Johnny Collinson at Alta in the morning, then go ski all day and meet the boys at 4pm in the lodge.”
“Our film shoot last year came spur of the moment as I was in the Peruvian Bar at Alta and a buddy asked if I wanted to join on a trip to Meadow Hut. Within seconds my mind was flooded with ideas of how to go on this trip and capture the skiing and good times that are usually had on these hut trips.
After some brainstorming and hours of phone calls my good friend and filmer Nate Cahoon and I were north bound on I-15 headed for the canadian border. We arrived at the hut 36 hours later. This would be our home for the next week.
Endless powder and an all time group of humans to share it with. After a solid week of skiing some of the most amazing conditions I have ever encountered in my 25 years on this earth we felt good about heading home to Salt Lake. 20 minutes into our drive I missed Golden and all the experiences already. Early mornings drinking coffee and late nights drinking anything else. Long days of skiing unbelievable snow and mind blowing terrain. A trip so good that you couldn’t place a price on it.”
We also wanted to seize the opportunity to ask Sam about the gear that he takes with him on a trip like this.
“When on longer trips I bring my whole arsenal of gear. Starting with skis.. I ski on the Scott Superguide 105 90% of the time while running the S1 boot or the Superguide boot. Other 10% I ski the Scrapper 115 and G1 boot. For backpack I love the new Patrol E1 30. This new pack is one of the lightest battery powered airbag backpacks in the industry and is definitely worth looking into! The lightweight Vertic Tour jacket and pants are perfect for me being a thin, bomber shell allowing me to layer up underneath. All of the Scott Insuloft layers are amazing and I like to stack those on top of each other when it’s really cold.
Underneath all of that I’m wearing Ridge Merino base layers. Having big mittens and back ups is another key. The Scott GTX Mitten is my go to. I’ve always been psyched on the lobster claw and these are the best ones I have used yet. LCG Goggle and extra lenses is HUGE. The easy lens changing system is amazing. Especially when storm skiing. Symbol 2 Helmet is comfortable and stylish. One last thing.. Poles. The Cascade 2 part pole is my go to. Scott is an incredible brand and all the products they make seem to hit the nail right on the head!”
As Sam’s a well-known Scott Sports Freeride Team Member, we wanted to know how the partnership came about.
My relationship with Scott Sports started when I was 12 or 13 years old working with team manager (at the time) Jonny Atencio. A few years later he left Scott and Kevin Kruse become my new go to guy. Around 18 I left Scott for a few years only to find myself back at the new Scott US offices in Salt Lake City meeting with the head of marketing Topher Plimpton. He gave me an amazing opportunity to work closely with the solid company that is Scott Sports.
Over the past 4 years Scott has given me the freedom to pursue my own visions and ideas. From full heli ski film shoots to glacier camping missions and our most recent project “In The Meadow” which takes place outside of Golden, BC at the Meadow Hut off of Kinbasket Lake.
Most times these trips are extended far beyond what you had planned. Conditions change, you meet new people and new opportunity presents itself making it hard to ever go back home.
Lucky for me I live half the time in my van!.. Yes, it gets incredibly cold and is hard to dry out your ski gear but always worth it.”
At the time of the interview it wasn’t full-on ski season, so we wanted to know what Sam was up to in preparation.
Recently, I have been climbing in Zion National Park. Zion is filled with some of the biggest sandstone cliffs in the world ranging from a few hundred feet to a few thousand feet. These walls have been in my mind since I was a little kid coming down to visit my close family friends in Springdale, long before I new about rock climbing and what it would actually take to ascend these infamous walls.
On my drive to Zion I thought about the tactics used to climb these walls and they seemed beyond my knowledge and skill set which made me nervous. I started climbing smaller routes in the park as I prepped for my first wall. After a quick youtube video lesson one morning a buddy and I found ourselves nearing the top of both our first Zion wall. I’ve climbed a lot of granite in my time as a climber as well as a fair share of sandstone in the Moab area.
Zion is just different. The steep, sandy nature of the walls make them very intimidating. As we kept inching away at the walls surrounding us I gained the feeling of acceptance. As if Zion had let us into it’s gates and gave us the ok to go ahead and climb it’s giant walls. My time in Zion has been incredible and I have learned so much. Its a time I will always cherish and hopefully a time that sets the pace for another dream winter!”
