Industry News
The skiing world was shocked this week to learn that a seven-year-old Great Dane named Denali became among the first mammals to successfully descend all fifty lines in Davenport, Newhard, and Burrows’ Fifty Classic Ski Descents of North America. Even more surprising is that no human did all fifty descents with Denali. After tagging along with a few different human ski partners for some of the easier lines in the book, the community around Denali became deeply committed to helping her complete all fifty. “Some people may question whether a dog really wants to do fifty arbitrary ski lines in some book, but the wild look Denali gets in her eyes when she hucks a cornice, tongue and ears flapping in the wind, is all the answer I need to know she’s deeply committed to the sport,” one community member said.
As Great Danes are not known for their endurance or their bravery (e.g. Scooby Doo), it is rather impressive that Denali overcame her personal challenges to complete such a monumental achievement. Though in certain deep snow conditions, her “long-travel” attributes certainly helped her navigate long powder runs, rare as they may be in ski mountaineering.
Denali’s most difficult line was probably The Skillet on Mount Moran in Grand Teton National Park. Because of relatively poor snow conditions on the descent, she had to keep her claws out for traction the whole time, leading to tired dog toes by the end of the descent. That, coupled with some tired humans making her drag a sled full of equipment back across Jackson Lake, led to a very long day.
Following Denali’s startling success, many have questioned her next move. Denali has considered seeking employment at a ski area but prefers the solitude of the backcountry. We will just have to wait and see what comes next from this silky-coated sender, perhaps the first doggie double backie.
APRIL FOOLS!
