Scot Schmidt grew up in Montana and started his ski career working in a
repair shop at Squaw Valley. Soon he established a reputation for laying bold
new routes down the treacherous rocky chutes of the Palisades with a style
that was new and exciting. Agile and catlike, Schmidt took to the air and seem
to hang motionless before dropping into the jaws of death. He stunned the
locals with his exhibitions of courage and skill. Word of Schmidt's feats
quickly spread throughout the Valley and soon photographers were following
his every move. On one occasion, while being filmed by a Warren Miller
crew, Scot decided that instead of skiing down the West Face, as planned,
he'd take a hard right, and leap over the enormous cliffs under the KT 22
chair. You can catch this unbelievable stunt in Warren Miller's
film, Extreme Skiing. Scot still visit Squaw, but you find him more often
windsurfing in Santa Cruz where he is building a new house for his family.
"When you're in the mountains you have to be totally there. You have to be
all in one place, at one time,
instead of having your mind scattered out in all these different directions."
"I've always been able to really find myself in the mountains, get in touch
with who I am. It's such a
pure environment without any distractions. You really become in the moment
and you re not worried about the day to day things. For me, that s a good
feeling."
"I don't like to get attached to what the future should become. I just let it
happen. I never know if I ll have a job next winter. But I don't worry about it
either. It always seems like there are plenty of opportunities."
