Shane McConkey, Pioneer of Flow
By Michael Frank on February 19th, 2013
When we talk about paradigm shifts in adventure sports, author Steven Kotler would argue, we’re talking about people like Shane McConkey who live for the “flow state” — being completely in the moment, and doing something so abstract to the logical mind that it can only be unpacked in a single, perfect instant. We all seek the flow state, Kotler writes, but it’s been paradigm shifters like McConkey who couldn’t live without it. “A 150-foot cliff may not be skiable, but McConkey didn’t see the cliff,” Kotler writes. “He saw six tiny patches of snow — each about 25 feet below the last — and imagined a way to connect the dots…a ski technique now known as billy goating.’ ” Kotler’s amazing piece explains how skiers like McConkey, surfers like Ian Walsh, and paddlers like Tao Berman have transformed the impossible into the possible. It’s vision — or the lack of having blinders — that’s made it happen. And it’s been deadly, no doubt. But the story argues that for some that vision is just how they see the world, regardless of the risk. Via Steven Kotler.
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Tags: Skiing