Dave Murray Camp Reports

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Hello Skiers,

This the first of my weekly reports. My hope is to keep you up to date on what is happening in Whistler from the Dave Murray Camps perspective. This means that you will get the straight goods on the conditions, the coaches, the happenings and the most up to date gossip.

I have to start with the current conditions, because they are the best I have ever seen and I have been here for more years than I care to admit. This is from the horse's mouth: the lightest, deepest, tastiest powder that I have ever skied in Whistler. Ever, never mind in November! And we are supposed to get more this week. I could go on and on, but I think that you catch my drift.

I want to flip back the calendar a few years and reflect on where we came from and why we are here. The year is 1982 and a young Dave Murray retires from the Canadian National Alpine Ski Team and the era of The Crazy Canucks comes to an end. Sure, Read, Pod and Irwin continued racing and winning, but without Dave, it just wasn't the same.

As one chapter closed, another was open - Dave Murray becomes Director of Skiing at Whistler Mountain and Atomic Dave Murray Ski Camps are born. Dave's vision was to introduce the everyday skier to the kind of coaching which took him to the top level of World Cup Downhill racing. But not only that, Dave wanted to pass on his passion and enthusiasm for skiing. Dave was a local hero. If you were around in the seventies and early eighties and a World Cup Downhill was on TV on a Saturday afternoon, you would recall that Dusty's was packed, beer was flowing and everyone was cheering for Dave. This would happen even on powder days!

To make a short story shorter, Dave had no problem filling his camps with eager skiers. His enthusiasm was infectious and in no time you could see skiers skiing with better technique, replacing the "Whistler Lazy Swoop" with a Dave Murray look-a-like racer stance.

Beside recreational skiers, Dave influenced a score of young racers, some of whom are Camp coaches now. He also influenced his coaches, some of whom are Camp coaches still to this day. Dave also convinced Atomic and Descente that the Dave Murray Ski Camps were a good thing to be involved in. Yes, you are right, they are still our sponsors after almost 30 years.

The year is 1990 and another chapter is closed. Dave Murray passes away at the age of 37. A new chapter is open as the people whom Dave influenced and mentored take the reigns of the Atomic Dave Murray Ski Camps. Whistler is becoming an international ski resort and people from around the world are discovering the Dave Murray Ski Camps and many return year after year from far away places to participate in the Camps.

Shape skis take over, Whistler merges with Blackcomb and fat skis become the weapon of choice in Whistler. Some things change and some things stay the same. There is a core team of coaches at the Atomic Dave Murray Ski Camps, but there is also an influx of enthusiastic, young and energetic ski racers starting to coach with the Camps. This is not to say that guys like John Kindree are lacking in any of the afore mentioned capacities, but these young coaches are taking it to new levels. And rightfully so. Most of them have cut their teeth on downhill courses of Europe and North America. Some of them still compete in Downhill, Skier Cross, Speed Skiing and Extreme Skiing. All of them wear the scars and all of them have stories to tell.

These coaches have trophies on the mantle, certifications and diplomas on the wall, but you will never know. Their knowledge and enthusiasm is not something that is learned and reflected in a certificate. It is something that is earned and comes from the heart. You will come to the camp and expect to improve your skiing, but it is more than that. You will come to the camp with fears and apprehensions of speed, bumps, steeps, powder, you name it. You will come to the camps with expectations for yourself. All of the coaches have felt those same emotions during their careers.

The starting gate at a downhill race is a very emotional place. It's all about the attitude. Skiing is a mental sport and you have to "feel" it to succeed. Skills are a part of it, but thrills are most of it! In the end you will have conquered your emotions and as you are sipping on that après-ski beer, you are already thinking of new challenges for yourself. You fear less and you want more...! That is the Atomic Dave Murray Ski Camp way. Why? Because Dave would want it that way.

The year is 2006 and the story continues. This year be a part of it.

Tom "Pro" Prochazka

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