Originally Posted by
Two06
When I arrived in Whistler 5 years ago I had never even heard the word gaper. I saw all the locals shouting hellos at each other in the lift lines and I wanted nothing more than to be one of them. I met Maxim when he stole the Slovakian girl I had picked up on top of 7th Heaven and had met at Merlin's for Apres. He started talking about his sponsors and how many Osprey backpacks he had and Monica never talked to me again. The next day I saw Max with the Euro girls in tow at the top of Showcase T-bar. He remembered me and invited me to ski with him, and I followed him though the cliff band by the Blowhole. “You're skiing too tall! Get low!” It would take years for me to implement that simple idea and erase decades of gaperdom. I told him I'd never been coached and just wanted to get better at skiing. He nodded knowingly and told me, “You can be my project.” I didn't care about the tourist girl anymore, I got something way better.
It took awhile but eventually he got me on the right equipment (Lhasa Pows, FKS bindings, and Surefoot boots changed the game) and showed me how to approach big mountain skiing like a master. Techniques he had learned from legends like PY and Hugo, how to ski Blackcomb from open til close getting fresh pow every run, and how to never stop being stoked on skiing.
I realized my dream of becoming a local Blackcomb ripper (even if Blazer still thinks I'm a gaper). Max told me, “You earned it, now you're not just that guy following Max, you're Aaron.” This year we filmed each other skiing some lines and the dream of getting something on camera came true too, even though it wasn't much.
Max's death marks the beginning of a new phase in my life. I love skiing but I will never be a Shane McConkey or Maxim Arsenault who influence so many through their talent and love for the sport. I'm gifted at business and it's time for me to direct my energy toward that, where I know I can make a big positive impact like Max did in the mountains.
I've heard people sad saying “He went too soon”, but my philosophy is the universe unfolds exactly as it should. We as humans have a tough time when we believe things would be better if they went differently, but that's short sighted. Maxim did more in 36 years than most people could manage in multiple lifetimes. Like Bruce Lee said “The key to immortality is living a life worth remembering.” Maxim Arsenault will go down a legend, and legends never die.
Charge like Max.