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August 7, 2008 —
I remember looking up in awe at Nate Bryant, my mouth ajar, believing that the older boy was trying to pull one over on the gullible little Boyd kid.
“We climbed to the top of Holy Cross in spring,” he told me, “And we skied right down the middle of the main chute.”
I was about 13 at the time, and later that summer I climbed up Half Moon Pass with some of my other friends where we could get a good view of Mount of the Holy Cross. I reverently re-told Bryant’s story, and all of us swore that one day, we too would climb Holy Cross and ski down the main chute.
To this day, none of us have, though the thought still lingers in my mind. The trail is arduous in summertime, let alone in spring, when large fangs of snow threaten to dislodge from the mountain at any given time, removing the floor from under your feet. The skiing route is a 1,000-foot no-fall zone, strewn with jagged granite rocks.
There are, however, a few brave souls who have skied the chute. Among those is our own RealVail blogger Chris Anthony, star of Warren Miller movies this decade hence and more, and one of the great skiers in North America.
On May 22, 2006, Anthony skied Eagle County’s only 14er with Aspen’s Chris Davenport, while Davenport was on a quest to ski all 54 of Colorado’s 14ers.
The event has been memorialized in a vintage poster (see image above right), featuring a romantic, sepia-toned Anthony skiing down Holy Cross Mountain.
The idea for the poster came when Anthony left a message for Steve Woodruff at his Edwards gallery. The poster was unveiled last weekend at Woodruff’s Edwards gallery and you can pick one up for yourself at Woodruff’s galleries in Edwards or Beaver Creek.
It can also be found online at www.christopherco.com.
The artist, Dave McMacken, created a one of a kind piece with a few hidden images. According to Woodruff, “Dave’s use of the ‘spiritual’ figures in the skier’s powder show prior life in their reverence to the skier and spiritual nature of the Holy Cross.”
More of Dave’s work can be seen at www.mcmackengraphics.com.
It’s exactly the kind of poster I’d like to have framed her in my Real Vail office, but something tells me I’ve got to get out there and ski the Big Mount first, and meet that teenage goal I’ve held for so long. Ideally I’ll ride alongside Chris Anthony as my guide. Then, and only then, can I proudly hang that wonderful piece of art up on my wall, and join the very small and elite group of skiers who have taken on Eagle County’s biggest, and wildest, mountain.
2 Comments on "Chris Anthony makes art of skiing Mount of the Holy Cross"
Plooka.com — August 9, 2008
Cool poster like the cross in the background on the mountain - looks ominous!
tyrone — February 9, 2010
Usually don’t do this, as I think its lame, but I had to pass this on. Anyone caught what’s going on over at THE SKI CHANNEL??? I spotted this on YouTube late last night after watching the Superbowl, which I might add was awesome. Saints rock!!! http://www.theskichannel.com/videos
