The Basics
Name:JP Auclair
Date of birth:
August 22, 1977
Place of Birth:
Québec.
Summer home:
Québec.
Winter home:
Québec.
Sponsors:
Armada Skis, Orage Clothing, Oakley Eyewear, Giro Helmets, Level Gloves, JoyStick Poles, SnowParkNZ.
Favorites:
Three ARMADA skis and why:1. JJ - I can't explain how exited I am about the new JJ! I think I can say "the best ski Armada's ever made!" Ask our engineers, they will say the same... we're all proud of the result. We redesigned the ski with the same ideas we had in mind when we drafted the first version 5 years ago. It is still a very playful all around ski design with backcountry freestyle in mind. Julien and I decided to redesign it after skiing on the ARG last year. We really enjoyed it and we wanted to apply some of that technology to our ski. It floats better in pow and with more sidecut, you can carve it on the groomers... just to mention a couple things...
2. ARG - I'm super exited about this ski! The ARG is Armada's contribution to the revolution started by MConkey and his Spatulas. I think it's great to see companies putting energy in alternative ski designs and I'm proud to be able to say that Armada is one of those companies, making efforts to find the ski of the future. So far I'm still just toying around with the ARG, which requires a completely different style of riding and thinking, and I'm having a great time with it. It's cool to discover a new feeling on snow, even after 23 years of skiing. Change is good. I'm still trying to figure out where I want to mount them. The ones I'm skiing on right now are mounted 5.5 cm from the actual center of the ski.
3. Pipe Cleaner - I basically look at the Pipe Cleaner as a "deluxe" version of an AR6. The racing base is what I'm the most stoked on. I can't stand sticking to the snow and the higher grade base pretty much takes care of that problem regardless of the conditions. This ski isn't only for pipe! It's my favorite ski to hit park jumps. If all you care about is hitting rails, then for sure go with the AR6. Once you own a pair of Pipe Cleaners you might start handling your skis differently- with more care... You'll probably stop skiing up on dirt, just for fun and once a while, you might even feel a sudden urge to tune them. Don't worry, it's normal. I mount them 2 to 3 cm back from the actual center of the ski.
Place to ski park:
SnowparkNZ
Place to ski powder:
Japan
Athlete:
Malloy Brothers
Ski movie:
Hot dog
CD:
Memorex 700 MB 12X High Speed CD-RW, it's a classic.
DVD:
I like them all the same.
Book:
le zèbre, Alexandre jardin
Band:
Soundgarden
Drink:
Water
Artist:
Mike Patton
Website:
www.alpineinitiatives.org
TV Show:
SP
Sport when not skiing:
Surfing
Vacation Spot:
Vaca-who?
Computer:
17 inch 2.6 GHz Intel Core Duo, 4GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM with a 200GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm...
Q&A
What's up JP?Not Much.
What's it like growing up in Quebec?
It's great, I love the seasons over there. Québec is a cool city as well, it has lots of charm and character.
If you were given the choice now, where would you spend your childhood?
Québec.
What or who got you into skiing?
My dad did. He took my brother and I skiing every weekend when I was younger.
Give us a quick recap of your season:
- November: Catalog shoot with Orage in Colorado (we mostly skied pipe).
- December: Orage Pros and Powder stops in Québec, hanging out with my family and friends from home.
- January: J-Panuaryis!! Best powder trip of my life in Japan with Poor Boyz and Chris Benchetler followed by the SIA trade show in Vegas...
- February: Went home for two days to swap gear, then to the Red Bull Cold Rush comp in BC, I flew straight from BC to Austria for an Orage trip and to compete in the Red Bull Play Streets event in Bad Gastein, then off to Haines for Guide school.
- March: After Guide school, I went back home for a couple days to swap gear again for the last leg of my season. First stop; China, it was my first time there and it was very "interesting", to say the least..
- April: Last ski trip of my season, back to Haines. We didn't hit it really good this year, too bad... it was a fun trip anyway and I learned a lot.
- May: Armada team meeting, home for two weeks to see the family and friends, then back to Cali for some editing (and then I'll be off to New Zealand, followed by the movie tours, and that pretty much takes us back to November for another Orage shoot etc...!)
What keeps you motivated?
The desire of learning, having fun, experiencing and discovering new things... The feelings that I can expect to get while I'm skiing...
Who are your skiing/snowboarding inspirations and all time riders?
- My Brother; When I was trying to keep up to him and his friends at the ski hill.
- Glen Plake; Who was my skiing idol growing up.
- Greg Stump; With his movies.
- Terry Cook; With his huge flips off of cliffs.
- Brad Holms; With the tricks he was doing way back then and the way he ripped in the bumps.
- Greg Tuffelmiere: Because he did the first mute 360 I ever saw.
- Sergei Shupletsov; Bumps.
- Edgar Grospiron; Bumps.
- Jean-Luc Brassard; Bumps.
- JF Cusson; I spent so much time skiing with him that his skiing inevitably had an effect on mine... I mostly admire his creativity.
- Vincent Dorion; ...I mostly admire the way he spins.
- Julien Regnier Lafforgue; ...I mostly admire his creativity and style.
- Seth Morisson: With the way he reads big mountain terrain and the way he skis it, his attitude, professionalism...
- Jeremy Jones (the big mountain one): With the way that he pushes himself and what can be done out there. I love hisapproach to big mountain riding in general.
- Anthony Boronowski; With his intensity.
What 's your own, personal, major accomplishment in skiing?
I think I'm mostly stoked on still being around after 12 years...
Last trick you learned?
Front flips.
Trick you're working on?
I'll probably work on fakie 5s for the remaining of my career...!
What makes a good skier?
A good attitude.
State of Skiing in '08- are you satisfied?
Sure... keep it up skiing.
Hottest Skiers in '08?
Eric Hjorleifson, Tanner Hall and Victoria Silvstedt.
Who's the most underrated skier out there?
Patrick Scarshspodski.
As you keep pushing your personal limits in skiing on a daily basis, have you ever looked at something you've done in the past and been like "damn, how did I ever do that?"
No, usually I’m more like “damn, why am I doing this?”
Fantasy sponsor set-up:
Unlimited Heli budget!
As a professional skier you get around a lot. If someone could only take one trip in his or her life, where would you recommend and why?
Japan, New Zealand, AK. All amazing places to visit.
What's something people would be surprised to find out about JP?
I think people would be surprised if I told them something they would be surprised to find out about me.
What brings you the greatest happiness in life?
Family.
5 things you have left to do:
- Finish this questionnaire
- Get up to date with my emails
- Clean my garage
- Book an appointment at the dentist
- Clean the sensor on my camera
Think, then act.
Shoutouts:
Sure.