Ski Fun Facts

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Being a polarizing figure can have an effect on people either in a good way or bad. Personally, there’s nothing more refreshing than someone that speaks from their heart even if you don’t necessarily agree with everything they say. Even though I’m a snowboarder, I respect and admire Glen Plake. He’s a man that stands by what he says and lives the way he wants. While the rest of us chase paper… he chases the white, fluffy, cold stuff. Talk about a great life!

How It All Began

When Glen grew up on the south shore of Lake Tahoe, it was a bit wilder and more rambunctious than what you see today. A place where grills were available for guests to grill their own food. A ski destination where hot doggers John Clendenin and Wayne Wong pretty much invented the sport of freestyle. A racing pedigree where the famous Franz Klammer flew over the knoll on a World Cup Downhill. All this ski energy helped create the bigger than life man known as Glen Plake. Besides being a three-time World Hot Dog skiing champion, his performance in the Greg Stump production “Blizzard of Aaahhs” helped launch him into stardom.

Didn’t Just Rest On His Laurels

Like many a pro skier before him, he first cut his teeth in ski racing, then freestyle, and finally transitioned over to moguls. His passion for the sport went further than just competing. It was the opportunity to explore massive mountains. So, he became a fully Certified L3DT PSIA Instructor/ AMGA Apprentice Mountain Guide. As an all around world class action sports athlete, he’s completed over 100 ascents and descents of some of the world’s biggest mountains in the backcountry. For example, he climbed and skied the 20,000 feet of the Callangate in Peru for the filming of “Reel Thrills.”

Down Home Tour

Just like everything Glen does…. he does it the way he wants to and that’s what the Down Home Tour is all about. Him and his wife Kimberly are true ski fanatics and spend one or two months a year in their custom rig trying to complete his goal of skiing every ski area in America. We’re talking true independent Mom & Pop ski areas including ones out east and ski areas in the Midwest. Glen understands that these small to medium-sized ski areas are the beating heart of the sport. He goes there to encourage the local patrons that frequent these places to keep the foundation of skiing in America alive and well.

Timeless As Warren Miller

Besides being in the “Blizzard of Aaahhs”, Glen has been in many other ski films over the years including a bunch of cameos in Warren Miller flicks like Cold Fusion, Journey, Impact, Higher Ground, and 2019’s Timeless. Even though most remember him skiing deep powder or thrashing it on mogul runs, I still remember vividly watching him ski corn snow above Mono Lake with not a single person around. To me, that was perfection. What skiing is all about. Not extreme. No powder frenzy. Just you, your equipment, and a couple of friends. In Glen Plake’s words, we’re putting a lot of emphasis on spectacles (powder days) and not about why we ski. And it’s why my favorite time of year is spring skiing.

The Pied Piper Of Skiing

As he continues being one of the poster boys of the sport of skiing, it’s exciting that he’s become an ambassador for not just Mammoth Mountain but also a beacon for mountain guides and ski instructors all across the world. For example, in the latest Warren Miller film Timeless, he was joined by Level 3 Ski Instructors AJ Oliver and Brenna Kelleher at Mustang Powder—to show people that ski instructors can be awesome skiers too. If that wasn’t enough, as of 2010, he was inducted into the national ski hall of fame for everything he’s done for the sport. To this day, he still skis as much as he can and calls Nevada his secret basecamp and the town of Chamonix his home during the season.

8 Of The Best Glen Plake Quotes

With that said, here’s some of the best Glen Plake quotes we’ve read in countless magazines & interviews over the years.

While many just want to ski or snowboard, you better have the ability to market yourself too. Glen Plake is THE example of that in skiing. A massive mohawk and being outspoken has given this South Tahoe native the ability to market himself like no other. Here are a few of our favorite quotes from the O.G. of free skiing:

Skiing is the best way in the world to waste time.

You have to be involved to evolve.

Skiing is the conquest of the useless.

If I could change skiing, I would make it exactly the way it was before snowboarding.

I went skiing…the rest of the world is just chaos.

There must be something about the water or air in South Lake Tahoe to produce not one but two of the most iconic AND vocal figures in skiing AND snowboarding. While Glen Plake is skiing’s bad-boy ambassador, Shaun Palmer is snowboarding’s other half. They are like the yin and yang of winter. Check out our article the Muhammad Ali Of Snowboarding to see the best quotes from Shaun Palmer.