Condolences to McConkey Family

Our condolences go out to the McConkey family for the premature loss of their beloved Shane McConkey. The 39 year old pioneer of skiBASE died in a tragic accident in the Dolomites. According to TheAdventureLife.org, “Shane did a double backflip and then had some difficulty,” said [Scott] Gaffney [MSP filmmaker and close friend of Shane's]. “He uses these old-school Tyrolia bindings, which release upwards, and they have straps attached that he pulls on to release the skis. So he pulls the bindings, the skis release, and then he flies away in the wingsuit.

“He got one ski off, but then was fighting to get the other one off. In the whole process, he went upside down and had one ski above him, which caused him to spiral. And then he got into a high-speed spin. He was still fighting to get out all the way down. J.T. watched the footage again because he wanted to know what happened. It was hard to see, so this is speculation, but it looked like he was going for his pilot chute. Maybe he couldn’t get to it—he’d complained before that the wingsuit was tight. But we don’t know for sure.”

Shane was a sponsored Red Bull athlete that lived life to the fullest and expanded our imaginations of what was possible not only in the sport of skiing, but also, more importantly, in the sport of living a full life.

This video captures the essence of his never-ending adventures, zest for life, and desire to be the best at his craft of skiBASE.

Shane was known for his contributions to ski design, notably being the father of reverse side cut and reverse camber skis (aka: skis with rocker), first with the Volant Spatula and, more recently, the K2 Pontoon ski design.

Shane is survived by his wife Sherry, and three-year-old daughter, Ayla.

RIP: Shane McConkey (December 30, 1969 - March 26, 2009)