March 27, 2009
Sessions is extremely sad to announce the passing of long time team rider and friend Shane McConkey. Shane, who has been a part of the Sessions’ family for over a decade and was known for his incredible big mountain skiing and base jumping, passed away on March 26, 2009 from a base jumping accident in the Italian Dolomites.
“Shane did a double back flip in perfect McConkey style. As planned, afterwards, he went to release his skis in order to fly away from the wall and safely deploy his parachute. This is where the jump went wrong. He was not able to release either of his skis. He remained focused on releasing them by reaching down towards his bindings. This put him into a spin/ tumble/ unstable falling style, that may have appeared out of his control, but in reality, Shane was not concerned about flying position or style; just concerned with reaching those skis so that he could get them off and fly or deploy his parachute. He succeeded in releasing both of skis and immediately transitioned into a perfect flying position.” – JT Holmes. Although Shane was able to release his skies he was unable to deploy his parachute in time.
Shane had completed over 700 successful base jumps in his career and was filming with Red Bull and Matchstick Productions when the accident occurred. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who knew him especially his wife, Sherry, and his 3 ½ year old daughter, Ayla. He will be missed dearly.
1 comment:
I can remember the first film segment I saw McConkey in. That was back in 1998 or so. His progression in each proceeding segment was mind blowing(not to mention hilarious). My friends and I would constantly base our big mtn skiing on McConkeys progress year to year. Needless to say, I have spent the better part of my skiing career idolizing McConkey. Although I am no longer in the industry but I still feel very sad to hear of Shane's passing and I will pray for his wife and young daughter.
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