PHOTO: Patrick Armbruster
RIDER: David “DCP” Carrier-Porcheron
LOCATION: Saas Fee, Switzerland
CAMERA: Canon EOS 1 (analog)
WRITER: Arlie Carstens ©
As snowboarding has moved from rebel sport inspired by skateboarding and surfing to a boardsport with its own unique culture and style, each successive generation of athletes has become increasingly siloed in their disciplines. Some riders become elite halfpipe competitors. Some become big mountain technicians. Some become urban warriors. Some become park and rail wizards.
In the modern age, rarely does a snowboarder grow up to be an all-terrain assassin, capable of riding with and competing against the best riders in every discipline under the sun. The one name that comes to mind is, of course, David “DCP” Carrier-Porcheron. When DCP arrived on the scene, he was unlike any rider that had come before him. It will be a very long time before we see the likes of him again.
In this photo we find DCP blasting a gargantuan frontside 720 in Saas Fee, Switzerland while filming for the Absinthe Films feature, Saturation in 2003. The town of Saas Fee is not on the way to anything. You drive up a valley that ends at the resort. There’s no through traffic, which means you either intend to go there, or you don’t ever go there.
Accordingly, Saas Fee is a photographer’s dream and the perfect backdrop for photo shoots. During this particular session, the riders were DCP, JP Solberg, and Romain De Marchi. This was the first year of Uninc, the Burton offshoot featuring the aforementioned three riders, along with Jeff Anderson and Gigi Rüf (and later Danny Davis and Mikkel Bang). As you ponder this photo, just try to get your mind around that team. An incredible time in the evolution and artistry of snowboarding.