Tristan “Teton” Brown was raised in the scenic mountains of Sun Valley, ID by a rabid pack of talking wolves known as the Brown family. With the help of his wolf pack and a healthy diet of ski racing and elk meat, Teton survived adolescence and made it to adulthood. After pursuing ski racing for 13 years, he switched his focus to free-skiing and big mountain competitions while studying Environmental Science at CU Boulder. After college, the allure of challenging terrain and deep powder brought Teton to the Tetons, where he spent 3 winters earning – what he calls – a graduate degree in big mountain skiing. These days, he spends the majority of his time outdoors, and gets to ski everyday until his legs are Jell-O. Teton also tries to stay mindful of his ecological footprint, and occasionally howls at the moon in an attempt to make it snow.

Accomplishments:

  • 2nd Place Slalom, 2nd Place Combined at J3 Junior Olympics
  • Sickbird Award at Big Sky Freeskiing World Tour 2014
  • Photo appearances in Powder Magazine
  • First person to nearly stomp a double backflip into Corbets Couloir. He landed but then ended up crashing while riding away.

Most memorable ski moment:

Skiing the North Face of Fernie Alpine Resort butt-ass naked

Funniest ski story: 

While a freshman in college at CU Boulder, a couple friends and I hopped in a car and sent it up to Crested Butte for my first big mountain ski competition. We arrived at about 10:30am ready to inspect the venue, only to find out that we were a day late! The venue inspection took place the day before and the competition was currently underway.

We were told by the officials that we couldn't compete, but we'd already paid for the comp and traveled hundreds of miles to get there, so we decided not to take no for an answer. We went up to the start of the venue anyway with the hope that we could finagle our way into competing. There were only a few guys left to drop when we made it to the start, so I quickly told the start official the predicament we were in. The start official turned out to be very cool about the situation and let us drop at the end of the pack.

So, having never inspected or even seen the venue, I quickly asked this guy what direction I should go, and what I might expect to encounter on the way down. I heeded his words, buckled my boots, took a couple deep breaths, and skied it as fast and smooth as I could. Big mountain competitions are gnarly as it is, but competing blind is on a whole other level! I was surprised and elated to find out later that I miraculously made finals despite everything! The next day I had a solid showing in finals and was stoked to finish top ten, providing me with some qualifying points heading into the next competition. And of course mad props to that incredibly chill start official who remains a good friend of mine today.

Craziest thing ever done on a ski: 80+ foot double backflip into Corbet's Couloir during the Kings and Queens of Corbet's competition

Favorite Crosson Ski Model: Raider. It has the perfect mix of stability and playfulness making it suitable for any slope angle or terrain on the mountain. At 95mm underfoot it rips the piste, soft snow, and can even navigate through pow. Although when the snow really starts to accumulate, it's time to grab the Marauders!

Favorite Thing About Crosson Skis:

Crosson skis are made with precision, and you can feel the precise structure and shape underfoot. The whole Crosson quiver covers everything I want to do on snow. They hold strong arcs, stomp big landings, and provide pop and stability when I need it. Plus the graphics are pretty slick.