Rick Armstrong (original) (raw)

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American freeskier

This article is about the skier & entrepreneur. For the musician and son of Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong, see Edison's Children.

"Sick" Rick Armstrong is a professional skier,[1] freeskiing pioneer,[2][3] mountaineer,[4][5] paraglider,[6] businessman and serial entrepreneur based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He was a pioneering guide in the early years of Alaska Heli-skiing while working as a lead guide for Valdez Heli-skiing and Doug Coombs as chronicled in the 2007 feature film Steep. He was a member of the ultra-elite group of skiers called the Jackson Hole Airforce who transformed skiing in the 1990s and 2000s.[7][8] He is known for having skied unskied lines such as his first and unrepeated massive drop into the left side of the notorious Corbet's Couloir[9] at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. He was the first person to have both skied and snowboarded the Grand Teton in Teton National Park. He has many first ski descents[10] in China, Alaska, Europe, Antarctica, South America, and South Georgia Island. He was an athlete in the 1998 and 1999 Winter X-Games in Crested Butte. He was Awarded sponsorships by The North Face[11][12][13] and Salomon.[14] He also became an athlete talent scout for The North Face[15] building a world-class ski team by discovering soon to be ski stars such as Sage-Cattabriga-Alosa, Ingrid Backstrom, Kitt Deslauries, Griffen Post, and Hillary Nelson. Armstrong was also a co-founder of the Teton Gravity Research film production company. He served on the board of directors for Intrawest from 2012 to 2017.

Armstrong appears in the following films:

• Steep (film) (2007)
• Warren Miller's Black Diamond Rush (1993)
• Warren Miller's Storm (2001)
• Teton Gravity Research's first film, The Continuum (1996)
• Teton Gravity Research's Harvest (1997)
• Teton Gravity Research's Further (2000)
• Teton Gravity Research's The Big One (2006)
• Matchstick Productions Soul Sessions - (1993)
• Matchstick Productions The Hedonist (1994)
• Matchstick Productions The Tribe (1995)
• Someday Somebody will ski that. (2010)
• Swift Silent Deep (2009)
• RAP Films Snow Drifters
• RAP Films Cosmic Winter

1. ^ Rick Armstrong Salomon Profile. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-08.
2. ^ "Cruise to Antarctica, ski White Continent | the Spokesman-Review".
3. ^ "Evolution of Extreme by Jack Shaw | Jackson Hole Skier & Summer Adventure Guide".
4. ^ "Antarctica, South Georgia, Nordenskjold Attempt and Normann Ascent - AAC Publications - Search the American Alpine Journal and Accidents".
5. ^ "Shishapangma, a celebration of life; Himalaya, descending India".
6. ^ "Athlete's Voice: Interview with Rick Armstrong on MountainZone.com". www.mountainzone.com.
7. ^ "Swift. Silent. Deep". 2016-08-17.
8. ^ Evans, Jeremy (November 2010). In Search of Powder: A Story of America's Disappearing Ski Bum. ISBN 978-0803234116.
9. ^ "Someday, Somebody will Ski That".
10. ^ "Athlete's Voice: Interview with Rick Armstrong on MountainZone.com". www.mountainzone.com. Retrieved 2023-09-14.
11. ^ XTreme Video (6 February 2009). "Expeditions Vol 3 - The North Face" – via YouTube.
12. ^ "© Focus Productions Inc".
13. ^ "Snow Country". 1998.
14. ^ GREG EPSTEIN (5 November 2009). "Rick Armstrong Salomon Profile" – via YouTube.
15. ^ "Ingrid Backstrom". 2016-08-17.