Now a days, most skiers break out onto the scene in a huge explosion then quickly fade but show sparks of life occasionaly. Gordy Peifer is far different. He's been on the circuit for a while now and has slowly and quietly built up quite a reputation. He's all over Powder and FREEZE, won the 98's Canadian Freeskiing Open and recently made appearances in Global Storming and The Realm. Here we have a quick Q&A with the man:

RANT: Where do you reside and how is it out there?

Gordy: I live in S.L.C., Utah. I've been here for ten years and moved here from Michigan after seasons in Crested Butte (Western State freshman year) and Killington, Vermont (Killington Mountain School racing academy for my senior year of high school).

RANT: What got you into skiing in the first place?

Gorday: My parents took me skiing when I was three and I was hooked. I got my first season pass at age eight and skied Pine Knob, Michigan (175 vt. ft.) nearly every night for the next eight seasons(moguls and kickers mostly, then gates also starting at age 14).

RANT: What would your ultimate dream be?

Gordy: I am living my ultimate dream. I've taken a lot of steps and made some sacrifices along the way, but right now life is extremely good.

RANT: Where would you like to take you skiing in the future?

Gordy: In the future I would like to keep skiing incredible big mountain lines. I get the most enjoyment from the challenges associated with doing them on sight and attacking them and seeing what happens. Airs and tricks and racing and all of that stuff is cool, but skiing peaks is the doctorate level of skiing and you never stop learning the nuances associated with the dangers of doing it.

RANT: How has skiing as a sport progressed over the past years?

Gordy: Skiing has progressed a ton over the past several years. Fat skis have revolutionized big mt. skiing, and jibbing has gone ballistic with the advent of twin tips. Skiercross is exciting and will only get better as the courses improve. Backcountry use is way up and the vibe is such that lines that were barely ever skied several years ago are getting tagged after every dump. Skiing is going off so hard right now and it is blowing the minds of everyone exposed to it. Skiing is truly the shit and I think everyone knows it.

RANT: What do you think of FIS and their increased activity in skiing? On the same note what do you think of FIS as compared to the IFSA?

Gordy: I don't really feel qualified to discuss the merits of FIS vs. IFSA except to say that the athletes need to retain their voice in how competitions operate and the IFSA has done a great job of that from the beginning(Thanks Shane and Lhotse!) But it would be great to see freeskiing competitions get the big sponsorship contracts they deserve since they are incredibly gripping forms of entertainment. It's going to take a really professional staff to get the right angles and edit the footage properly though to make an impact on the viewers. I was pretty bummed at the quality of footage from the 1998 Whistler comp and they didn't even air the interviews with the winners(myself and Allison Gannett). However the T.V. coverage from the Chamonix competion that year was amazing and they had interviews with several of the competitors. They brought in a camera crew that was used to doing Formula 1 races and they got good angles and had great editing. The difference between the two broadcasts was ridiculous. As for big air, pipe and skiercross, these events are perfect for mass media and are on their way to attracting big sponsorship.

RANT: Besides skiing, what do you do to pass the time?

Gordy: In the summertime I focus on photography(where I am the photographer). I am mostly shooting mt. biking and most of my published stuff has been in Bike magazine. I also do ad and catalog work for a bunch of bike industry manufacturers. For fun I ride mt. bikes and motorcycles a lot. My mt. bike is a Titus Quasimoto freeride bike with 6 in. in the rear and five inches up front. I use it for lift served downhilling(Deer Valley and Sundance) as well as cross-country. I have three motorcycles and use them all regularly. One is a dual purpose Honda XR650L, The other is a Yamaha WR 250, and the newest addition is a Honda CBR600F4. It is a little missile and I take it out daily for my 150+ mile an hour speed fix. I love to lean it over in a 140 mph sweeper and feel the chassis flex.

RANT:Give us an interesting story about yourself most people wouldn't know about.

Gordy: Most people wouldn't know that it has been a long road to get to the point that I am now in my skiing career. In 1993 I was stressed out with where skiing might take me and I wondered how I would combine my love for skiing with a satisfying lifestyle. I did not want to be a ski bum with nothing when I was 40. I persisted though and did everything that I could to work with people and sponsors that would benefit from our shared interest in the sport. It took perseverence and professionality and very little came easy. I took the snide comments that I was a poser from the jealous types in stride because I knew that I had a goal in mind. In the end it has been a great time both from a skiing standpoint and a business standpoint. I love to now share my stoke with others and take my role of being a well known skier seriously. I want to share it as much as possible with others since that is what I respect in my athletic heroes(of which there are too many to list).

RANT: Sponsors, shouts to people, plugs, etc?

Gordy: Thanks to Rossignol, Smith, Fila, Leedom, Gordini, Dakine, Powerbar, Thorlo, Backcountry Access, Snowbird, Alta, and all the photographers and filmers. Thanks to my wife and parents. Thanks to all my ski bros over the years. And big props to anyone who reads this-hit it hard and fast!!!

You can tell that he knows the ins and outs of the freeskiing industry and now is reaping his well earned reward. We wish him well in the future.