Three years ago while getting ready for another ski season up at Squaw Valley (now Palisades Tahoe) I stumbled upon one of the great documentaries of our time, GNAR, and the coinciding book and game (Squallywood and Gaffney's Numerical Assessment of Radness) as a recommendation from my friend James. I was talking with another friend about work or something otherwise dumb/unimportant, and then he butted into the conversation and said, 'Hey Dan I can't believe you're in sales, I close way more deals than you!' - and I couldn't help but laugh and just say 'wtf was that?' That was the day that I learned the definition of a pro call out.
Flash forward a few months, and I've got our cabin's shared copy of 'Squallywood' close to memorized up in Truckee and I'm out there on the mountain thinking I'm Robb Gaffney after doing a few sideways sally's down GP6, F2, and E1 before the trees come up and nab ya. Totally rad man!
But that is indeed part of the greatness of that game - it makes even average skiers and boarders feel like they are a part of the crew - makes them feel like they can be pros themselves, and helps push themselves and others out of their comfort zones, even for a moment. And like my friend James with his adapted pro call out, this GNAR lifestyle is applicable to essentially every facet of life as a vessel to bring more fun and connection - sometimes folks get so into the thick of it that they are dumb/crazy enough to take it to another level and get super uncomfortable and attempt to start media companies and make below average attempts at ski films from it - glad I had a few solid runs before destroying my knee that season.
Right off the bat, when you see Robb in GNAR, or in any of his brother Scott's movies like 1999 or Walls of Freedom, he just has such a cool, collected confidence and presence about him that he has maintained from his twenties up into now his fifties. He's not dwelling on the past, he's not too worried about the future, he's just about making it a great day today - focused on the next line to be skied, or the next priority he has that day in his personal or professional life, not taking himself too seriously, and just bringing positive energy and light into whatever he is doing. And he's undoubtedly lived his entire life like that - a complete lack of fear, with a true feel for the moment, and his body of work over the years adds up to it. The montage of his mom speaking in 1999 and (spoiler alert) Robb in a matching ski outfit ripping some incredibly difficult lines at world class pace will never not be funny. His ability to not only live and work as an individual ski contributor to the ski community, but also as a leader as shown in his organizing the competition in GNAR shows versatility that not many have. That ability to codify and create structure and bring a certain level of order into an otherwise inherently chaotic world is no easy task, and I bet if you asked any of those guys who was the ring leader in making that happen, they'd likely say Robb.
Since first reading the book three years ago, I have said a few times, as well as in my short film, that 'Squallywood' may very well be the greatest book of all time. Sure, it may not connect with every person out there, since it is about as niche as it gets, but for those who appreciate the art, it's Michelangelo's David. And even for those who don't know skiing particularly well, all can appreciate it's without a doubt one of the most unique works one can produce. Maybe others have created something similar that I am unaware of... but I am quite confident in saying that there is no equivalent close at Vail, or Mammoth, or Jackson Hole, or any of the other premiere ski mountains at least in the United States. Also just adding in the context of it all... dude gets his doctorate in psychiatry, starts a family, all while being a world class skier, and in his spare time maps the entire mountain at Squaw, gets it into a book, and publishes it before even hitting his late thirties - who the hell does that?! Squaw and Dr. Gaffney are just a match made in heaven - and his book is and will always be in outrageously high demand - https://www.amazon.com/Squallywood-Guide-Squaw-Valleys-Exposed/dp/1424320178.
Robb made a home out of Lake Tahoe after growing up in New York state in his childhood (perhaps another reason I always liked him so much as an east coaster moved west) and one of the things he has been passionate about, especially in recent years, is fighting for the locals of North Lake Tahoe and for the health of the delicate ecosystem of that region. This past February, I put on my capital J journalism hat and decided to ask the folks at Palisades the hard hitting questions on what they thought of Alterra's (the Palisades parent company) new proposal to expand even more upon the base of Olympic Valley and bring in more patrons, have more potential for traffic, etc. and ended up with this brief video:
I sent this over to Robb on Instagram and he got a kick out of it, especially us getting the boot that day, and sent along some GNAR points my way with his personal seal of approval, something I will forever cherish. We got on the phone the next week and I told him Palisades PR had sent me down to Folsom Prison and he was my one phone call, so I was glad he called me back... we laughed and then talked for about 25 minutes while I was in the Truckee Safeway just off of Highway 89. We made plans to do more interviews with locals, a few environmental law groups working on the issue, and produce more content around potential expansion from Alterra. It was one of the coolest phone calls I've ever received.
A couple of weeks later, he texted me that he got some not so great news about his cancer treatment, so the project was put on hold. I don't exactly know who is going to be carrying the torch for Robb going into this coming season, but we are of course happy to work with them to help get this message out for North Lake Tahoe as best we can.
"I'm a firm believer that our world needs to stay open... things like this, things like GNAR that push the boundaries, they need to exist." - Dr. Robb Gaffney
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of folks who are more qualified to speak on Dr. Gaffney than myself - those he knew personally, those he skied with, those he helped in his psychiatry practice, his loving family. I am none of those things, and he is still someone I greatly admire, hold in high regard, and am deeply saddened to be nearing the end. Just goes to show his uncanny ability to connect with others and with his own life in such a purposeful manner.
Inspiration is not something we choose, and it's rarely something we can explain in the moment... it either happens when you hear someone, see someone, hear about someone... or it just doesn't. For some of us, inspiration can be rare yet purposeful, others may find it frequent yet fleeting, but when we find that perfect combination of early stage interest, matched with a body of work and consistency to build trust, we can find the magic of true influence.
So thank you, Dr. Gaffney. Thank you for inspiring and influencing myself and many others how to live a more open, creative life. Thank you for helping others live life on offense, which you have done in every facet of your life and through this battle with cancer in these recent years. With that mindset and your natural gift of charisma and ability to connect with others, you have been able to achieve in one life what most wouldn't be able to do in ten. Didn't hurt you are also a world class skier. Your legacy and dedication to others will forever endure... you're the best damn skier on the mountain. To many more sunsets in this life and the next! - Dan
P.S. 1999 and Walls of Freedom are some of the best, funniest, well shot, and innovative ski films I've ever seen - so cool how well they've aged and how rad that style was back in the 90's - these guys were seriously so far before their time. Some other older work is available here in the Matchstick Productions Vault: https://matchstickpro.com/category/the-vault/. It's all so damn good! Highly recommend to our small but loyal following.
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Glad that Robb's brother, Scott, thought this was good enough to advocate and share. Hope readers were able to get some value from this.