One of Parker Costain’s followers summed up what most of us probably thought the moment we saw this video pop in our feeds: “If the 25/26 season was a video, this would be it.” It’s hard to argue with that observation.
This is far from the craziest thing we’ve ever seen Costain do. Remember when the man triggered an avalanche and then threw a backflip over it in 2021? Or just last year, when he fell through a 60-foot chimney and lived to tell about it? So pointing it down a dry face is nothing, but it feels so on point for the season most places in the Western U.S. just wrapped up. And he sends it without interruption whenever the terrain transitions from a light layer of dust to straight dirt and even jagged rocks. It is an impressive display of his talent, because there are plenty of people who found themselves navigating patches of mud, branches, and rocks this winter, but not without a bit of struggle.
Appropriately, Costain wraps the whole thing up with a chuckle.
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That laugh at the end of the clip is the cherry on top. Because a video like this would be a dreadful reminder of terrible conditions, another thing to complain about, if not for the fact that many of us are optimistic about the season ahead. A Super El Niño should bode well for the snowpack in places that just sweat it out through last winter, and it’s fair to assume most have their sights set on the face shots and chest-high lines that will soon replace moments like this in 26/27.
Adios, 25/26. Videos like this are now something we can laugh about.
