#HTE

This Man Quit Architecture to Hand-Build “The Interface Between You and the Snow”

Has one of your teachers ever given you an ultimatum? This happened to Mike Parris when he was studying robotics and architecture at Carnegie Mellon. A professor noticed that Parris took off every summer to go skiing in Wyoming, and that this was perhaps interfering with his studies. Parris needed to decide, the professor said, whether he was a skiier or an architect.

What a dumb thing to say.

It worked out for Parris, though, because he decided not to return to school the following semester. Instead he moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and learned to build custom skis:

If you’re wondering what some of the materials you see in the video are, Parris’ Igneous Skis are made from a blend of wood, graphite, steel, fiberglass and Kevlar.

By the bye, this is just my opinion, but I think professors who insist on students pursuing studies in design or architecture at the expense of other interests is what produces out-of-touch designers and architects.