Tom Grant is a man with some of the boldest and most technical steep skiing descents under his belt, but this might come as a surprise if you were only to take a brief look at his upbringing. Born in Arlington, Virginia, Tom found himself soon moving to Lewes at the age of 11. It was in Lewes where the spark for skiing began, with Tom spending his formative years building his foundations on school ski trips to Austria.
But what Tom lacked in plentiful skiing in his teens, he more than made up for this with his unmatched determination and stoke for getting out there in wild terrain. When he finally found the chance to escape Britain and move to Chamonix, Tom was soon ticking off many of the classic steep descents in the area, including rare descents of the West Couloir of the Aiguille Tour Noir and the Sentinelle Rouge Couloir to name just a few.
These days Tom can be found guiding in the valley, while still progressing his craft by skiing some of the most steep and aesthetically pleasing lines in the world. He’s now turned his gaze away from the Alps, with first descents on Baffin Island, Alaska and, most notably, New Zealand, with an impressive descent of the Caroline Face – a 1,650 vertical metre face flanking the south side of New Zealand’s Mount Cook.
Tom found time to sit down with us to chat about this upbringing, and how it led him onto some of the steepest mountain faces in the world. As is tradition with High Exposure, we have a good old geek out about ski equipment; what works for Tom, what doesn’t, and why he chose to partner with fellow Savoyard locals Plum Bindings and Black Crows skis.
Featured Image: Manu Nadler
