Everyday Heroes

From the introduction to Dan Milner's photo essay Everyday Heroes

Fashions come and go, but Alaskan style, it seems, is eternal. As the pages of any snow magazine will attest, the lure of big mountain riding will never die. While they don't necessarily seek it, the riders in the shots quite deservedly get the glory. They are the names in freeriding; they are the people who keep big mountain riding's head above the surface in a world inundated by the jib. They are the heroes.

But without the heli, the plane, the guide, where would they be? Would that shot ever grace the page of a magazine? Would the riders be the household names they are today? Probably not. In Alaska, as in so many other places, the possibility of getting up the mountain safely, the chance of shooting a picture, the opportunity of riding spines lies in the hands of everyday people. People who have chosen Alaska as their home, who endure its dark winters and monster mosquitoes so that we can continue to be amazed and inspired by images of snowboard folk riding what we dream about riding. These are the everyday heroes who make the Alaskan dream a reality.…