The most important minute of Henri Rivers IV’s life ended in about seven and a half seconds. Breaking free from the starting gate, the 18-year-old burst into a wall of white in the men’s slalom.
One skier after another succumbing to vanishing visibility and deteriorating course conditions. Seeing the ruin below, Rivers’ father offered some shrewd final advice: “Just finish.”
Jamaican flags waved as Rivers’ name was announced. Some of Rivers’ friends arrived out of nowhere, creating maybe the most unexpected home-course advantage the Alps have ever known.
It was fun while it lasted.
“I barely got out the gate, man!” said River to fellow teenager, Mexico’s Lasse Gaxiola, smiling, “What a f—ing loser.” Rivers was laughing, but not joking.
“A lot had to happen to get here,” he later says of his last few years climbing the ranks. “There’s a long way to go, you know. But this feels like the start.”