Carson Storch versus the ‘Electric Beaver.’ So many questions. Luckily, Storch has the answers.
What is an “Electric Beaver”? For one thing, it’s a beast. For another, it’s a brainchild.
And in still other ways, the line — which freeride MTB pro Carson Storch and friends named “Electric Beaver” — is a tenuous balance, a sought-after objective, a dream, a combative adversary, and the subject of a love story.
But don’t take it from me, because you don’t need to. Instead, let Storch take you through his whole odyssey with the dirt monster that arrested his attention and, ultimately, captured his heart.
Q&A With Carson Storch
Editor’s note: This interview was furnished by representatives of the film Electric Beaver.
Electric Beaver opens with you jumping out of a helicopter. What’s the story behind the chopper scene?
Carson Storch: I had this idea to do a caveman out of a helicopter onto one of the landings in my line. My good friend Chris Jordan works as a heli operator for Fly Bend, a company out of my hometown [Bend, Ore.], and he agreed to take me up. As you see in the film, it didn’t go as planned — I got caught by rotor wash and ended up with a broken collarbone!
Committing to the drop while standing on the skid of the heli was one of the scariest experiences of my life! That was a one-and-done for me. Big thanks to Chris and Fly Bend for allowing me the opportunity, though!
The setting for the film looks like every MTB kid’s dream. What’s its story?
The line is part of a network of private trails and jump lines on the Northern Oregon Coast. I have spent a ton of time riding, filming, and moving dirt over there for the past 5 to 6 years, and it’s become a second home to me. Basically, a small group of us have access to a large chunk of private timber land, and over the years it’s been built out for various projects.
All those projects led to the idea to build a long and ridiculously fun line, which we named “Electric Beaver” (probably after one too many Pub Beers). The beaver is Oregon’s state animal.
What goes into building a line like this? Talk us through the process.
