The deaths of JP Auclair and Andreas Fransson are a painful blow to their families and friends, but also to skiing as a whole. These two skiers encompassed a large portion of what modern skiing is: an adventure, a redefinition of old rules, a mixing of styles, visual creativity and a deep, enduring love of riding.

Both perished last week in an avalanche accident when they were swept down several hunderd metres while climbing a couloir on Monte San Lorenzo, Chile.

JP Auclair started as a mogul skier in the Canadian team. In the mid-1990s, he was among the pioneering pack of the Canadian Air Force, trying to inject snowboard style into skiing. Frustrated by the rigid rules of the ski federation, JP was one of the first to claim freedom for his style.

Mixing mogul technique, ’70s hot-dog inspiration and a fresh snowboard attitude, JP and his friends invented freestyle skiing

JP has always been around, always at the forefront of freestyle evolution, in his soft-spoken way. He changed his haircut so many times it became a trademark… but his passion for riding never wavered.

JP won the first slopestyle of the X Games in Crested Butte in 1999, he was a star in the first Poor Boyz movies, he co-created Armada ski brand, he started ski touring with his longtime friend Julien Régnier before it became a trend, and he stunned the freestyle world with his creativity in Sherpa Cinemas films, as can be seen in the video below.

Andreas Fransson was among the new breed of radical skiers, enjoying the steepest, farthest, highest couloirs.

A soft, warm-hearted spirit, Andreas was an incredibly strong athlete who defied youth and tradition in daring alpinism feats

When Andreas moved to Chamonix in 2006, he immediately skied some of the most difficult lines. When he went to the Denali, he skied the scary south face (after two difficult couloirs and a speed ascent as a warm-up). He opened up new possibilities to steep skiing.

The movie Tempting Fear (below) is a moving and intimate portrait of Andreas. It’s also one of the best ski movies ever, digging deep into the psyche of these exceptional athletes, dealing with risk and death. Andreas used to write a lot, and one of his last posts on his website is particularly moving: “You can choose to see a friend’s death as something tragic or something beautiful. You can choose to believe what you like on what happens after death. You can choose to create whichever reality you like. So then create a reality that you like!”

Both influenced and changed skiing in their respective ways. Both explored new ways of moving those two tips at the end of our skis into new directions. They died together, in the Chilean snow, and they’ll both be remembered as deeply influential souls.

Read more on the Powder Magazine website, which also has a complete compilation of all of JP Auclair’s and Andreas Fransson’s videos.

If you want to help, consider donating to the Auclair Fund that’s supporting JP’s small son and his wife.