Jeremy Jones to be honored as Athlete of the Year at X Dance
http://www.grindtv.com/snow/blog/23717/jeremy+jones+to+be+honored+as+athlete+of+the+year+at+x+dance/
Grind TV
By: Nate Hoppes
Each year during the final evening of X Dance, they give out the Athlete of the Year Award. This award is not about winning contests or gold medals, Athlete of the Year goes to the athlete who makes an impact in the industry pushing progression within their sport. The 2011 recipient is none other than Jeremy Jones for pushing the edge in his film Deeper. 
Jeremy has been at the forefront of the Alaskan big mountain scene since the beginning and now he's pushing it even further by exploring areas that have never been accessed. He's charging mountain ranges that can't be accessed except on foot. The lines he takes are impossible yet he makes it look easy.
We took the opportunity to talk with Jeremy about what it's like to be honored as Athlete of the Year at this years X Dance Film Festival.
GRINDTV- Congratulations on being named "athlete of the year" at this years X-Dance. What did you do when you heard the news?
JEREMY JONES-I had just gotten out of the mountains from a 3 day winter camping mission and was kind of out of it. My brother had left me a message but I did not really believe it. I figured that maybe I was just nominated for the award.
What's your feeling on being mentioned in the same category as recent winners of "Athlete of the Year" like Tony Hawk, Travis Rice, and Rob Machado?
It is very humbling and a huge honor.
It's been a big year for you with this recent award and the release of the film Deeper, tell us what it's been like for you?
It is a little shocking. When I started Deeper I had no support from sponsors or movie companies. I was risking my lively hood and leaving an environment I was very dialed in with but at this point in my career I was willing to take the risk. I did not think myself or the movie would get this much attention. It has been amazing seeing how much the movie inspires people as well as see how many people came out to see the movie.
Who came up with the concept behind Deeper?
I did. My goal was to get back to exploration and hiking everything I rode. This is where I was trying to take my snowboarding for a few years. The film companies and sponsors were not into so I realized if I was going to achieve my goals I was going to have to create a new crew of camera men and riders and make my own movie.
Describe the challenges when filming a movie in unexplored and treacherous territories? The all night hikes, the camping on peaks, the frigid below temperatures?
I made sure I was surrounded by people that really loved being in the mountains and adventure. People that did not
determine the success of the day or trip solely off of whether or not we were getting shots in the movie. We had so many dark to dark days where we did not even pull the cameras out because the clouds came in when we finally made it to our objective. Some nights camp or the car seemed so far away and every step hurt, you were by yourself, food and water gone. You knew you would make it but it hurt like hell.
Any situations while filming for Deeper where you felt sketched out, not sure if you were going to survive the process?
Pretty much most of the time I was on snow in Chamonix I could not let my guard down. The mountains are always moving and there is always lurking danger.
How long did it take to complete Deeper?
Two years.
Jeremy has been at the forefront of the Alaskan big mountain scene since the beginning and now he's pushing it even further by exploring areas that have never been accessed. He's charging mountain ranges that can't be accessed except on foot. The lines he takes are impossible yet he makes it look easy.
We took the opportunity to talk with Jeremy about what it's like to be honored as Athlete of the Year at this years X Dance Film Festival.
GRINDTV- Congratulations on being named "athlete of the year" at this years X-Dance. What did you do when you heard the news?
JEREMY JONES-I had just gotten out of the mountains from a 3 day winter camping mission and was kind of out of it. My brother had left me a message but I did not really believe it. I figured that maybe I was just nominated for the award.
What's your feeling on being mentioned in the same category as recent winners of "Athlete of the Year" like Tony Hawk, Travis Rice, and Rob Machado?
It is very humbling and a huge honor.
It's been a big year for you with this recent award and the release of the film Deeper, tell us what it's been like for you?It is a little shocking. When I started Deeper I had no support from sponsors or movie companies. I was risking my lively hood and leaving an environment I was very dialed in with but at this point in my career I was willing to take the risk. I did not think myself or the movie would get this much attention. It has been amazing seeing how much the movie inspires people as well as see how many people came out to see the movie.
Who came up with the concept behind Deeper?
I did. My goal was to get back to exploration and hiking everything I rode. This is where I was trying to take my snowboarding for a few years. The film companies and sponsors were not into so I realized if I was going to achieve my goals I was going to have to create a new crew of camera men and riders and make my own movie.
Describe the challenges when filming a movie in unexplored and treacherous territories? The all night hikes, the camping on peaks, the frigid below temperatures?
I made sure I was surrounded by people that really loved being in the mountains and adventure. People that did not
determine the success of the day or trip solely off of whether or not we were getting shots in the movie. We had so many dark to dark days where we did not even pull the cameras out because the clouds came in when we finally made it to our objective. Some nights camp or the car seemed so far away and every step hurt, you were by yourself, food and water gone. You knew you would make it but it hurt like hell. Any situations while filming for Deeper where you felt sketched out, not sure if you were going to survive the process?
Pretty much most of the time I was on snow in Chamonix I could not let my guard down. The mountains are always moving and there is always lurking danger.
How long did it take to complete Deeper?
Two years.
Any plans in the works for another film?
Yes. I put together an amazing group of people and we learned a ton filming Deeper. Deeper proved top me that no line was too hard to get to. This has opened up the worlds mountain ranges up to me. Places that I thought were to hard to get to. Now I am ready to step it up a notch and go further.
What are your thoughts and expectations for X-Dance?
I am looking forward to meeting other film makers and athletes. Most of the year I am off in my own world so it is really cool that X-Dance brings us all together in one place to celebrate movie making.
Besides your own, which film are you most excited to see at X-Dance?
I still have not seen TGR's Light the Wick. I was in the TGR office most of the summer cutting Deeper while they were cutting LTW next door. I am fired up to see the finished product.
Tell us about another big passion of yours, the fight for the environment with Protect Our Winters?
The mountains are changing and I can not sit back and not try to slow the change down. Our kids will inherit this world and it is our duty to try and leave the planet in as good of shape as possible. Right now we are failing at this. I believe that to really effect things, consumer behavior needs to change and that the power of an actively participating and united community can have a direct influence on climate change, now and for generations behind us. This is why I started Protect Our Winters. Thanks for taking the time out to talk with us, and congratulations on being named Athlete of the Year.
Jeremy's film Deeper will screen at Saturday at 7:20pm at the Depot in Salt Lake City.
