Jeremy Jones: snowboarding's king of the mountain shares his secrets for fitness, motivation, and saving the planet
by Noah Johnson
* Like most thrill-seeking back-country boarders, this icon once used helicopters and snowmobiles to reach the world's most enticing snowcapped peaks. Not anymore. Now the 36-year-old star of dozens of different snowboarding flicks hikes to those regions, forsaking motorized transportation altogether. In so doing, he's changed the way people ride backcountry. Next? Change the world. MF caught up with the founder and CEO of Protect Our Winters, a nonprofit environmental center for winter sports, to find out just what in the hell he's thinking.Men's Fitness: Why'd you turn your back on snowmobiles and helicopters?
JJ: In the past, I'd write off a lot of ranges or big, vast areas of mountain ranges that I considered too hard to get to. Now I feel if there's a line [or path down the mountain] that's good enough to get my attention, I'll hike for days to get to it. It's opened up all this new terrain.
MF: Did it make a difference?
JJ: All the other backcountry spots are so overdone--everyone's doing it, and everyone's going to the same spots. By getting away from vehicles, you get back to full-on exploration.
MF: Tell us about your training.
JJ: I hike, climb, and mountain bike as often as possible. As soon as there's snow on the ground, I'm out hiking and splithoarding. A big chunk of my fitness comes in the mountains.
MF: What about the gym?
JJ: Mostly core. Balance training, plyometrics, kettlebells--stuff that I'm not totally getting on a long day in the mountains. I never use those machines that isolate one muscle at a time.
MF: What keeps you motivated?
JJ: It can be tough, but then all of a sudden I'll see three photos of [mountain] faces that are in form and ready to go, and I'm like, "All right, let's go do it!"
MF: Anywhere you look forward to visiting?
JJ: I've got a few photos of mountains in Japan that I need to go and ride. There's another in the country of Georgia--it's the right size mountain and the right proximity to the ocean. Anywhere there are sick lines--if I score one or two epic lines, then that's an awesome trip.
MF: What made you go green?
JJ: Seeing definitive change in the mountains--in my lifetime! Seeing changes in 15 years, that was just shocking to me. It got me thinking: "What is each generation gonna see in their lifetime?" I felt as if I could help make a difference.
MF: You recently started your own company, Jones Snowboards--is that a part of this vision?
JJ: With everything in my life, the environment plays a factor. It's part of every decision. In this case, the product wasn't getting made the way I wanted it made. I guess I got sick of listening to people tell me no.
