Outside Online - Interview with Jeremy about "Further"

http://www.outsideonline.com/blog/outdoor-adventure/jeremy-jones-talks-about-his-new-movie-further.html

Jeremy Jones Talks About His New Movie, 'Further'
By Adventure Lab

Further poster. Photo: Teton Gravity Research

Earlier this week, Jeremy Jones and TGR released the trailer for the movie Further. It's the second installment in a trilogy of movies that follows the snowboarder around the world. In Further, Jones explores, camps, and splitboards remote terrain from Japan to Austria to Alaska. The movie will debut in Jones' home of Tahoe, California, at Squaw Valley on September 7. You can also pre-order DVD copies of the movie to be shipped on September 17. We caught up with Jones by email to find out a bit more about the movie.

What were the reactions you received for Deeper?
I was thinking that only backcountry riders would like it, but Deeper had a much bigger audience then I ever imagined.

How is Further different than Deeper?
With Deeper I focused on ranges I knew very well and then went deeper into them. Meaning I went to the hard-to-reach areas of the ranges that could not be reached with machines or within a day's hike. I learned a lot in the process and gained confidence and evolved the approach with Further. I focused on ranges and areas I had never been before and new very little about.

How have you changed mentally and physically since splitboarding?
I have ridden so many awesome lines in my life so these days I am looking for that ultimate mountain experience and to really challenge myself. I seek situations that require all my knowledge and physical abilities, places that I could not have gotten to a day, week, or month earlier because I did not have the strength or knowledge until that day.

You're 37 now. Have you changed the way you approached the mountains as you've gotten older? If so, how?
I have become more focused and calculated in assessing risks and I turn back on lines a lot more these days.

What was the most challenging aspect of shooting this movie?
Saying goodbye to my family is really hard. I am doing two trips a year but they are each a month long and to wild and untamed places that can be very unhospitable at times. And getting out of a warm sleeping bag every morning and putting on frozen boots never gets easy.

The most rewarding aspect of shooting this movie?
The moment I drop into a dream line that I have been dissecting for weeks. To get to that spot takes dealing with logistics, assessing snow conditions, figuring out how to safely climb the line. So much work goes into getting to that moment and it is payoff time. It feels like flying. It is the ultimate high.

—Joe Spring
@joespring
facebook.com/joespring.1

"Further" teaser released!

Jones, TGR release 'Further' teaser

ESPN.com

It's that time of the year again. Teaser season is upon us. Jeremy Jones and TGR are here to kick things off for us with a new trailer for 'Further,' which if you don't know about by now, you really haven't been paying attention. (Don't worry, you can catch up on all the behind the scenes action from the making of the movie in the 'Further Unplugged' web series.) The bigger news is that a date has been set for the 'Further' premiere. It's set to make its debut in Jones' home of Tahoe, Calif., at Squaw Valley on September 7. Check the TGR website to view the full list of tour dates. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy a taste of the epic adventure Jones and friends have in store for us come fall. 

Transworld
Jeremy Jones is back with his new film, Further. Further will explore some of the world’s most remote mountain terrain while continuing Jones’ mission to camp deep in the backcountryand on the summits of unridden lines to access nearly vertical spines and wide-open powder fields. Join Jeremy and his crew as they push their minds and bodies Further.
Further is featuring riding from: Jeremy Jones, Terje Haakonsen, Ryland Bell, Lucas Debari, Forrest Shearer, Josh Dirksen, Mitch Toelderer, Bibi Pekarek.
Filmed on location at : Japanese Alps / Atomfjella Mountains, Norway / Karwendel Range, Austria / Wrangell Mountains, Alaska / Sierra Mountains, California

Snowboarder, EWallstreeter

As nine-time SNOWBOARDER Magazine Big Mountain Rider of the Year, Jeremy Jones is one of the most acclaimed snowboarders to ever strap in. With his new movie, Jones and his band of big mountain bandits aim to ride some of the most remote peaks in the world's most exotic locales. From the makers of Deeper comes Jeremy's second film Further, where Jeremy travels to the ends of the earth to get the goods. Watch the trailer and hold your breath now.

  
Outside TV, OnBoard
For the last two winters, Jeremy and the crew at Teton Gravity Research have been working hard on producing their follow up to the acclaimed Deeper so, without further ado, here’s the first proper look at Further. It’s dramatic.
You’ll have seen glimpses of what they’ve been cooking up in the Further Unplugged webisodes and this looks like it’ll be following a similar M.O. but taking it, ahem, further. Deeper was certainly an engrossing experience and we’ve got a feeling Further is gonna be equally epic. Stay tuned for premiere tour info and more.
Here’s how TGR break it down: “Further will explore some of the world’s most remote mountain terrain while continuing Jones’ mission to camp deep in the backcountry and on the summits of unridden lines to access nearly vertical spines and wide-open powder fields. Join Jeremy and his crew as they push their minds and bodies Further.”
  
Frequency
The second film from Jeremy Jones and TGR, "Further" builds upon 2010's "Deeper" and expands the range and commitment of Jones and crew's explorations. From Norway to Austria to Alaska's unexplored Wrangell Mountains, from Jones to Haakonsen to Debari to Dirksen, here's the teaser--we can't wait to see the full feature this fall.   

TGR Interview

http://www.tetongravity.com/blogs/Deeper-Further-Higher-Jeremy-Jones-Interview-6240069.htm 

Deeper, Further, Higher: Jeremy Jones Interview

By SamPetri | July 23rd, 2012

Jeremy Jones’ Further trailer drops Wednesday, July 25, on TetonGravity.com. The two-year snowboard film project produced by Teton Gravity Research and presented by O’Neill is the second installment of the Jeremy Jones trilogy: Deeper, Further, Higher.

Shot in Japan, Norway, Austria, Alaska and California’s Sierra Mountains, this is Jones’ most ambitious film to date. Further explores some of the world's most remote mountain terrain while continuing Jones' mission to camp deep in the backcountry and on the summits of unridden lines to access nearly vertical spines and wide-open powder fields using only human power to get up and down.

In light of the trailer release, we caught up with the boss of big mountain snowboarding to give you some insight on the movie, the trilogy and his company Jones Snowboards.


What Further trip stands out the most in your mind and why?

Jeremy Jones: All the trips were really special to me. It's hard to pick one. I think going up to Svalbard [Norway] with Terje Haakonsen stands out because I was really out of my comfort zone and in a place that I knew very little about. And, I had never ridden with Terje, and I had all this anxiety going on that trip. It was the only time in 17 years that I didn't go to Alaska, and chose to go to this island right next to the North Pole instead, and I just didn't know. … I had heard that there were decent mountains there, but, you know, really didn't know what to expect, and we ended up scoring really good conditions and riding some of the best lines of my life in the middle of the night under pink skies. We were there in the spring, and it never gets dark at that time of year, so three weeks of not seeing the sun set was a trip.

What was the biggest challenge you faced while filming Further?

JJ: Hiking these lines is the biggest challenge. Primarily because we're trying to get these serious faces, and get them in powder. And there's just no room for error on the calls that you have to make in the mountains. We're on these faces for hours, and if you have one little pocket break on you on the way up it could kill you. And on the contrary, if we were on our boards riding and a little pocket breaks, it’s no big deal. So that just adds this major intensity. Every day. You'll look in the film and see all this happy, cruiser powder and it's … um … That stuff is really serious. Because we're on those slopes for hours, and if something happens, the consequences are high.

What do you look for in a location when planning a trip for Deeper, Further and Higher?

JJ: I’m looking for places with a safe snowpack. So that could be … a lot of these locations are maritime snowpacks. Austria isn't, but they had a great winter. A place like Austria can go either way. Some years it's a very dangerous snowpack, some years it's a much more manageable snowpack. This year was a very good snowpack for them. It was still tricky, but not the deep instability that would shut down a location for me. That, good terrain, and a place that still holds a lot of first descents.

What Jones snowboard do you ride the most?

JJ: I ride the Solution 161 the most.

Why?

JJ: It's just a great, versatile, all around board that works in all conditions. When you go on these trips, you have no idea if you’re going to be riding bulletproof or bottomless pow, and that board kills it on everything. Actually, in the Japan segment, I'm on a Hovercraft because I had some inspiration from Japan when I designed that board, and I felt like that was the place to ride it.


What's your favorite place to ride in the Tahoe backcountry, if you're just going to go for the morning, or on an average Wednesday?

JJ: When ever I'm out in the mountains with someone I tell them to tell their friends that we're on Donner Pass.

[Laughs] Nice. Over the past two years while filming for Further, who did you ride the most with and why?

JJ: Well, I probably ride with Ryland Bell more than anyone just because in the winter we live in the same town, and Ryland is … He rides every day. And so it's just a guarantee. If I need someone to call to go ride, to go do some mission, to go ride bulletproof ice at the resort, a rainy, slushy day in the backcountry, whatever. Ryland's down. He's happy. He's charging.

What do you hope to show with the whole trilogy of Deeper, Further and Higher?

JJ: I would say in general, just a general kind of vibe, is to get people fired up to go into the mountains. Inspire them to push themselves. Wherever you are on that spectrum, that could mean different things. I want to give the viewer a really good taste of the mountains, and also hopefully educate some people on the mountains. Because I think that's important. If you're inspiring people to go into the mountains, it comes with a responsibility to also educate them about the mountains.

Go To The Further Film Page

Watch Episodes Of Further Unplugged

High Country News - Interview with Auden Schendler and Jeremy

 http://www.hcn.org/issues/44.12/can-the-outdoor-gear-industry-wield-its-power-for-conservation/the-ski-industry-climate-hawk

The ski industry, climate hawk?

Audio - July 23, 2012 by Cally Carswell

Aspen Skiing Company Sustainability VP Auden Schendler, and professional snowboarder Jeremy Jones on why ski corporations and pro athletes should step up to the climate crisis -- and how they can do it.

Listen to the interview at the link above.

Brody Leven meets Jeremy Jones Spoof Video

Brody Leven Goes Further With O’Neill

By ryandunfee | July 20th, 2012

To say Brody Leven has been slogging uphill in the ski industry might be an understatement. Whether it’s been skinning, ice-axing and roping his way to the top of Utah’s backcountry, biking up closed mountain passes to get to the base of an objective, or living on a shoestring budget in an RV with stolen electricity in the parking space of a friend’s house, the living hasn’t been exactly easy. But it appears the going may get a little less tough, as Brody has recently signed with international outerwear brand O’Neill, thanks to a little help from snowboarding’s most infamous shred-mountaineer, the Jeremy Jones. I sat down with the recreational writer to find out how the good life came together for him.


How the hell did you get to ride with Jeremy Jones?  It took me two months just to get a fifteen-minute phone interview with him?

Jeremy has been phoning me, relentlessly, for over a year now.  Finally, while sitting at dinner in Salt Lake, a friend called me out: “You can’t just keep ignoring calls from Jeremy Jones.  If he wants to ride with you, just take a few laps with him to cool his big-mountain-jets.  I know it’ll suck, but you just have to do it.”  So, O’Neill arranged the O’Neill Experience, bringing us to Whistler to finally get it over with and let my phone stop overheating from the constant ringing.

In fact, after month 6 of calls, I finally changed his number from “Jeremy Further” to “Ignore Boarder” in my phone.

In reality, though, I met with Jeremy because Team O’Neill Snow was in Whistler filming for the O’Neill Experience, a web documentary series following the nine-member team.  I am so humbled that Jeremy made it here and was willing to work alongside me on some photoshoots.  Skiing with my hero was the experience of a lifetime, and calling him a teammate is even crazier.

http://www.tetongravity.com/blogs/Brody-Leven-Goes-Further-With-O%E2%80%99-Neill-6237019.htm

Further Unplugged Episode #9 / ESPN

http://espn.go.com/action/snowboarding/story/_/id/8157781/jeremy-jones-further-unplugged-episode-nine

Further Unplugged heads to Austria

Updated: July 11, 2012, 5:55 PM ET

By Seth Lightcap | ESPN Action Sports

 

Chapter nine of Jeremy Jones and Teton Gravity Research's Further Unplugged series shares a glimpse at a unique splitboard expedition to the Karwendel Range of Austria. For this frigid cold February mission Jones is joined by 2011 Freeride World Tour Champion Mitch Tölderer and female freerider Bibi Pekarek. The crew braves a record cold snap to bag multiple first descents in the spine-filled playground of one of the largest wilderness areas in the Eastern Alps.
The Karwendel Range looms large on the skyline above Pekarek and Tölderer's hometown of Innsbruck, Austria. Despite it's proximity to a major metropolis this slice of the Northern Limestone Alps sees virtually zero traffic in the winter. Something about the unforgiving and avy prone slopes keeps backcountry skiers away, says Tölderer.
"The Karwendel is not very inviting for most people in the winter," Tölderer remarked. "The limestone slopes are steep, rough and exposed. You also need very solid snow conditions not to get trapped by avalanches in the deep valleys."
But of course, Jones is not most people. The primordial alpine landscape of the Karwendel proved to be yet another perfect canvas for the freerider to paint first descents.

[+] Enlarge

Mitch TöldererMeet Bibi Pekarek, the first female snowboarder in a Jeremy Jones movie.

"We rode a lot of first descents on this trip and it wasn't because we were way out in the middle of nowhere," said Jones. "It's just an example of the acreage of incredible terrain in the Alps. It's mindblowing."
The long approach into the heart of the range meant the Further crew had to tow in sleds loaded with their gear. A little extra huffing and puffing up slope treated the team well however. Moving and shaking helped them battle off the double digit below zero temperatures.
"You could pour water in your water bottle and then watch it freeze in front of your eyes," said Jones. "It was unrelenting cold."
Such brutal temps were also a challenge to Pekarek.
"Camping out at minus 20 degrees Celsius made me switch more towards survival mode than ride mode," said Pekarek. "Hats off to the camera crew who were setting up time lapses when it was so cold. I didn't even consider taking off one of the three pairs of gloves I was wearing. It took a couple months before I could feel my toes again after that trip."
Pekarek's feet must not have been too frozen for freeriding. Her work ethic and talent for riding a spine line scored her the first female part in one of Jones' films.
"I wasn't hellbent on finding a female rider, just to have a female rider," said Jones. "Bibi was a natural addition because she belonged in the film. She's super fit and a huge asset in the mountains. She helped put in as many skin tracks and boot packs as I did and delivered 'A' grade action shots. I'm really excited to have her in the film."
The hometown opportunity to become an international female ambassador of the backcountry snowboarding ethic is thrilling for the Austrian freerider.
"It's an honor to represent the female splitboarding community as a part of the movie," said Pekarek. "I know a lot of girls who are into hiking and exploring so it's good to show the audience that women love the quietness of nature and being away from the hassle of busy resorts too. I hope this will encourage more girls to hike 'deeper' and 'further'."

Further Unplugged Episode #8 / ESPN

Further Unplugged: Polar Bear Handplants

Updated: July 11, 2012, 5:55 PM ET

By Seth Lightcap | ESPN Action Sports

Chapter eight of Jeremy Jones and Teton Gravity Research's "Further Unplugged" series comes to us again from Svalbard, Norway, where expedition photographer Dan Milner painstakingly snow sculpts a polar bear and a walrus that become the base camp mascots. The ice sculptures attract the eye of Terje Haakonson who sees their curvy lines as the perfect transitions for a trip ending mini-shred session complete with a few signature Haakon handplants.

[+] Enlarge

Dan MilnerWhat else would you expect out of Terje on a down day?

ESPN caught up with Milner, the ever-witty British photog, to hear more about Philip the polar bear and Rachel the walrus (Yes, he named the pair.) and how it felt to have his beloved sculptures slashed to bits by the Viking shredder.
ESPN: What inspired you to build the animal sculptures?
Milner: I have a degree in Marine Biology, so camping on a remote Arctic island that has such an abundance of marine wildlife, snow-sculpting these two marine mammals just seemed like the thing to do. We were hoping to see Polar bears or Walrus during the trip, but never did, so I thought why not build my own?
It helped having a three-day storm roll in with little else to occupy my time and 24/7 hours of light to work with. I never sculpted snow before. These were my first. They won't be my last I am sure.
Where did the names Rachel and Philip come from?
Svalbard has 3,500 polar bears and who knows how many walrus, so it seemed to me that if they all had names, some at least would have that kind of mundane, run of the mill kind of name like Rachel or Philip or Kevin or something like that. Maybe even a Reginald.
We might think they are incredible animals, but I bet if you knew some personally you'd think some of them were right boring.
How long did it take you to build the sculptures?
I made the mistake of starting with the polar bear. That's quite an ambitious sculpture, first off. I think it took me about four hours in all, including shoveling what amounted to about a ton of snow. Rachel followed up on day two at around two hours in all, including the coloring with cocoa powder.
How did the idea of Terje sessioning the sculptures come about?
The day before we left camp we thought it right to 'sacrifice' them to the Norse god of the Arctic. Who better to do than Terje? I'm just hoping that they made it onto Google Earth or street view before they got hammered.
How did the amazement of watching one of the most famous shredders ever handplant them stack up against the sadness of their destruction?
To this day I still don't know how Terje can ride like that and pull one-footed handplants. But then again, I never saw him build any snow sculptures, so maybe that makes us even?
Seeing them get nailed was a little sad, as it signaled the end to the Svalbard camp session. The two weeks we were camping out were two of the most incredible weeks of my life. It's a stunning place, full of beauty and incredibly unspoiled wildlife. We should make sure it stays that way.
 

Further Unplugged Episode #7 / ESPN

Further Unplugged: Jones' Jet-A

Updated: July 11, 2012, 5:57 PM ET

By Seth Lightcap | ESPN Action Sports

Chapter seven of Jeremy Jones and Teton Gravity Research's Further Unplugged Series digs into Jones' backpack and takes a look at the super food he carries with him on big days in the mountains. We're not talking about his mom's secret meatloaf recipe though. To fuel Jones' dawn to dark splitboarding missions he passes on the cold pizza and turkey sandwiches, choosing instead to eat like a competitive triathlete -- strictly energy gels and energy chews.
Watching Jones climb nearly every line he rides these days it makes perfect sense why finding the human equivalent of Jet-A heli gas was so important to him. The exhausting multi-hour approaches and gut wrenchingly steep descents were enough to deal with, feeling queasy from eating the wrong food only made matters worse.
"I used to eat a sandwich in the middle of the day but I would feel too full and then get a crash a couple hours later," said Jones about his pre-DEEPER diet. "So I talked to a bunch of trainers and other alpinists about the food that worked best for them and everybody agreed that energy gels were the most efficient and easiest to digest fuel you could eat."
The nutritional science behind why all snowboarders, and any athlete for that matter, should pay attention to Jones' performance tip is simple. Your body burns between 500-1000 calories an hour while exercising depending on your weight, metabolism, fitness level and the intensity of the workout. For maximum energy you need to replace half of those calories an hour with food -- about 200-400 calories. You don't have to replace all the calories you burn because you have some stored calories known as glycogen. When the glycogen is gone and you haven't eaten anything is when you bonk.

Jones powers up for a 6 hour hike, straight up.

The honey-like energy gel packets and gummi bear-like energy chews are made of simple carbohydrates, sugars and electrolytes that melt in your mouth and deliver an instant punch of about 100 calories to your bloodstream. Feeling weak after a mega long pow run? Pop an energy gel when you get on the chairlift and you'll likely feel stronger by the time you unload says Jones.
"I can absolutely feel the effects after eating an energy gel," Jones said. "I set my clock by it. Five minutes after I eat a gel I get 25 minutes of power."
To sustain that power requires Jones' to consume about two energy gels or packets of energy chews an hour when he's on the move. On long backcountry tours Jones admits to eating the gels and chews "non-stop" and reaches for the gels that contain caffeine at the end of especially ruthless days.
"If I'm really hammered the turbo gels with the extra caffeine will pick you up off the ground and get you running," says Jones. "I always keep an extra one of those in my pack."
Jones is quick to clarify that this Further Unplugged episode is no infomercial though. It's just the reality of what it takes him to pound the peaks, day in, day out and feel strong.
"If you could have seen the amount of Clif products that have fueled my films than you would understand that we are just stating the facts," said Jones. "We don't believe in these products because they pay us. We eat this stuff because it works. These are the calories that have given us the energy to climb all these mountains." 

Further Unplugged Episode #6 / ESPN

Further Unplugged: Polar bear prank

Updated: July 11, 2012, 5:58 PM ET

By Seth Lightcap | ESPN Action Sports

Further, Unplugged: Polar Bear Prank

The latest episode in Jeremy Jones' behind-the-scenes web series takes us to the Arctic, where the crew learns how to face the danger of polar bear attacks.

Chapter six of Jeremy Jones and Teton Gravity Research's "Further Unplugged" series details a close encounter with a 'man-eater' that had TGR cinematographer Dan Gibeau running for his life. After Gibeau accidentally sets off the polar bear alarm surrounding the camp in Norway, Jones and the TGR crew trick him into thinking a polar bear is actually coming to eat him. Gibeau's desperate reaction to the prank is classic basecamp comedy.
Despite the 'down day' humor, the premise of the polar bear prank is based upon a reality that's not so funny. The island of Svalbard where Jones and Terje Haakonson filmed for "Further" in April 2011 is home to over 500 polar bears and has been the scene of dozens of polar bear attacks. Six people have been killed by polar bears on Svalbard since 1973. The most recent was in August 2011 when a starving bear attacked a British youth group, killing one student and injuring four others.
During the Further crew's three week stay in Svalbard they were accompanied by an Austrian guide named Gigi who took the lead in protecting their camp from intruding polar bears. Gigi's two lines of defense were a rifle that he carried with him at all times and a rigged trip wire surrounding camp that blew off a flare when tripped. Gibeau mistakenly set off the trip wire not once, but twice in their first two weeks at camp, inciting Gigi, Jones and TGR production director Jon Klaczkiewicz to plot revenge on him.
The prank unfolded with Gibeau dead asleep in his tent. The bear wire was tripped on purpose and Gigi began screaming about a bear in camp. Gibeau woke suddenly to Gigi's yelling, only to hear what he thought was a polar bear scratching at his tent walls. The bear was actually fellow TGR camerman Chris Edmands, down on all fours, scratching and snorting around next to Gibeau's tent.
What happened next is the stuff of basecamp legend.

TGR/MilnerPolar bear tracks, and the "bear alert" wire surrounding the Further crew base camp rigged to blow off a flare when tripped. Snow camping in Svalbard is no joke.

"The night before this all happened I had a vivid dream that a polar bear was at my tent," explained Gibeau. "I escaped the bear in my dream by cutting my way out of my tent and running away. So when the bear alarm went off the very next day and I heard scratching at my tent, I thought this was definitely real. I started to panic so I went with what had worked in my dream. I grabbed my knife, cut my way out, ran as fast as I could in my long johns and socks across the snow and dove head first into the group tent."
Photographer Dan Milner witnessed Gibeau's mad dash to safety.
"I don't think I ever saw eyes that wide when Dan burst into the group tent, Leatherman in hand, having slashed his way out of his own tent," said Milner. "Of course he was pretty spooked and soon came round to cussing us all when he realised it was a prank. It took him a little while to calm down, days I think, which made us feel a little guilty, but we all admired the way he actually dealt with the perceived threat, both slashing his way out of the safe side of his tent and going for the guns when he got to the group tent."
Gibeau was indeed bent out of shape by the prank, but has since found some humor in it.
"In retrospect it's pretty funny, but at first it wasn't at all," said Gibeau. "I knew that a polar bear wouldn't be coming into my tent looking for food. It was coming in looking for me. Edmands is lucky he didn't get hurt actually. One of my first thoughts was to stab towards the polar bear with my knife. But then I thought that might just piss him off. It definitely wouldn't have been such a funny webisode if Edmands had been stabbed!"

O'Neill Snow Vimeo - Jeremy Jones talks "Further"

O'Neill's Jeremy Jones talks "Further" from O'Neill Snow on Vimeo.
Seen online at Transworld Business, Whitelines, Outside TV and more.

Jeremy Jones talks ‘Further,’ avalanches and polar bears

Here’s an insightful interview with big mountain Jeremy Jones. It’s all really interesting stuff and Jeremy touches on his upcoming movie project ‘Further,’ the scariest moment he has had filming it, the risk that polar bears pose in the Arctic, what it takes to stay fit and of course, seeing as the video was put together by O’Neill, his outerwear. This one’s well worth a watch if you’re interested in some of the background to the shooting of Jeremy’s new movie as well as some of the lifestyle and habits of the free riding legend.

Jeremy Jones Talks ‘Further’: http://vimeo.com/45115570
Antoine Truchon ‘Switch Nollie FS Tail to Switch Up’ trick tip: http://vimeo.com/45116451