Jeremy Jones goes deeper, further, higher: A snowboarder's rise to greatness
Legendary big mountain snowboarder Jeremy Jones has been pushing boundaries
for more than two decades - from first descents in Alaska and groundbreaking
movies to fighting climate change and designing innovative new boards, Matt
Barr speaks to him.
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Lines like this one in Alaska are Jone's raison d'etrePhoto: Jeremy Jones
By Matt Barr
11:29AM BST 24 Sep 2013
Snowboarder Jeremy Jones has always been a pioneer. He started skiing at the
age of three, and snowboarding at nine, and first came to prominence in the
mid 1990s as a hard boot-wearing snowboard racer. After narrowly missing out
on a place at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, he stopped racing
to dedicate himself to his true passion – freeriding.
For Jones, snowboarding in its purest form was riding untracked, big-mountain
powder runs in the most imaginative way possible. He soon made a name for
himself as one of the most extreme freeriders in the world, changing the way
snowboarders saw the sport with every hard-charging, Alaskan first descent
he posted.
“I love the solitude of being in the mountains, and the ever-changing
conditions and terrain,” he says. “I love riding untouched mountains. There
is so much room for creativity. There’s no wrong or right way to ride them
and no matter how well you ride a mountain, it can always be ridden better.
Also, the whole process of searching for new lines, studying the snow and
eventually safely riding them is really fulfilling.”
Jones went on to star in a host of top movies, including The Tangerine Dream,
Anomaly and Soul Purpose. In 2007, he founded Protect Our Winters (POW), a
non-profit organisation dedicated to uniting the wintersports community in
the fight against climate change. One way of doing this was to forego the
use of lifts and helicopters to access the mountains, opting instead to hike
and climb. This ethos was showcased in the 2010 movie Deeper, which saw
Jones, and other top riders, travelling into the backcountry and away from
the confines of conventional ski resorts in search of new and untouched
snowboarding environments to conquer. The film, which saw him scaling then
riding some of the steepest faces ever ridden, really cemented Jones’
reputation as a true innovator and legend of the sport.
For Jones, who has developed his own line of snowboards – Jones Snowboards –
taking his riding to such extremes was the next logical step in a career
spent searching for isolated, perfect, steep lines of soft snow. “These
films are about finding the dream lines, waiting for the perfect conditions
and riding them in good, soft snow,” he says. “It’s not about the trophy
peak.”
Deeper’s approach changed the freeriding landscape by showing it is possible
to access insane lines without the help of helis – and now the sequel,
Further, looks set to do the same. It’s the same principle, only this time
Jones is going even – yes – further in his quest to find the perfect run.
How is Further different from Deeper?
With Deeper I learned a lot about going into mountains on foot and making
movies about it. We’ve evolved the production and the riding side. With
Deeper, I realised there are no more boundaries, so Further takes me more
off the map, to locations such as Svalbard in Norway and the Japanese Alps.
You’re already planning the third instalment of the trilogy, Higher. Where
are you hoping to travel for that one?
I’ve got a list of about 10 destinations, but you’ll have to wait and see the
film. Usually, I start with a list, but it’s so unpredictable sometimes I
may hit just one of them or none at all. You have to be pretty flexible with
Mother Nature. The films usually take a couple of winters to make.
What does your wife think about what you do?
She’s accepted what I do. If she didn’t, and it was too hard on my family
life, I would stop what I’m doing. She’s been very supportive. I spend a lot
of time in the mountains with her.
How does what you do compare to the dangers of ordinary skiing or
snowboarding?
The most serious accidents I have seen in the mountains have been on
intermediate backcountry terrain. I could have been with my wife on it. If
you look at the fatalities last year, it tends to be in that kind of
terrain. Not that I’m saying this means that when I get into the steep
stuff, it makes it any less serious. But if you gave me the choice between
riding 50-degree faces and guiding unknown clients on 30-degree bowls of
powder, I’d take the 50-degree faces with the experienced crew every day. I
don’t mean that negatively, I just think people gain comfort from thinking,
“Well, I like the backcountry but I can’t do what that guy does.” But look
at the numbers.
I hate to say it, but I’ve lost more friends in resorts over the years than
anywhere else. There’s risk everywhere. That doesn't downplay what we’re
doing. I have the utmost respect, humility and anxiety for what we’re doing,
because I know it’s serious stuff.
How do you judge a run?
The main thing is evaluating avalanche conditions. We start on small, steep
slopes with safe outruns, of similar aspect and elevation to the one we’re
planning. Next, we’ll cut a small cornice so it lands on the test slope,
acting as a bomb. Then we’ll abseil on to the slope and dig a pit. If we
like the pit, we’ll ski across the slope to cut it, testing the snowpack’s
stability.
From there, we’ll work our way up to bigger slopes. If the snowpack is solid
then things move quickly. We’ll land at a possible camera angle; riders will
discuss lines and get a photo with their digi cam. Once we’re on top of the
intended line I will hike around to see as much of the slope as possible.
I’ll double check with my photo I’m in the right spot, and then possibly
drop another cornice or get a snow report if someone goes before me. Before
dropping in I’ll determine an island of safety if the slope slides, and will
always have a sluff management plan.
When were you last really scared out riding?
I walked out of a line in Chile this summer – not because I thought I was
going to die. The last thing I wanted to do was take my snowboard off and
hike back up, but I did it because I didn’t like what was in front of me. I
didn’t have an ice axe or crampons, it was hard snow and a no-fall
situation. No big deal, but I was happy when I was off the snow, for sure.
How often does it go that way?
It’s common. I approach a line with the attitude that it’s a huge maybe. A
line is guilty until proven innocent. I’m looking for reasons to turn
around. When everything is perfect, you’re strapped in at the top saying,
“God, I can’t believe it, I’m about to shred this incredible line.” It
almost seems too good to be true. My approach to snowboarding – my whole
career, even – has been about finding these steep lines with soft snow and
riding them safely. That’s what drives me.
What are your favourite resorts?
Jackson Hole – it’s 1200m of vertical with every type of riding imaginable –
and my home resort of Squaw Valley.
Tell me about Jones Snowboards. What’s the ethos of the brand?
The ethos? Snowboards for riding mountains is the short answer. Obviously
we’re heavily backcountry-focused, but the reality of the backcountry is
that it isn’t all just powder, powder, powder, as you soon learn. Being able
to ride in hard snow is critical, so our boards work phenomenally well in
poor conditions as well as powder.
The industry’s bigger brands seem to market to younger riders. Would you
say your boards are more for the discerning, older rider?
Our stereotypical rider has been riding for 10 years, he’s more in the 25- to
45-year-old range. It’s why I started Jones, as I wasn’t getting the boards
I needed. I knew other guys who also were not getting the boards they
needed. So, I decided to make boards that would suit experienced
snowboarders who know how to ride and understand the mountains. I felt this
was something the industry wasn’t catering for.
Are you worried about how the economic downturn might affect Jones?
Not really. I didn’t start Jones to become this mega brand. We’re a niche
brand, and one thing that’s never died in snowboarding is the passionate
riders at the serious resorts. They’ve been there doing what they do from
day one whether or not the media thought what they were doing was cool or
not. Right now, we are a little bit cool and we get to be in magazines, but
we’ll be uncool again in a few years.
What advice would you give an ordinary, two-week-a-year snowboarder,
inspired by watching your films, who’s keen to take their riding to the next
level and experience somewhere like Alaska? How should they prepare and
where should they go?
How I prepare – and this is what I tell people to do – is by going and riding
a lot of steep, hardpack snow, while wearing a backpack, over and over
again. Top to bottom runs, off piste – the worst conditions the better. Go
to Chamonix for a week and really ride until you can barely walk. That would
be a good start.
What does snowboarding mean to you after all you’ve been through together?
I’ve focused my life on snowboarding and it has been very good to me in
return. I really love to surf, but there’s no question snowboarding comes
first. It’s just so easy to walk off the side of the road and achieve true
solitude in untouched mountains if you’re not afraid to hike for it.
Snowboarding is a gift that keeps on giving – the list of things I want to
do in snowboarding will keep me riding forever.
What does the future hold?
Family, waves, powder, rock climbing, mountain biking.
jonessnowboards.com
Time to Protect Our Winters - Marstel-Day's Rebecca R. Rubin Interviews World Renowned Snowboarder, Jeremy Jones
Our winter playgrounds are under
siege - a loss of snowpack as a result of milder and shorter winters are
conspiring to end generations of snow-dependent recreation across the
globe, says extreme snowboarder, Jeremy Jones. In a newly- posted Vital
Voices of the Environment interview with Marstel-Day President and CEO,
Rebecca R. Rubin, Jones explains how shrinking glaciers and reduced snow
are yet another casualty of climate change, and that without action the
future is grim not just for recreationalists, but for businesses and
downstream water users.
Extreme Snowboarder Jeremy Jones
Jeremy
has given voice to an influential group of individuals that are seeing
first hand the devastating evidence of our rapidly warming planet.
Fredericksburg, VA (PRWEB) September 18, 2013
Our winter playgrounds are under siege - a loss of snowpack as a result
of milder and shorter winters are conspiring to end generations of
snow-dependent recreation across the globe, says extreme snowboarder,
Jeremy Jones. In a newly- posted Vital Voices of the Environment
interview with Marstel-Day
President and CEO, Rebecca R. Rubin, Jones explains how shrinking
glaciers and reduced snow are yet another casualty of climate change,
and that without action the future is grim not just for
recreationalists, but for businesses and downstream water users.
See interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nVTJabDh4Y
"Jeremy Jones is the face of a new generation taking it to the
streets in the fight against Climate Change," said Rubin. "When he's not
big mountain freeriding around the globe, he can be found in
Washington, D.C. challenging Congress and the Administration to protect
our winters by taking steps to address the realities of climate change."
In his battle to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change
to winter sports, commerce and water users, Jones established the
non-profit advocacy group, Protect Our Winters (POW), that is
galvanizing the winter sports community around the fight, and enlisting
professional athletes to joint him in getting word out to
decision-makers and the public. Among his recent accolades, he was
recognized as a "Champion of Change" by the White House for his
effective advocacy.
Among its various initiatives, Protect Our Winters has partnered with
The North Face to educate students about the threat of climate change
through its "Hot Planet, Cool Athletes" program. The program has reached
thousands of school kids, with pro winter sports athletes give
high-impact multi-media programs that provide them with a platform to
share their experiences witnessing climate change first hand. With
Jeremy's leadership, the group also delivered a letter to Capitol Hill,
signed by over 500 professional athletes, corporations and others to
protect the EPA and the Clean Air Act's ability to regulate CO2 as a
pollutant. The effort led to more than 1.2 million media impressions in
outlets such as ESPN, USA Today, The Hill, NPR and others.
Marstel-Day's Vital Voices of the Environment series spotlights
critical thinkers and planners, each of whom offers unique insight on
the key issues we face now and for the environmental future of our
planet. "Jeremy has given voice to an influential group of individuals
that are seeing first hand the devastating evidence of our rapidly
warming planet," said Rubin.
These
winter athletes have experienced first-hand the impact of climate
change, inspiring them to work hard to protect our Earth.
By Mary Kate Campbell
For Jeremy Jones, snow is not just a sign of winter. To the 38-year-old
Truckee, California, native, snowfall is a symbol of his career, his
passion, and his lifestyle. Jones, a 10-time Snowboarder Magazine big-mountain rider of the year and a National Geographic
Adventurer of the Year nominee, worries that climate change will
prevent future generations from experiencing the winter season as we
know it today.
Jones founded Protect
Our Winters in 2007 to unite the winter sports community against climate
change through education, activism, and community projects. The idea
was that winter athletes were the best spokespeople for this topic. They
experience first-hand how climate change is impacting their sports and,
on a larger scale, affecting the Earth.
Carbon
emissions, often produced by burning fossil fuels (like gasoline, for
instance), have contributed to global warming. After seeing resorts
closed and areas that once had great jumps for snowboarding shut down
due to insufficient snowfall, Jones realized that climate change was a
crisis that needed to be addressed. "Our mountains are fine in the
immediate future," Jones says. "I will have snow to ride on, but this is
for the future generations."
Since
2010, Jones has visited Washington, D.C., three times to spark
conversation and bring awareness to Protect Our Winters' cause. Jones
says he can see the issue making progress, as more policy makers see
that climate change can impact everything from the environment to the
economy.
However, the nation's capital
is not the only place where change is taking place. Protect Our Winters
partners with The North Face and Alliance For Climate Education to visit
schools through their Hot Planet/Cool Athletes program. Protect Our
Winters educates students about the issue, using an interactive
presentation with stories from professional winter athletes to inspire
kids to make a difference. Jones says that paying attention to little
things in your day-to-day life can help the environment, too. For
example, he limits his "carbon footprint" by buying locally grown food.
And instead of using snowmobiles and helicopters to get up mountains, he
hikes for his snowboarding adventures. "This is the planet you are
inheriting" Jones says.
Since founding Protect Our Winters, Jones has become a frequent Capitol Hill visitor.
Courtesy Protect Our Winters Protect Our Winters (POW) founder Jeremy Jones was named one of President Barack Obama's "Champions of Change" this spring in a White House ceremony honoring 12 Community Resilience Leaders.
Jones -- 2013 National Geographic "Adventurer of the Year" nominee
and Snowboarder Magazine's 10-time "Best Big Mountain Rider of the Year"
-- started POW to address the effects of climate change he was
witnessing and experiencing firsthand during the filming of his
"Deeper," "Further," "Higher" backcountry snowboarding movie trilogy.
His last trip to Washington, D.C. was to present a study commissioned by
POW and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) detailing the potential economic and job loss in the winter-sports industry and the many towns that industry supports, as snowfall gets increasingly sporadic and unpredictable.
Jones left for a three-week splitboarding adventure in the Eastern
Alaska Range shortly after his trip to the White House, but we managed
to track him down just as he was prepping for his next mission to
Alaska's Denali National Park. XGames.com: We haven't caught up with you since you were honored
at the White House. You've already made several trips to meet with
lawmakers on Capitol Hill. At this rate you're going to need to find a
suit and tie sponsor for all your trips to Washington.
Jeremy Jones: I still don't know how to tie a tie, but maybe a
couple more trips and I'll have that down! The White House Champions of
Change recognition was a huge honor, even though we didn't actually get
to meet Obama.
I've been to Capitol Hill a handful of times now, and it definitely
feels like the conversation about climate change in Washington has
changed a bit in that time. Eight years ago this would have been a
harder Champions of Change group to pull together, and now there are
hundreds of good people out there working on these issues.
I was honored to be among the 12 highlighted this year, but it also
makes it all the more frustrating that we really haven't had any big
victories yet. There's a lot of work ahead of us on every front.
"Less than one
percent of all skiers and snowboarders have gotten involved with our
efforts, and less than one percent of all companies in the snow or
outdoor adventure industry are part of POW."Jeremy JonesAre you surprised by how quickly opportunities like this have come up since starting POW?
In certain matters, yes. Going to the White House? I definitely never anticipated that.
But then again less than one percent of all skiers and snowboarders
have gotten involved with our efforts, and less than one percent of all
companies in the snow or outdoor adventure industry are part of POW.
We have an annual board meeting at SIA and the reality is that there
are still only about five companies who meaningfully support what we're
trying to do.
So this whole thing is really in its infancy with a whole lot of
untapped potential and whole lot still to be done, and you try not to
let walking into the White House go to your head. What are you optimistic about?
We have a couple different efforts that we're doing on the political
front and we continue to get better at that, but what I'm most excited
about is our Hot Planet/Cool Athletes school program, where we go in
with an athlete and a climate specialist and do an interactive
presentation to school kids.
The message is, "Hey this is the world you're coming into and here
are some people doing some great things to solve some of the problems,
and we need you to step up and face this challenge."
You can really knock your head against the wall in Washington, but
seeing how enthusiastic the kids are and how ready they are is where it
gets uplifting and gives you some hope for what's next. "Higher," the third installment of your movie trilogy, is now
under way. What's different about your approach to this project compared
to the first two films?
I've learned so much over the last five years about going into the
mountains on foot, finding really special lines, and documenting them.
We're just getting started on this two-year project, and already it's
been incredible for us.
I was able to ride off the Grand Teton in knee-deep powder on a line
I'd been trying to put together for five years now. And the other trip
we did this year was in the Eastern Alaska Range.
We thought we'd go in there for 7-10 days and it ended up being 20
days. I rode the biggest and most challenging line I've ever ridden in
Alaska. I feel like we're really hitting our stride, and the attitude
and vibe of these trips has been really special. While you were in Alaska in April you got word that your Jones
Snowboards sales rep Joe Timlin and some other friends and colleagues
were among the dead in the avalanche on Loveland Pass in Colorado. How did getting that news affect that trip?
Courtesy Protect Our WintersA
"Champion of Change" is an honor given by the White House to 12
citizens, businesses, and community leaders who are working to prepare
their communities for the consequences of climate change.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the first time I've gotten a call like that.
But that doesn't make it any easier. I was literally driving to the
airstrip and got the call an hour before I was going into the mountains
for three weeks.
The last thing I wanted to do at that point was go into the
mountains, and I pretty much crawled into them that day. I would say
"timid" is an understatement.
But as sad and horrific as it was for us, and the mood of the camp at
the start of that trip -- which was at an all-time low -- crawling into
the mountains is actually the attitude you want to have. You don't want
to come into serious terrain full of testosterone, over-amped and
overconfident.
But being out there was also a good place for us to work out those
thoughts in our head and begin the healing process. I went and rode the
biggest line of my life, and did it thinking of Joe and those guys.
It was very emotional, and we ended up naming the mountain Mt. Timlin
out of respect. All five of those guys were in our thoughts that whole
trip. Is there any one message you really hope comes across in your films?
The bottom line is I've made thousands of good calls in the mountains
and they don't mean anything tomorrow when I go into the mountains.
We're all one bad call away from not coming home.
The dangers are real, and rule No. 1 is: Come home. The words
"ride to live another day" probably go through my head a hundred times
every day when I'm making decisions in the mountains.
Our list continues with big mountain powerhouse Jeremy Jones, a true snowboarder's snowboarder.
Welcome to Redbull.com’s World Top 20 Snowboarders. What
follows is a rundown of snowboarding’s best pipers, jibbers, big
mountain slayers and jumpers. It is a contentious list compiled by a
panel of industry no-gooders, who by all accounts should know their
tindies from their tailgrabs.
Jeremy Jones is more than just your average professional snowboarder. He’s a father, environmentalist, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year nominee, company owner and Champion of Change. Jeremy
is one of the few that explore the places we all dream about, spending
weeks winter camping in Alaska, hiking and shredding new peaks in the
Alps and dodging polar bears in far away Svalbard. Jeremy is taking
snowboarding to new places and bringing freeriding into the mainstream.
Jones has long been one of the best freeriders in the world. There
are very few who can match his skill and control on a snowboard, and
even less who will drop into the type of lines that Jones feels
comfortable on. He grew up on the East Coast, where board control and
learning to turn on any type of terrain is essential just to make it
down the hill. Like many from the right coast, migration west drew Jones
to bigger mountains with better snow and once there he found his place.
There are not many professionals that have the film history of
Jones, who’s logged parts in films by Standard, Teton Gravity Research
and Brain Farm. His most impressive project started in 2010 with the
release of Deeper, the first video in a three-part documentary that
follows Jones as he adventures around the globe to places off the map
for most snowboarders. The movie was absolutely insane and in 2012 it
was followed up with part two in 2012, Further. Both films were game
changers as Jones demonstrated that even the harshest environments and
mountains have the potential to be ridden.
One characteristic that sets Jones apart is his commitment to the
environment. Let’s face it, climate change is becoming a large issue and
is starting to drastically affect the landscape that us snowboarders
love. Jones realized that something needed to be done to help combat
this issue and out of this ideology Jones started the non-profit
organization Protect Our Winters.
With the support of the winter sport community, Jones and POW have been
working to fight against climate change to keep our winter’s epic.
Jeremy
has given voice to an influential group of individuals that are seeing
first hand the devastating evidence of our rapidly warming planet.
Jones has long been one of the best freeriders in the world. There
are very few who can match his skill and control on a snowboard, and
even less who will drop into the type of lines that Jones feels
comfortable on. He grew up on the East Coast, where board control and
learning to turn on any type of terrain is essential just to make it
down the hill. Like many from the right coast, migration west drew Jones
to bigger mountains with better snow and once there he found his place.
One characteristic that sets Jones apart is his commitment to the
environment. Let’s face it, climate change is becoming a large issue and
is starting to drastically affect the landscape that us snowboarders
love. Jones realized that something needed to be done to help combat
this issue and out of this ideology Jones started the non-profit
organization Protect Our Winters.
With the support of the winter sport community, Jones and POW have been
working to fight against climate change to keep our winter’s epic.
