It's not a stretch to call Jeremy Jones the greatest snowboarder of all time. The pro rider has made a career of bringing backcountry snowboarding to the mainstream. His expeditions and innovations鈥攊ncluding the designs he helped create for his company, 鈥攕tem from his drive to explore winter in meaningful and often insanely demanding ways.
In 2007, Jones founded , a nonprofit that works to reduce the effects of climate change and draw attention to the snowy places we鈥檙e in danger of losing. The newest film of his human-powered snowboard trilogy, , dropped in October. The day we caught up with him to talk about his favorite places to ride and his favorite gear, gusts of wind bludgeoned his phone. We pictured him hanging from a cliff with one hand while calmly giving an interview with the other.
Favorite Destination: Squaw Valley, California
鈥淚 originally moved here because of the resort, but over time I realized how lucky I am to have the huge variety of backcountry terrain. The Sierras boast over 400 miles of totally protected mountain, only accessible on foot, with relatively safe coastal snowpack. It鈥檚 a splitboarder鈥檚 paradise.
“I love that I can still make new backyard discoveries. I鈥檝e been in this range for 20 years, and one day it just hit me that I was looking at one of the most amazing faces in the range. That鈥檚 the exciting thing with the mountains鈥攜our brain is only ready to see things when it鈥檚 time to see them.鈥
Favorite Gear: Jones Snowboards Solution
鈥淚 started the company when I realized that the last frontier are mountains you can only access by foot. The ($849) was my answer for getting there: on any given day you could start in dirt and end up in high, winter snow. We built the board to handle the switch from bulletproof ice to deep powder to funky crust. We鈥檝e put tons of attention to the nose and entry point because that鈥檚 where a lot of falls happen. Between the feet, the board is meant to hold on to ice. And the tail is freestyle.
“The best part of owning a snowboard company is getting to thoroughly test the stuff. Hey, it鈥檚 a tough job!鈥