The God of Skiing: Introduction

Their stories are trapped like butterflies under ice. And their exploits and adventures disappear over the years in the wind. In the high mountain towns they gather the sun on their faces like poor playboys, drunk in the bars at night, never worrying about anything except when it will snow and when they might feel the warmth of someone else’s skin. They travel through blue air and black clouds across the cold peaks of Montana, Switzerland, the Himalayas and Patagonia, alone and unknown, up against the sky like lost angels looking for their broken wings. Read more

Renaissance Rider: Shred White and Blue’s Jeremy Jones Interview

Tahoe, California (Shred White and Blue) — It’s no secret what huge Jeremy Jones fans we are around here at Shred White and Blue. From his unbelievably smooth big mountain snowboarding style to his visionary planning and implementation of the Protect Our Winters Foundation – already one of the coolest movements in action sports environmentalism – the guy’s been a hero for awhile.

But when we saw the trailer for Deeper, the turn-earned big mountain backcountry snowboard quest he’s developing with his brothers at Teton Gravity Research, we collectively said, “how does he do it all?” Then we got word that he’s about to introduce his own signature JONES Snowboard line, and had to give him a call.

Halloween Day, on his way to Antarctica, Jeremy took the time to talk. Here’s what he had to say:

Shred White and Blue: Jeremy, thanks very much for taking the time. It looks like you’ve got five different careers going right now, including being a dad, an extreme athlete, making a movie, building an action sports environmental movement, and now launching a snowboard brand? How do you stay focused on all those things, and make sure they’re all moving forward at the same time?

Jeremy Jones: It can be a little overwhelming at times but the key is the people I am surrounded by.  I have made amazing relationships over the years and I draw on those relationships to achieve success in all these different ventures. In order for my world to work I rely on a lot of people to do their job. Being a pro rider is job number one and I have no problems unplugging and losing myself in the mountains for weeks on end. This keeps me grounded and energized.

Shred White and Blue: Starting with the snowboard launch, it looks like you’ve already been riding some prototypes on some pretty big exposures – what’s different about what you’re going to bring to market? Why pick now to start a snowboard brand?

Jeremy Jones: The last few years I have had a growing desire to put more focus toward the freerider.  There are hundreds of park boards out there but a limited number of good freeride boards and I am seeing more and more people stepping away from the park and starting to explore more of the mountain. This is super important for the growth of snowboarding. We are losing a lot of older riders because all they know about is the park and they are getting sick of getting hurt so they are heading to the beach.  With this company and my new movie Deeper I hope to inspire people to keep evolving their riding.

We will have a strong focus toward freeride boards. Unlike most companies where freeriding is an afterthought, for us it is the primary focus.  This focus will hopefully lead to innovative products for people that like to ride the whole mountain – steeps, jumps, etc. and keep snowboarding.

Shred White and Blue: And I’ve got to admit that I already watched the teaser for Deeper 8 or 12 times. Not to put too much pressure on your filming for this year, but so far it looks awesome. Why does it appear so unique? What’s so different about what you’re doing?

Jeremy Jones: Hiking has always made up a large part of my winter but when it came time to film I often used heli’s and snowmobiles. These areas (where we film) have become over crowded and we had hit all the low hanging fruit.

I wanted to get back to solitude, adventure, and new descents. By hiking past boundaries set in place by helis and snowmobiles we are able to get into bigger mountains, away from people and back to first descents.

Shred White and Blue: On the environmental aspect, part of our mission here is to celebrate that inherent sense of soul and native soil in American boardsports, and we’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from what you’re doing with the Protect Our Winters Foundation. Why has this movement begun to gain so much traction?

Jeremy Jones: From the start all my energy was put toward making Protect Our Winters a legit organization. I have relied on experts in the field and 98% of the money we have raised has gone toward programs that show tangible results. Real front line programs were I can show people where their money is going and they can be confident that their money is going as far as possible to slow down climate change.

A lot of these projects are just getting completed now and are starting get some attention.  Our volunteers have really helped in are success too. Chris Steinkamp, our executive director, has been working nights and weekends the last three years keeping everything in line. I am proud to say he is now full time with Protect Our Winters and we are now expanding faster then ever on all fronts.

Shred White and Blue: Mentally and physically, what are you bringing home from all this time in the mountains?

Jeremy Jones: The mountains are my energy source. They make me the person I am and if I am away from them for to long I become lost.  So I am in this weird world where I do not want to leave my family but it is on these longer trips that I get inspiration and I bring that home and feed it to my kids.

Shred White and Blue: How are you sharing it with your children?

Jeremy Jones: I have been taking my kids into the mountains since they were born. I think my daughter’s first peak she climbed she was six weeks old because I needed to get out. Now they are getting older and starting to be part of the activities.  A day of skiing with my four-year-old is in many ways as fulfilling as a day in the backcountry for me.

Shred White and Blue: And last time we talked you said you were about to head to Antarctica – what have you got planned?

Jeremy Jones: We are focusing on the northern peninsula where the mountains rise right from the ocean. So we will be staying on a boat and riding these 2,000 to 4,000 foot peaks. The photos look promising but the weather is a crapshoot. As always we will take what the mountains give us. We will shoot a documentary about the trip and if the riding is legit a segment for Deeper.

Shred White and Blue: Thanks, man.

// Main photo by Bernhard Ritzerlow, Jermey Jones Portrait by Jeremy Jones.

Sunday Shout – POW Gets the Nod Again

Truckee, Calif. (Shred White and Blue) — Was up at Graham “the man” Gephart’s wedding to the lovely Lulu Bael (congratulations again, you two!) in Fraser, Colorado, a couple weeks ago when presiding Justice of the Peace and filmmaker Josh “Bones” Murphy told me he had been working on a environmental movie with Protect Our Winters.

Then I home and got this note from Jeremy Jones, Chris Steinkamp and the good folks at POW:

“When The North Face came to us last year with an idea to produce a climate change film with them, we couldn’t wait to get started on such a cool project.

With additional help from Clif Bar and teaming up with Teton Gravity Research, we all wanted to create a visual piece that would bring the idea of “climate change” to life, giving the term some real-life context and inspiring everyone to get involved.

Available in October, “Generations” is a short film that discusses climate change through the perspectives of those for whom snowy winters have a deeper personal significance. Going beyond charts and numbers, Generations humanizes the debate on climate change by exploring the fragility of winter and the intrinsic value of snow to people across generations and cultures. The film poignantly captures cultural and personal responses from those to whom mountains and snow represent an irreplaceable way of life, ending with ways for everyone to take part in the solution.”

Sounds really cool. There’s your shout out. Here’s the trailer:

Mavericks: Where the Legend Meets the Brand

The single name spots that are the legends of U.S. surfing – Waimea, Pipeline, Jaws, Swamis, Rincon – have been building their myths for almost half a century now. And as far as the giants go, a disproportionate gallery of the most massive waves are to be found on Oahu’s North Shore.

So when Mavericks, the massive Northern California break just north of Half Moon Bay, was collectively “discovered” by the surf industry in 1990, it was as if NASA had announced that the earth had a second moon. (Think what that would do to tidal patterns. The mind boggles). The fact that local Jeff Clark had been surfing there by himself since 1975 was like discovering an astronaut already living on that moon.

The freak freight train-sized rollers of “the wave beyond” quickly made their own reputation among surfing’s elite riders. And when iconic Hawaiian wave master Mark Foo was killed the first time he came to surf Mavericks in 1994, the mainstream media painted a picture of a kind of deadly surfing Everest just off the western mainland – an image that still holds.

The truth is somewhere in between, encompassing the singular passion of Clark’s stoic soul pursuit, the deadly realities of competing at the highest level of natural sport, and the absolutely off-the-chart cool factor of something that big breaking off the California coast.

The ensuing contest – heralded as the “Super Bowl” of big wave surfing by Sports Illustrated – was inevitable, and has already been the scene of some of the sport’s most epic showdowns (check out the prep work for this year’s event). The next Mavericks-fueled inspiration was to put a brand behind it. Celebrating something that is part tribal, part mystic pursuit and part edge of your personal limits, we asked Mavericks Surf Ventures CEO Keir Beadling to give us his own explanation of Mavericks colossal sense of “It.”

Shred White and Blue: Talk about how a wave that 99.9 percent of the surf world didn’t know about 20 years ago has so quickly embedded itself in the culture, folklore and identity of surfing.

Keir Beadling: I suspect that it’s a combination of a variety of factors:  First, Mavericks is a remarkable natural phenomenon.  It has existed for tens of thousands of years, and will hopefully exist for tens of thousands more.  In many ways, we’re just passing through.  Second, in a world where so few things are meaningful and “real,” Mavericks is about as authentic and inspirational as it gets.  The gladiators who surf there are calculating extraordinary risks in the blink of an eye, and when they go, it’s full commitment to take on something that almost seems physically impossible.  And I might take your question a bit further, as every day it seems we hear anecdotes that Mavericks as a phenomenon has gone far beyond the sport of surfing itself.  People see Mavericks and think, “If they can drop into that and face it with such courage, what limits can I blow through?”  Folks tell us that experiencing Mavericks has helped them cope with the loss of family members, inspired them to take on second jobs, and even to tattoo our M-Wave logo onto their bodies or name their newborns “Mavericks.”  That’s incredibly humbling stuff, and we’re honored by it. And last, we as a company remain steadfast in our own commitment to what Mavericks stands for—courage, authenticity, respect and integrity—and things like webcasts, broad television distribution, and heavy news media attention over the last few years have really helped Mavericks penetrate the public’s consciousness and spread the Mavericks “gospel.”

SWB: Is there any other pursuit in sports – or sporting competition – that you think compares to surfing Mavericks or The Mavericks Surf Contest?

KB: That’s a great question for Mavericks surfers, but I’ll add my 2 cents.  There are a couple other, pioneering big-wave surfing events that have helped pave the way for us.  I’d like to think, though, that Mavericks is maybe in a class by itself.  It’s hard to think of a sport that offers up the challenges of Mavericks:  freezing water, house-sized rocks, treacherous currents, the occasional visit by, um, large marine life, and waves that have crested with 50+ faces.  The Contest, with its spontaneity, utter dependence upon the good graces of Mother Nature, remarkable feats of athleticism, and big promotional platform—that seems like icing on the cake.  In talking with the guys who surf Mavs, some of them say that Mavericks is awe-inspiring in a way that an iconic place such as Mount Everest is.  But I suppose we won’t know how tight that analogy is until we find someone who has done both.  Maybe someone already has?

SWB: What were the biggest challenges in translating this iconic force of nature into an actual brand?

KB: I actually think that we’ve been given a gift by Mavericks the place.  I say this because the single most valuable aspect of any brand in my view is authenticity.  If it’s not real, well, then you’re facing an uphill battle in building a brand.  But Mavericks inherently offers up such a rich history, every season gives us an opportunity to add a new chapter to the legend, and the amazing human beings that surf there add an accessible, human element—it’s just magic.  Our biggest challenge—and we’re 100% committed to it—is remaining laser-focused on the core values of Mavericks and resisting choices that are just not on-brand for this special thing we have.  For example, we recently launched a real line of Mavericks™ brand apparel, and we’re dedicated to making this available in the core surf shop channel first, and forever.

SWB: How does this translate, or relate, to your environmental mission?

KB: Being environmentally conscientious has been a core part of our little company’s DNA since day one.  We are dependent upon Mother Nature for our very existence.  Ours was the world’s first climate-neutral surf contest a few years back.  More recently, we elected not to extend the waiting period for the last contest season due primarily to the fact that we are just one of thousands of “citizens” that have a stake in the Mavericks ecosystem.  And one of the things of which I’m most proud on this front is the fact that at our 2008 Contest, 50,000 fans produced only 20 bags of trash.  Our dedicated team worked hard to educate visitors about composting, recycling, and landfill.  For the upcoming Contest season, we’ll power our land operations with solar energy—I think that will be a first as well.  I recently cracked open a pretty influential book in this space titled “Cradle to Cradle.”  It offers a stark reminder that every action we take as individuals can have a negative impact on the world in which we live.  That can be pretty intimidating.  But we at Mavericks are committed to thinking seriously about this, taking incremental steps to do our part, and encouraging folks all over the world who care about Mavericks to do the same.

SWB: What has kept the 2009 competition from occurring?

KB: Mother Nature either delivers up contest-worthy swell during the contest window, or she doesn’t.  Our job is to be ready if she graces us with something incredible.  Our contest window last season didn’t match up with Mother Nature, and we fully respect that.  We also have made some modifications going forward so that we’re ready for her earlier than ever before.

SWB: Heading into the fall, what are you most stoked about for the coming season?

KB: I’m stoked that surf shop owners are welcoming our new apparel line with open arms, and that we can finally tell Mavericks fans that they can go to their local shops to pick up our gear.  That has been a long time coming, and it’s a very rewarding experience to see the hard work of our team here paying off.  But I think that perhaps the most exciting development is that—as I’m answering this question—we’re only about 100 days away from the opening of the 09/10 contest season.  We’ll have a ton of exciting pieces to announce as the season approaches, but I’ve got to keep my lips zipped on those for the time being.  In the meantime, www.maverickssurf.com is the best place to stay up-to-date on all things Mavericks.

=========

// Mavericks Photo by Seth Migdail // Surf and skate photographer Seth Migdail was kind enough to bless us with the absolutely outstanding feature image for this story. For more of his incredible action sports photography, check out his website. And keep reading ShredWhiteandBlue.com for an in-depth look at what kind of eye candy Seth is hoping to find when he packs up his cameras to head for the beach.

The King’s Crown: K2’s Shane McConkey Ski

Seattle (Shred White and Blue) — Big kudos to K2 for introducing the Shane McConkey Ski, with about 500 unique, numbered pairs all to be sold so that the profits can directly benefit McConkey’s widow and daughter.

In classic K2 style, the Shane will have a topsheet celebrating Shane’s oversized personality, all built on a Pontoon chassis. McConkey introduced the Pontoon design in 2004, built on his revolutionary rocker construction, which effectively changed big mountain skiing forever.

Like K2’s Coomba (celebrating the life of off-piste astronaut Doug Coombs), and even the Jerry Garcia ski (nicknamed the ‘Jerry Launcher’) it’ll be interesting to see how many of these you see on the mountains, and how many you see behind somebody’s desk, mint, mounted like the wall art they are.

McConkey died BASE jumping in the Italian Dolomites on March 26, 2009, at the age of 39, but his achievements as an athlete in ski films, as an advocate and architect of the International Freeskiing Association, and as a Chuck Yeager kind of engineer and test pilot made it seem as if he had lived several lives in his short time on the planet.

Check out Matchstick Production’s Claim for some classic McConkey. And see more about the ski at www.k2skis.com

That is so 1974 – The Return of Plaid Rock!

Stuck in the ’70s, Colo. (Shred White and Blue) — Mike Horn and I have this dream where we get a 1969 Camaro, convert it to run on vegetable oil, slap some big ass snow tires on it, paint the Shred White and Blue on the hood and go chasing powder this season – non-stop!

It’s kind of our re-imagining of what we figure was one of the absolute highlight eras of ski bumming, with no traffic on I-70, double chairs, long boards, in-bounds faceshots and wet t-shirt contests. Of course we’d have an 8-track, and we’d be playing lots of plaid rock. And not that Nirvana Seattle sound of super fuzzed amps and anguished vocals right from the gut, but more Neil Young and The Band, early Eagles and maybe a sweet scratchy version of the Flying Burrito Brothers singing “Close Up the Honky Tonks.”

And Creedence Clearwater Revival, of course.

My dad loved that stuff. So we loved it. Up and down the mountains my brother and I would be listening to his off-key butchering of “Take it to the Limit,” “Cowgirl in the Sand,” and “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” while we played air guitars and ski boot drums in the back.

He took us to see the Last Waltz when it came out. And we were kind of bored, but we dug it. We just didn’t realize yet what it meant for Robbie Robertson and Neil Young, Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell and Muddy Waters to share a stage like that.

But I hear “Helpless” come on the radio now and I get all fired up. I hear “Peaceful, Easy Feeling,” and I head down memory lane thinking about every chairlift with a girl with a ponytail on it. And “Born to Run” makes me think of moguls, pounding the monster bumps of Prima, Frenchman’s and Palli all wired on Snickers and 7-Up.

And lately I’ve heard a couple bands that make it sound like the whole plaid rock grassy roots of it might be coming back. You know, with a spare honest sound that isn’t over-produced and a couple hungry-eyed Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm-looking guys that can either play you some pretty music or come down off the stage and whoop your ass.

Here are a couple videos of what are some very hopeful signs for plaid rock – starting with one from the Avett Brothers that was actually recorded on the Jackson Hole gondola. Check out writer/film man Jay Sweet’s description of the experience putting it all together for Paste Magazine as well.

From the Northwest, land of hairy trees and deep powder, the hard-rocking boys of Blitzen Trapper singing Wild Mountain Home:

And representing the fast, cold slopes of New York and New England, the Felice Brothers getting urban with Frankie’s Gun

Camaro photo: flickr/brokenrhino

POW – Protect Our Winters Sunday Shout Out

Global Snowfall (Shred White and Blue)—Just wanted to give the first official Shred White and Blue Sunday Shout Out to big mountain snowboarder Jeremy Jones’ own Protect Our Winters (POW) environmental action campaign.

There have been a lot of good marriages between action sports and the environment of late, from the OE (original environmentalist) template of the Surfrider Foundation to the mossy snow feel of the footage from Sweetgrass Productions latest films. Like them, what I like best about POW is that they are all staying so close to their grassroots.

Read more

« Previous Page