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- March 19 2007
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The Secret Backcountry Life Of Jeremy Jones
I met Jeremy Jones while I was living in Utah in the mid 90s. He and his buddy JP Walker were always out building jumps in the backcountry behind Brighton resort without a filmer or photographer-just having fun.
Today, Jeremy is more known for his rail riding in the city and filming huge technical jumps with MDP. This year, Jeremy and I hooked up on a pretty sick day in Tahoe. I took him out to some of my favorite backcountry spots and asked him a few questions.-Dave Downing
D. Downing: If you only had one day left in your life to snowboard-would you slide rails in Salt Lake or go ride powder?
J. Jones: I’d go heli boarding with my friends, for sure! Hitting rails is how I’ve contributed to the progression of this sport, and that’s what I do when I’m filming my video part … but the best sensation is riding powder.
I used to see you and JP building jumps in the backcountry for fun. Has your backcountry experience changed?
Back then we were just practicing and learning. Now we’re more experienced and serious. The jumps are way bigger and the decisions more calculated. It’s not simply building a small kicker and chucking off it like the old days.
Everybody sees you hitting powder kickers and doing technical tricks in your movie parts-is there another side of the backcountry experience we don’t see?
Yeah, just being out there with my crew without the crowds. Being able to take a run on an open powder field with nobody around, hitting a little drop, cracking a little ollie of a roller-that’s the stuff we don’t film, and it’s the best ever.
Where’s your favorite place to ride early season before filming starts.
Going out and hiking around Brighton-all the little stash runs that we know about, the cliffs and jumps we’ve hit for years. That’s when you get your stoke and board control back.
What have you done to prepare yourself for the backcountry?
I’ve taken CPR and avalanche transceiver classes. I check the avalanche-conditions reports every day. I’ve read up on how to survive if you’re stuck out there for a night or two.
Now that you have a family, do you consider the risks of being in the backcountry?
Yeah, I’m not really worried about risking getting hurt snowboarding-it’s the avalanches. I need to survive and come home to my family in one piece, you know?
Your pro model with Burton is a 156 and you’re six feet tall and pretty big. What’s up with that?
Well, I stepped it up (laughs)-I have a Burton 159 coming out too. It’s way more stable for landing and going fast in powder. It totally helps and gives you more confidence having a little bigger board in the backcountry.
You live in Utah, which has a pretty scary avalanche history. What do you do if you really want to ride, but the avy conditions are super sketchy?
I don’t go out-I just take runs at the ski resort.
Yes, “freestyle” Jeremy is known to get nasty in the backcountry. Photo: Jeff Curtes
- January 19 2007
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Backcountry Basics
Is It Doable?
One of the hardest aspects of backcountry riding for me is looking up at a face and determining if the line I chose is doable. From the bottom, it all looks pretty good, but when you’re actually standing on top of the line, things change. The perspective from above is totally different. Usually you can’t see anything below-just white snow rolling over to the mountain floor below. It’s taken me a lot of practice to be able to look up and choose a safe and doable line to ride within my limits. Here are a couple of techniques.-Dave Downing
Warm-Up Run
The warm-up run helps me to gain confidence when I’m riding big lines in the backcountry. I usually hike up and do a warm-up run that’s a little more mellow than my big line, but on the same peak or face. Once there’s a track down the face you gain perspective-you can look up and see how big things really are. Sometimes I’ll do this a couple times before charging my main line of choice.
Check It Twice
If I’m going to jump a big cliff, I always ride down to the edge of the cliff, stop, unbuckle, and check both the takeoff and landing. Hucking off a cliff to flat isn’t fun, no matter how much you’re getting paid! I’ll ride down and check the landing to find the sweet spot. I also pat down the takeoff, making sure it’s stable and that there’re no exposed rocks. I see people hitting big cliffs without fixing or even looking at the takeoff all the time-big mistake. Getting hung up on rocks in the takeoff and really getting hurt by an unintentional corked 900 to headplant isn’t fun. Throw a few snowballs off the takeoff while you’re up there, this helps you figure out your speed and where the best landing is. Those snowballs also lend some welcome definition when you’re spotting your landing from the air.
Don’t Rush It
The main thing to remember is that in the backcountry, you must always ride within your ability-and there’s no hurry. Assess what you’re going to ride carefully and thoroughly, making sure you feel confident before hiking to the top of your line. Remember, one of the best things about backcountry is that there aren’t tons of people around poaching your lines-don’t rush it!
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