Jonny is someone we suspect a few of you will know from having your feet inspected by him in Surefoot. A native of North America, he’s now on his 2nd year out here in Val d’Isère. If you see him on a piste then you’re probably just imagining it, or someone else in Val has impressive sideburns too.
Skier or Boarder
I’m a skier and these days I only really ski big mountain. I’ve been concentrating on that for most of the past 8 years so it’s my main focus.
Skis
I’m sponsored by Dynastar so I only ski their equipment. I’ve only got the one pair out here in Val that I ski on which is the Big Dump. It’s their flagship big mountain ski and mine are 192 in length and 120mm underfoot so they are pretty big.
Boots
As you can imagine my boots are fully custom fitted by Surefoot. Mine were fitted here in Val d’Isère. The first time I got boots fitted by these guys it made my skiing immediately go up a level so I won’t be changing any time soon.
How long have you been with Surefoot?
I’ve been working for them for about 6 years on and off. I took a year or so in the middle to do some filming and competitions and then came back. Working at Surefoot really developed my skiing, especially freeskiing, so it’s helped open doors for me.
Competitions?
Yeah, I did the freeski world tour and other things which is where all my sponsorship came from. At one point I was the US freeski champion and came 2nd in the world finals as well as being ranked 3rd on the world tour. Those kinds of results opened up filming and sponsorship opportunities to me.
Films
I’ve worked with a few production companies doing extreme sports films and ski movies which has been cool, though people don’t understand how long it takes to make them. I’ve spent 2 months skiing with a company for a 3 minute edit.
Headcam
I wear a full helmet fitted with a contour HD helmet cam. I always feel photos don’t really do skiing big mountain any justice and the camera gives you a real sense of what you’ve done and the line you took. I should really edit together some of the things I’ve filmed but I just can’t get round to it.
Other Sponsors
I’m sponsored by North Face, Smith and Hestra so I wear North Face soft shell gore-tex outer layers, these great Hestra Seth Morrison half mittens that I really love and Smith I O Goggles which have a great field of vision and lenses that work for all conditions.
Avalanche Gear
I don’t ski with an ABS bag. I did look into getting one but haven’t, though I do have the usual shovel and probe as well as an Orthovox S1 transceiver. Having said that, I’m usually the first skier down the line, so I’m probably going to be the one being dug out rather than me having to find anyone else.
Most Essential Bit of Kit
My mouthguard. I feel naked without it. I’ve broken my jaw and 14 teeth so it’s a pretty essential piece of kit now.
Best Days on the Mountain
The best days are when you go from one end to the other, from Le Fornet to the Grand Balme. Most of what I ski involves hiking. Now I’m on my 2nd season I’m getting a bit more adventurous out here, experimenting with different lines and entrances, so I’m always finding something new.
Personal Maintenance
I don’t really have any kit to maintain my sideburns, they are gods gift and just grow naturally this way. As for my shiny white American teeth, well that just takes a good electric toothbrush.
Tags: S5E12
