Growing up on Cape Cod, it may seem unusual that young Jeremy Jones gravitated towards sliding on snow. But family ski outings led to his passion for snowboarding. Today, Jones is one of the world’s most well-known names in big mountain snowboarding.
But as he saw his season shortened and glaciers receding, he decided to fight back. He started Protect Our Winters in 2007, uniting skiers and snowboarders in the fight against climate change. Today, POW has become a driving force for systemic change.
While Jones finds his true home in the mountains, he has become comfortable in Washington, speaking to Congress and advocating for legislation. His background in storytelling and film has led him to pushing his message out in features like the 2020 release of Purple Mountains.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll learn in this episode of Last Chair with Jeremy Jones.
Jeremy, you’re one of the planet’s most well-known big mountain riders. How did it all begin?
My parents fell in love with the mountains later in life, and they basically started dragging my brothers and I. We grew up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. We would go up to Vermont, where my grandfather had a house (Stowe). I think that it's probably just the creativity of it and that connection with nature and it's always changing, you know, just overtook my life and still has to this day.
What first triggered your awareness of climate change?
As a teen, I remember that we always had a newspaper at the table in the morning. I saw global warming in the paper and I was like, ‘I don't like the sounds of that.’ At that point, I was snowboarding the golf courses on Cape Cod, and I'm like, ‘why doesn't it snow anymore? It always piqued my interest because I never liked the sounds of global warming.
How is Protect Our Winters making a difference?
At Protect Our Winters we only have so much energy, so we have to focus on the big levers. Large-scale CO2 reduction needs to happen through policy. We're not going to recycle our way out of this climate mess is the reality. And that's why we focus our attention at Protect Our Winters on policy. It’s understanding who your elected officials are, what their stance is on climate.
Check out more with Jeremy Jones on Last Chair: The Ski Utah Podcast presented by High West Distillery on your favorite podcast platform. Subscribe to get first access to every episode.
Jeremy Jones started Protect Our Winters in 2007 to ally skiers and snowboarders to preserve winter and seek ways to stem the tide of receding glaciers and shortened winter seasons. Today, POW is a force for systemic change to mitigate climate change. As skiers and snowboarders, we love winter and want to do our part to protect winter. How can you help? Go to protectourwinters.org to learn how you can be a voice to support systemic change by how you vote.
Podcast Transcript
Tom Kelly: |00:00:09| And welcome to Last Chair Jeremy Jones. Jeremy, coming to us from his home in Truckee, California, and Jeremy, thank you so much for joining us here on Last Chair.
Jeremy Jones: |00:00:20| Ahh, super excited, love Last Chair.
Tom Kelly: |00:00:23| So I know that all of us, it's October now, the season is just around the corner. We're starting to look at the snow forecast. Have you seen a little bit of snow on your ridge lines?
Jeremy Jones: |00:00:35| We have not had snow yet. We were close to getting some snow a couple of weeks ago, but really promising forecast and its temperatures. Temperatures are supposed to plummet and we're fingers crossed the next couple of days we see some white up in the hills.
Tom Kelly: |00:00:55| This is that time of year where skiers and riders are just hopeful. They're watching open snow every day to just hope that the snow is going to start coming down. Jeremy, we're going to talk a lot about Protect Our Winters, which you founded in 2007 and climate in general. But before we do, as a young boy growing up, how did you first find your interest in snow and winter and in snowboarding in particular?
Jeremy Jones: |00:01:21| I mean, my parents fell in love with the mountains later in life, and they basically started dragging my brothers and I. We grew up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, up to Vermont, where my grandfather had a house. I was kind of like, we'd get through the mountain. My parents would say, let's meet at lunch. And that was that, and we had total freedom. And I think it was looking back now because I was really into hockey. I was into all these different sports and pretty quickly all that stuff went away when snowboarding got allowed at the resorts. And I think that it's probably just the creativity of it and that connection with nature and it's always changing, you know, just overtook my life and still has to this day.
Tom Kelly: |00:02:19| Did you start out on a board or did you try skiing to start?
Jeremy Jones: |00:02:24| No, I started out skiing. I first got on skis when I was four and skied until I was 12, when that's when snowboarding was allowed at the resort. The first time I got on a snowboard was a Burton Back Hill, which had no bindings and I'd go ski in the day and then we'd go and hike in the afternoon and evening on the snowboard. And after a couple of years of that, I just got more and more hooked on it because I was really into skateboarding as a kid and really into surfing. So the idea of being able to like surf the mountain was just like the thought of it was, I mean, it was like a dream. And then when it came to reality, I still remember the first time I got off on this chairlift that I had been riding for almost 10 years and going down this run that I've been on, you know, at that point, probably hundreds of times and it just like got three dimensional. And for whatever reason, I just enjoy that sideways stance and the sideways view of life.
Tom Kelly: |00:03:33| What resort was it in the east?
Jeremy Jones: |00:03:36| That was Stowe, Vermont.
Tom Kelly: |00:03:37| Yeah. Now it seems interesting that you came from Cape Cod, and I imagine you skated a lot down there.
Jeremy Jones: |00:03:45| Yeah, there was an awesome Cape Cod was a great place to skateboard, and that was at this kind of resurgence of skateboarding with that like Tony Hawk era.
Tom Kelly: |00:03:58| Yeah, yeah. You know, it's interesting to think back, you know, now we're just so used to being able to go and ride anywhere. But there really was a time and then not all that distant past where snowboarders had to really struggle to find a place to go.
Jeremy Jones: |00:04:13| Yeah, I mean, it is wild to like, tell my kids about that, and there's a funny video like a newscast floating around the internet right now and with the ski patrol just being like they got a block, all the stuff that we grew up with. You can't do that or what have you. So it was. I'm so grateful to be a part of that era. I mean, when it opened up, I mean, I was actually the first used to have to get certified to be able to ride the mountain where you would snowboard instructor who I don't know how they picked that, but they would determine that you were safe enough to ride the lift. So I was actually the first person ever certified at Stowe, Vermont.
Tom Kelly: |00:04:57| Amazing. How old were you then?
Jeremy Jones: |00:05:00| I was 12.
Tom Kelly: |00:05:01| Wow. Now, somewhere along the line, you got into competition and competition was quite a bit different. Back then, it was a little bit more racing-oriented than we see today. But was that just an organic part of the bug for you as you evolved as a young snowboarder?
Jeremy Jones: |00:05:16| Yeah, so I first contest I did with a halfpipe, and at that time, I mean, the sport was so small. I mean, I like to say it was like we. It's like you'd show up to the mountain, you could show up by yourself. And by the end of the day, the few snowboarders that were on the mountain would end up riding together. And the contest really brought everyone together. And so I first contest I did was a halfpipe contest. I got third place. I was excited and then I went and did a race and ended up winning the race and kept winning these races and was like, Wow, I'm pretty good at this. I was always like, decent and halfpipe, but I consistently would win at a racing level, and by 16 I decided to compete at a professional level and it was just I had enough success where I could make a little bit of money and kind of keep on the pro tour. And back then there was no team managers. There's really no infrastructure. And so we would I mean, it was living in cars, sleeping in parking lots, and that was just the community. I was not alone with that. And I mean, for years, it was every weekend traveling and never hotels. It was always sleeping on buddy's floors or sleeping in parking lots.
Tom Kelly: |00:06:45| Yeah. Did you have any heroes back then? I know the sport was really in its infancy, but were you starting to see heroes that you aspired to be like?
Jeremy Jones: |00:06:54| Yeah, definitely. I mean, Craig Kelly was the guy for sure. He could win a race, he could win a halfpipe contest and killer style and vibe. Terry Kidwell, who I now have got to be friends with. Same with Jim Zellers, Tom Burt, Bonnie Zellers. And it's wild that the sports, you know, they're pretty small deal where it did not take long before I was standing and lift line next to my heroes at Squaw Valley. Excuse now Palisades Town.
Tom Kelly: |00:07:30| Yeah, it's it really is something. And I think this is one of the things that I've always loved about skiing and snowboarding is that we are all a family and these guys were your heroes. But you as a young boy, young man, you could stand next to them. You could have a conversation, you could ride a lift and be a part of their world.
Jeremy Jones: |00:07:50| Yeah, and it still holds true today. I mean, whether it's Tommy Moe at Jackson Hole, you're going to see him. You go to Jackson Hole and you're there. Odds are, if you really want to see him, you'll see him. Jonny Moseley. He's standing in lift line every day. He's at the dropping his kids off at team next to everyone else. So it really is this, you know, the heroes are it's very accessible sport and it's all about. I mean, all it takes a lot of work to get to the mountain. And so we share this same passion. And at the end of the day, like, who's better at going down the mountain is irrelevant. And it's and it's kind of a cheesy statement, but I used to always say, all right. I do say is like. The best skier, snowboarder or surfer or whatever is the one having the most fun, and I used to think that was a corny statement, but when you think about it, that's the whole purpose of these sports is to go and have fun. And so now I'll have my kid shoulder, tap me and be like, That's the best guy on the mountain. You know, someone that is just having so much damn fun. And that's the beauty is, is it is this real community vibe, whether you're sharing a skin track or a boot pack in the backcountry with strangers or cheering a lift ride, which I love the last year, I think we all like how many cool conversations have we had on chairlifts with strangers?
Tom Kelly: |00:09:20| It's that's great. I just love your philosophy, and to me, it is about fun. We all have to have fun in it. Jeremy, as you were growing up and you were discovering this passion for snowboarding. How did it evolve that you picked up a passion for the outdoors and for the environment?
Jeremy Jones: |00:09:41| Yeah, I mean, my life, like became centrally focused by 14 where I was like, what can I do to be a better snowboarder? And that was a 12 month a year thing. And then as I got into more backcountry riding, you really have to be super in tune with the mountains from an avalanche perspective and snow textures. And so you can't be riding a serious line and hit on, you know, and have the snow change on you and fall. So it's with that being so in tune and connected to the mountains and weather that I started seeing changes to the mountains. It coincided with what scientists were telling us, and that's what inevitably led to me starting Protect Our Winters.
Tom Kelly: |00:10:36| Was that occurring when you were in your teens or earlier?
Jeremy Jones: |00:10:42| I mean, as a teen, I would say, I mean, I remember like we always had a newspaper at the table in the morning, and so I do remember at a really young age, I'm not sure, but it was on Cape Cod where I saw global warming in the paper and I was like, I don't like the sounds of that and ended up and I struggled in school, but ended up asking my teacher when we were on Cape Cod. We always studied the pilgrims and stuff and about these harsh winters. And at that point, I was snowboarding the golf courses on Cape Cod, and I'm like, Why doesn't it snow anymore? Like that? Because we would love that I can we? I ride every drop of snow on Cape Cod, and it's tough to find snow, and then what's up with this? So I guess I just had to. It always piqued my interest because I never liked the sounds of global warming.
Tom Kelly: |00:11:40| You know, a lot of us and I know a lot of your peers had also developed that passion for the environment. But in 2007, you decided to do something about it informing Protect Our Winters. What was the genesis to coming up with that organization back in 2007?
Jeremy Jones: |00:11:57| So it was I was again seeing changes that coincide with science, and it didn't at that point, I was with Rossignol - Utah based company - and I had my name was on a bunch of products and I wanted to take a portion of sales and put it towards climate change. And talking to a friend at the Surfrider Foundation, I'm like, Where do I send my check? And he came back to me a week later and was like, There's really nothing in your space like, you guys need to do something about this. You should start an organization that was in like 2004, 2005, and I'm like, I don't want anything to do with that. And but he was right and the idea couldn't. It just wouldn't go away. And finally, I I started it. It took two years to like, get our 5013(C) and website and all this stuff. And really, I just started it with low expectations. I was just like, You know what, I'm going to throw this out to the world and either I knew the magazines and also the film companies. My brothers founded Teton Gravity Research, so I understood media and I'm like, I think I could put these pieces together, but it's only going to work if people rally around it. And that's exactly what happened. Pretty quickly found website developers and just really linked it together and been doing so ever since.
Tom Kelly: |00:13:35| You know, one of the things that I recall from the early years of POW is that you had athletes from all facets of snow sports coming due to be ambassadors. I mean, you really picked up some big names who are motivated just as you were about this cause.
Jeremy Jones: |00:13:54| Yeah, so you, you know, to get to like elite level, Olympic level, what have you, you're spending a ton of time in the mountains. And so actually they're seeing what I'm seeing their life surrounded. So that was easy to do. And what I really was made a concerted effort was I did not want it to be a Jeremy Jones Foundation. So early on, Transworld gave us ads, Powder gave us ads and I made a point to make sure that they were up other people and not me in those ads to make sure that it wasn't this Jeremy Jones Foundation and same with companies. Rossignol was a big supporter, but I really focused on getting remember Burton like Donna Carpenter, who's now on the board and has been a Protect Our Winters. You know, she took my meeting early on and getting Burton involved and just saying, Look, this isn't about competition like we need to rally together, and they've been a huge ally ever since.
Tom Kelly: |00:15:04| What were some of the early projects that you embarked on back in those days? I know that money was, you know, a fledgling organization. You didn't have quite the resources you do today, but what were some of the initial projects that POW embarked on?
Jeremy Jones: |00:15:19| So I had, you know, my career is based around being in these different movies so early on we had which we still do to this day. We would do these like 30 to 60 second kind of commercials and put them in front of snowboard films and ski films and TGR would help apps and films help with some of them. And so that was some of the immediate kind of marketing stuff, and it was just general brand like, Hey, climate changing. And I want to say we talk about water bottles and lightbulbs and personal footprint, which is important. But pretty quickly, as I, I had to learn from the get-go. Like just cold calling experts in the space Auden Schendler being one of them who still is the chairman of the board today. But I'd read an article about it and be like, I got to call this guy and like, Hey, do you want to be part of it? And yes, and so started getting these scientists involved. And then I think it was by pretty fast, by two thousand eight. I want to say these experts are like, look, the light bulbs are important, the water bottles are important, but we need significant to get significant CO2 reduction. It needs to happen through policy. And at that time, the Waxman-Markey Bill was, I think it passed the House and it's going to Senate, but that was our last chance as a government, you know, we have not been that close since then to pass meaningful climate action. And it was that bill that first got us to go to Washington and lobbying our meeting with our elected officials.
Tom Kelly: |00:17:11| We're going to talk a little bit more later in detail about some of the direction that power's taken and actions that we all can take as outdoor enthusiasts. But let's talk a little bit about climate, and I think most of us who use the outdoors, we have our stories of things we've seen where, you know, in my case, it's the glaciers in Saas-Fee. That's the one that's not there anymore. It's the receding glacier and sold, and we also see it in our climate here in Utah. What are the things that we as skiers and snowboarders, what are the indicators that we're seeing that are really cause for some concern?
Jeremy Jones: |00:17:48| Yeah, I mean, I think it's really I think you can talk to anyone at any resort or any community sadly sees it, and it's not just the mountains, but it's the warming of the oceans. You know, and I mean, it's hard to it's like, we're don't we see it. It's front page news all summer long from the, you know, the crazy storms and the flooding to the smoke, which seems to be the new norm, which I really hope isn't from the death of you know what the pine bark beetle is doing to our forests? I mean, pick a spot the lake temperatures, the algae in the lake. It's just, you know, the glaciers are a great example because we have really good data on glaciers from taking these glacier ice cores. So they same with some of the trees to where we can learn temperature changes and stuff through these ice cores. And it's just that data is showing this huge spike. And then and we can literally see the receding of the glaciers, which glaciers always grow and shrink. But the rate that they are right now is just. Really significant,
Tom Kelly: |00:19:14| Have you spent a lot of time trying to learn the science? You've fortunately, I think at POW, you've had the opportunity to get close to some climate scientists. Have you put your passion into trying to learn more of that science yourself?
Jeremy Jones: |00:19:30| I mean, I find it interesting, and I've been around scientists a lot and listen to him speak. But it's, you know, it's funny these scientists are like they are. So it comes from them where they're like, Why the hell are we? Do we keep talking about this science? It is settled science. We're, you know, and sadly, the words I've never heard out of a scientist mouth are the issues not as bad as we thought it was. So. So yes, I am very close to them and I love like this. Last fall, I got to hike to a glacier with glacier scientists. And Dana in California, in the Sierra and who, you know, he studies glaciers and learn a bunch about that and the and the intricacies of it. Like, for example, on that hike, I learned obviously warming temps is a big deal. But then there's this big deal with the drying of the soil, which is leading to more dust storms and the dust falling on the glacier and the albedo effect from that. So yes, I know. Always learning about the science.
Tom Kelly: |00:20:45| I think a lot of us are learning now just in our day-to-day news coverage as we see more different types of impacts. The fires this past summer and into the fall certainly are a good example of that.
Jeremy Jones: |00:20:56| Yeah. I mean, that is been the most devastating in your face. Stuff that we're seeing, I mean, I've lived in Lake Tahoe for almost 30, yeah, almost 30 years now, and there was no such thing as fire season or smoke season. And I think it was eight years ago the first time that I remember going like getting ready to go mountain biking, which I do daily and being like, Wow, I can't go ride my bike right now because too smoky. Fast forward eight or 10 years later. I am a smoke expert man I know more about, like I have apps that I'm like timing clear air holes like Drive 10. Let's we got to go drive to this spot at two o'clock. Trust me, the smoke is going to clear and we can get in and ride. I mean, it's I know way too much about smoke, and it's just an example of these seemingly new norms.
Tom Kelly: |00:21:57| Yeah, it is crazy. Fortunately, there are some really good apps for that. But yeah, we're with Jeremy Jones, big mountain rider, founder of Protect Our Winters. We're going to take a short break. And when we come back, we're going to talk about Jeremy's film Purple Mountains, which came out last fall, a phenomenal film and talk to about action, steps, things that we can do as outdoor enthusiasts. We'll be right back on Last Chair.
Tom Kelly: |00:22:23| And we are back now with Jeremy Jones talking about climate and protect our winters, and Jeremy had the opportunity to see your film Purple Mountains, which was stunning. I mean, I fancy myself as having some basic knowledge about the topic, but this film just really opened up my eyes as to the importance of the topic, how all of us need to work together and just educating on the next steps that we need to take. Tell us a little bit about the evolution of Purple Mountains, which came out last fall.
Jeremy Jones: |00:23:05| So Purple Mountains is film I set out to understand why. We are so divided on climate and specifically focusing on what we call the outdoor state to protect our miners. These 50 million people that their life is focused around the outdoors through various means, it could be hunting, skiing, biking, what have you and finding these different skiers, snowboarders, hunters that are really connected to the outdoors, their livelihood or their life is set up around the outdoors and getting to know them, spending time out there with them and understanding how, even though it's such a central part of their life, they, you know, they consistently vote for climate deniers and understanding why that is. And that's really the premise of the film.
Tom Kelly: |00:24:11| You know, operationally, what you did is you found some individuals in Elko, Nevada, right at the foot of the Ruby Mountains, a phenomenal mountain range to ski and ride and had these amazing conversations with them. You know, I'm just curious, how did you find those subjects for the film?
Jeremy Jones: |00:24:32| So I just I spent time in those mountains and I just like we just got to go and get there and then so and which I do, but I'm like, I got to I remember, like just going to this trailhead and we're getting ready for an overnight trip. But I'm like, literally like looking at people's cars, like what stickers they have on their car or if they have skis or snowboards. And one of the central characters, this guy, Danny, who's a hard rock miner, he shows up, I'm with my buddies in our California Subies. We're packing our overnight kit and I'm like, Oh, here we go. This is a guy with a big truck and a snowmobile, and I'm like, Well, we'll see how this goes. And but, you know, I like talking to these guys. I got no, you know, I can get along with anyone, especially if they like the outdoors. But anyway, he pulls up and he's got a friends of coal sticker on his truck, and I'm like, I wonder if this will get heated at all. And then the next thing I know, he pulls out a Jones split board and I'm like, Holy shit. And. And so this guy ended up being a who is a friend of mine today, central part of the film. And that day we were getting ready to go up this drain, and it's like I never hiked up that drainage. I'm like, You should come with us. And so just really had this awesome talk with them and then ended up coming back and spending some time with him specifically for the film.
Tom Kelly: |00:26:12| What was his first reaction when you, Jeremy Jones, went up to him and introduced yourself and said, Hey, can I talk to you?
Jeremy Jones: |00:26:21| He was psyched, man. I mean, I, you know, I found out really quickly this guy is a legit snowboarder. His, you know, his main passion in life is snowboarding. So he was tapped in. And yeah, and again, like, that's how the media and the way that we communicate online makes it look like our worlds are so divided. And the reality that you see in Purple Mountains is when you get together in person, people are much more cordial with each other. And then if you just go into. A conversation with the like, let's try to build bridges on things that we do agree with and understand that, yeah, we're not going to agree on everything, but we do agree on some things and we're human beings and we can operate with basic decency amongst each other, which is something that you rarely see on these online forums. It's just like cage match fighting.
Tom Kelly: |00:27:31| Yeah, how steep was that couloir that you guys skied or rode?
Jeremy Jones: |00:27:37| You know, it's definitely well in the forties. I don't know. You know, in the Wasatch, they call it 40 degrees in California, we'd call it 50 degrees.
Tom Kelly: |00:27:50| That's a good little tip. I just really enjoyed that segment. I mean, you guys clearly became really good friends and it just kind of broke down all of those barriers that we think we have in this topic.
Jeremy Jones: |00:28:03| Yeah, and the reality is like hiking is a great way to get to know someone also on the chairlift. I mean, I think there's something to be said for the chairlift is like the perfect length conversation. People are in good moods, they're outside, they're engaged. So I love talking to strangers in the mountains and really just trying to learn from them and what their story is.
Tom Kelly: |00:28:26| Well, I urge everyone to go out and get the film. I watched it on Amazon Prime, you get it on YouTube and a whole variety of other places. It's called Purple Mountains and just a great it's a one hour view and very educational. Let's talk about what folks can do. And I know that across Utah and across the country, our resorts are all engaged in some type of activities, and I want to start there. I know we're going to move our way up, but just at the grassroots level, the things that the resorts are doing, the things that all of us are doing is outdoor enthusiasts. Are those helpful?
Jeremy Jones: |00:29:02| Yeah, I mean, absolutely, like, you know, Protect Our Winters we have, we only have so much energy, so we have to focus on the big levers. And that quickly gets to like large, large scale CO2 reduction needs to happen through policy. But that is not to say, I mean, from an outdoor industry, for example, like the companies that take sustainability really serious have been doing really well. And that's because of the customers are saying, I support that company. So now when you walk down the halls of the outdoor industry trade show, that is you will it's like everyone is taking their product serious because it's good business to do that. And it's good business because the customer is said, we're going to reward you for making cleaner product. So that's just a small example of that. I mean, what you eat, the cars you drive like they wear, you bank. We have a big banking push going on and protect our winters to, you know, understand what your money does when it's sitting in that bank account. What's it funding? So there absolutely is. You can embrace all facets of your life. I personally live a very examined life and it's important, but we're not going to recycle our way out of this climate mess is the reality. And that's why we focus our attentions, Protect our Winters on policy.
Tom Kelly: |00:30:41| You also own a snowboard company, Jones Snowboards. Have you been able to implement meaningful change there to address some of these concerns?
Jeremy Jones: |00:30:52| Yeah, I mean, it's been it was helpful to I mean, the company is now, I think, 12 years old, and so I was able to start it and say, Look, we're it's either going to work or it's not, and it's going to work with like, we, you know, we want we always want to make the boards clean, you know, more sustainable, durable, higher-performing. And we're going to take percentage. We're part of one percent for the planet, which means one percent of every sale we put towards the environment. We have a Jones rainforest in Costa Rica and we support Protect Our Winters.
Tom Kelly: |00:31:30| So when you talk about systemic change and getting political action and getting governments involved, what are the things that we can do as skiers and riders to help that endeavor?
Jeremy Jones: |00:31:43| Well, I mean, it's voting well for one like understanding who your elected officials are, what their stance is on climate Protect Our Winters does voter guides on that, but also at the town level. I want to say Park City was like one of the first towns to go climate. I'm going to basically be run on clean energy and that shout out to Bryn Carey, who is a friend of mine that really was one of the people that led that charge. And that was such a great example where, you know, a dozen or so people change the direction of where that town gets its energy. And so there is this like it's not just at the capital level, but at this regional level, you can be really effective as well.
Tom Kelly: |00:32:44| Yeah. And a shout out to Bryn Carey, the owner of Ski Butlers. He was a guest on Last Chair a year ago. You can go back on to ski Utah and find that episode. We did talk a little bit about that in his episode the I want to dive a little bit more into some of the comments you made earlier about just knowing where your money is in your bank. And some of those little things that you know where we buy things each day is, is that an impactful way for us to contribute to this cause?
Jeremy Jones: |00:33:15| Yeah, again, like these. Companies go where the customers are, so I mean, organics, you're seeing this huge growth in organics, that's because the, you know, you benefit greatly if you can make your product organic. So it's the same with with diet, as you know, as far as like, that's a very simple way to understand your impact. And we are seeing, you know, healthier eating options out there and we're seeing at a even at a fast food level. And that's again, because consumers are embracing cleaner options. You're seeing it. I mean, just go down the list, say, the cleaning supplies options now. I mean, at every facet there, there's you know, we're seeing way more cleaner options to choose from on a daily basis.
Tom Kelly: |00:34:16| The athletes who joined with protect our winters back in the early days are you finding now that they also are evolving their knowledge base and helping to spread this word around the planet?
Jeremy Jones: |00:34:31| Absolutely, I mean, it's a I mean, the reality is with what's happening with climate, we're in an all hands on deck situation and I think about it as it's like the mountains. Every year I read up on like we do these avy courses with Teton, Gravity Research Research, and as my brother said, it's, you know, it's one course you never graduate from and we're always expanding knowledge. It's the same thing with understanding what's going on with the planet and what's going on with climate, what my impact is on the planet as well.
Tom Kelly: |00:35:14| One of my favorite scenes from Purple Mountains was the closing scene where you and your family go out on an backcountry expedition and it has everything from, you know, you and your wife getting the kids ready to go and then hiking up the mountain and then watching your kids just hawk it off the cornices and just really having a good time. What is the feeling like when you're up there in the mountains with your family and just enjoying all that mother nature has to offer?
Jeremy Jones: |00:35:43| So it's incredible, and it's opened my eyes to how amazing and beautiful these outdoor sports are. My kids, they play soccer, lacrosse, they do these different things and they're great and I totally support team sports. But it's given me a new appreciation to the value of getting outside because when we get on the mountain or surfing together or mountain biking, whatever it is, that relationship of like kid father, it turns into we're just riding partners and we're helping each other out and we are it's like they're, you know, checking out like, Dad, check out this air and me bringing them to this air. I got a powder stash here or powder stash there. And that it's just it's grown my relationship and bond to my kids so significantly that just that alone as like, I'm a parent that wants to have a close relationship to my kid and I actually hate the outdoors. Well, start liking it, because that's the best way to really connect on a really powerful level with your kids.
Tom Kelly: |00:37:08| Jeremy, 25 to 30 years from now, when your kids are raising their families and they look back and they talk about you and you as a father, what? What are the things you want them to remember about what you brought into their lives?
Jeremy Jones: |00:37:23| Well, I think. Grateful that I introduced them to these sports that they're still doing as, I mean, that's how I view. I'm so thankful for my father for dragging us up to the mountains. So I, you know, I hope that I hope that see my just kindness to everyone. I hope that is passed along. And then ideally understanding or can say, You know what? My dad did everything in his power to get society on the right path used his power or use his platform to do positive things to the world and ideally leave it better than I found it.
Tom Kelly: |00:38:15| Well, you certainly are doing that and I hope that you will continue to Protect Our Winters is playing a very important role for all of us as skiers and snowboarders. So, Jeremy, thank you very much. We're going to move on to our final little section. Have a little fun. It's called fresh tracks. Just a few questions for you to wrap things up. And you know, one of the things I'm really interested in knowing you have written around the world in some bizarre places, I'm sure. But as you think back, what is the most memorable place that you've been able to put your board down into the powder?
Jeremy Jones: |00:38:48| God, I mean, the Alaska a largely shaped my life around being in Alaska in the spring every year. And so I yeah, I mean, that definitely has so many fond memories. And then I would just say, I'm so grateful that through previous leaders that they've conserved so much of the western U.S. that I love the fact that whether it's in my home range this year and in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, you name it, that I can get in my car, drive down the road with all my camping gear and walk into mountains that I've never been to before and go and see vast landscapes for the first time ever and then pick out the beautiful lines in those areas and ride down them.
Tom Kelly: |00:39:47| It is remarkable and I think a lot of people take that for granted. We certainly know our national parks, but the fact is there's millions of additional acres of U.S. forests that just offers some amazing opportunities for writing.
Jeremy Jones: |00:40:03| Yeah, and it's just such a great example of. Past leaders who were pushed by voters to say, you know what, we should protect this and some of it, the Grand Canyon was getting bolted for a dam and that thing got pulled out of the ashes. And some of it, you know, didn't have it wasn't like they didn't have the chainsaws ready to cut them down. But the people had enough foresight to say This is important and we are going to protect it for future generations. And if that line of thinking that we need today with climate,
Tom Kelly: |00:40:48| Jeremy and I know you've spent a lot of time riding here in Utah. Do you have a favorite resort or a favorite line here in Utah that you'd like to maybe tease us with?
Jeremy Jones: |00:41:01| Well, I consider I mean, I love Snowbird. It's just that tram, you know what you can do off of one, you know, a 10 minute tram ride is incredible. And then superior is again, as far as like if you can take one mountain and say, I can only ride one mountain the rest of my life, I mean what you can do off of superior its proximity to the road, it is truly backcountry paradise.
Tom Kelly: |00:41:34| Yeah, it really is. One last question, Jeremy, if you had to sum up your experiences in the sport, in the outdoors, in one word, what would that one word be?
Jeremy Jones: |00:41:49| Bliss.
Tom Kelly: |00:41:50| Bliss, I love it. Tell me more.
Jeremy Jones: |00:41:56| Yeah, I just like when I think about the mountains, it just fills my body with joy. I have. It's good to have a short memory about carrying heavy packs and waking up really early in the morning and putting on frozen boots. There's bliss is very far from that experience, but the overall thought of like, we might get some snow tomorrow night and just to see snow, I have an outdoor light that I turn on to that highlights the snow like what that does to my whole inner soul to see just snow falling from the ground. It's powerful stuff.
Tom Kelly: |00:42:39| Jeremy Jones. It has been a pleasure to talk to you here today on The Last Chair podcast. Thank you for what you've done and utilizing your platform as a big mountain rider to bring this message to all of us.
Jeremy Jones: |00:42:53| Well, appreciate the opportunity and yeah, have a great winter, and just to be clear, my ultimate life goal is to be getting yelled at for the next 50 years that I hope to be on this planet, that the climate's not changing because we are swimming and deep pow year after year after year
Tom Kelly: |00:43:17| And on Cape Cod too right
Jeremy Jones: |00:43:20| On Cape Cod. So my those kids can go ride those golf courses.
Tom Kelly: |00:43:26| Jeremy, thanks for joining us and I hope we'll see you out in Utah this winter.
Jeremy Jones: |00:43:30| Awesome. Appreciate it. And I hope to get there myself.
Tom Kelly: |00:43:35| Jeremy Jones. Thanks everybody for listening today on Last Chair.
Jeremy Jones: |00:43:39| Cheers.
