When I finally met him he turned out to be the best possible role model. You simply didnt walk away from competing and expect to continue being paid to snowboard back then. He has always been the mentor for my friends and me. Get our L.A. Kelly took snowboarding professionalism to a new level in the early1990s. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Dave Downing, 34, one of Kellys close friends and also a backcountry specialist, said that while he keeps telling people that Kelly died doing what he loved and where he loved to be, his passing is extremely hard to accept because Kelly was an expert in avalanche awareness and always studying the science of snow. I cant think of a bigger loss to the sport, and to all of us personally, says Jake Burton. He won virtually everycompetition there was, including four world championship titles ina row, and along the way, helped shape, research and design manyof Burtons products. Craig Kelly passed away January 20, 2003. As Jake Burton puts it: When the rest of the industry listened to Craig, that was when thesport really took off.. While I read, he balanced casually on his shoulder blades, chin to his chest, legs straight like a totem pole, toes pointing at the ceiling. First, she gives you the key to her heart, and then the key to her apartment. A true legend, Jason "J2" Rasmus turned his persona into a professional "Snowboarding was born, lived, and died in the mid 1990s." His daughter, Olivia, was born a few months after, a beautiful souvenir from the road, as he once said. Read on after Olivas letter to hear about Craigs foundational influence on shaping Burtons rider-driven product ethos and creating the pathway to modern-day professional snowboarding. Jake Burton and many of his friends thought this was a bad decision, but Craig said, Trust me. And sure enough, freestyle snowboarding became the new rage. Healing Energies Accessing Life Photo Album from www.healingenergies.com, After reaching a goal weight during her year of health, rebel is celebrating 2020 in new. You need a place to change and store your stuff. Not just because of his snowboarding, but also for his lifestyleand love for the mountains. He wanted to do it all, says photographer and friend Mark Gallup. Subscribe to SNOWBOARDERs Newsletter to receive stories like this straight to your inbox. Craig Kelly should undoubtedly be considered as one of the forefathers of modern snowboarding. There was a palpable outpouring of grief. You cant give her the key to your heart because snowboarding put a combination lock on it and only your snowboard knows the number. Truly, he measured success the way our culture ought to through passion and dedication and a love for wild places. Despite Toms obvious disappointment in losing Craig Kelly to Burton, he was unhappy about Visions decision to sue Craig and Burton. He attended the University of Washington where he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity and studied Chemical Engineering. Craig Kelly was studying to become a Certified Canadian Mountain Guide. He set a standard that many emulate today. My first snowboard ever was a burton air craig kelly pro model with purple stripes. His parents supported his decision wholeheartedly, and he went on to earn world titles in every aspect of the sport (racing, moguls, and freestyle). A haven he never took for granted. We tracked out Gunners Bowl until we moved onto the Arm, and we hiked to some of the most incredible alpine terrain that one can find by foot. Please enter your email so we can keep you updated with news, features and the latest offers. Copyright a360media 2023. From day one they were pushing the sport.Duncan Howat, the owner of local resort Mt Baker,was in two minds whether to allow snowboarding. MILD HIGH | ROME SNOWBOARDS @ Woodward Copper! We get alot of requests for reprints of this column, Craig knew there was a message worth following in here. Kelly also appeared in an enormous number of video and photo shoots. Craig would be really bummed if I stoped riding powder because of what happened to him. The slide was enormous, measuring about 150 feet wide and 300 feet long. In a Snowboard Life magazine article a few years ago, Kelly referred to snowboards as little more than toys and pointed out that snowboarders good times in the hills are merely an evolution of the fun touring skiers have been onto longer than anyone can remember. Craig Kelly was the first snowboarder to appear in an IMAX movie. But everyone knew the mysterywas Kelly. Films were giving himmore exposure and revenue than he thought so he was like, Lets makeanother.. Now you have an address, thats another key. Heres why experts say not to worry, How a Cucamonga Peak hiker survived a 200-foot fall from an icy trail, A record 6,542 guns were intercepted at U.S. airports in 2022. We will never sell your data and you'll only get messages from us and our partners whose products and services we think you'll enjoy. Craig Kelly (April 1, 1966 January 20, 2003) was an American professional snowboarder. A graduate of Chemical Engineering at the University of Washington, the professional snowboarder was a force to be reckoned with, as he has been dubbed by the great Terje Hkonsen as the best snowboarder of all time. He was known for looking straight at the camera, even in the midst of a difficult aerial manoeuvre. On the day of his death, Kelly was making the transition froman ambassadorial rider for Burton into a full time mountain guide.It was while out on a training exercise that the avalanche struck, in aravine near Nelson, British Columbia, where Kelly had made his homewith wife Savina and their two-year-old daughter Olivia. Yes, Craig was a man apart. Thats how we keep his legend alive. ForBurton, the main sponsor and organiser of the event,it was an untimely end to one of their best ever riders,a legendary presence in the scene, and lets befrank one of the companys best assets. He also made it clear he was bringing Burton along, and the brand backed him. Kelly is known as the 'Godfather of Freeriding'; Terje Hkonsen called Kelly the best snowboarder of all time. SNOWBOARDER logo. Theyre high-maintenance items. He proved that you could still hold true to your values and succeed maybe not be a multimillionaire (as he clearly could have been), but the one out there scoring the best lines in the world. Annett remembers a soft-spoken, spiritual man who loved snowboarding almost as much as he loved his infant daughter. One of them was professional snowboarder craig kelly, who perished in an avalanche in british columbia in 2003. Craig died on 20 January 2003 near Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada in an avalanche which trapped 8 people and killed 6 others. It was sponsored by Baldface Lodge and Burton Snowboards. Learn how and when to remove this template message, Craig Kelly interview in frequency: The Snowboarder's Journal, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0304/story.html#story_2, http://www.livemetalstudio.com/?project=craig-kelly-memorial, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Craig_Kelly_(snowboarder)&oldid=1141260358, Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from July 2011, Wikipedia pages needing cleanup from July 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 04:45. Craig was a Sims Snowboards rider, founded by Tom Sims, from 1983 until 1987. All rights reserved. Hedging his bets, Craigjuggled schoolwork with a diary full of contests and astrict training regime. Iam ready to sort of give back to the kids. In 1988, he set up the CraigKelly World Snowboard Camps, which toured during the summers notably to Norway in 1989, where Kelly met a quiet but incrediblytalented young rider by the name of Terje Haakonsen. Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay up-to-date with the latest from Youre a minor, its not legally binding., By 1985, Craig had started competing and was one of the founding members of the notorious Mount Baker Hard Core, a group of talented riders that included his longtime pal Dan Donnelly, Baker legends Carter Turk and Eric Janco, Amy Howat (the mountain managers daughter), and eventually, a young skate-rat-come-snowboarder named Mike Ranquet. But more than anything, he was a wanderer, which eventually led him to eschew the competitive world for freeriding in the backcountry, where he had countless first descents to his name from Alaska to Canada and in the U.S. all the while helping Burton develop its first splitboard. Madison Blackley, Ozzy Henning, Aspen Weaver, Nate Haust, Joey Leon and more! Jason "J2" Rasmus, 1972-2019Gone Tooz Soon, Three Decades of TransWorld SNOWboarding: Part 1, 1987-1996, Bottom Turn : How Snow Surfing is Growing Around the Globe, How to Set Up Your Snowboard Bindings with Danny Kass, Mountain GOAT: Dan Brisse, The Gap of Death, How to Plan Your Dream Trip to Niseko Japan on a Budget, Burton Step On: A Critical Review of a New Step-In Snowboard Binding System. Craig Elmer Kelly was only 36-years old whenhe died, but his place in snowboardings folklore wasabsolutely assured. Having tasted victory, Craig fell into a focused regimen of school and snowboard training, an almost Zen-like technique that his mother Janet likened to the BMX days when hed take his entire bike apart and put it back together the night before a race. I'm not sure of the year, but I think it was around 1998, Craig set up a Burton trip to North Cascade Heli in Washington with Joe Curtes, Jeff Curtes, Dave Seoane and myself. In the last few years of his life, Craig embarked on a 14-month journey starting up in Alaska and going down to Chile with his partner (girlfriend) Savina and two friends for adventure, surfing and living. Well get you into some contests later on. Contests were just starting to be organized on the East Coast and in Tahoe, and Washington had yet to host a snowboarding event. The legal aspects of this contract would be debated in court later in his career, but at the time, he sought counsel from one of his older/wiser Delta Upsilon brothers, who told him, Sure you can sign it. Aside from in-studio and on-site reports, the show will provide daily athlete profiles. Having Craig leaving us, he will still be my greatest mentor., Dave Downing also had this to say about Craig. A post shared by Freeride Boardshop (@freerideboardshop). Remaining skiers and guides from Selkirk Mountain Experience -- Kelly was a guest, not working as a guide -- toiled feverishly to dig them out and did so within about 30 minutes, but it was too late for seven of them, including the 36-year-old Kelly. Among the findings: Non-boaters have been hospitalized slightly more than boaters (14% to 11%) and tend to be more overweight; boat owners experience greater self-esteem (plus 10%); a better sex life (plus 7%); feel more useful (plus 8%), less lonely (plus 7%) and less fatigued (plus 4%). I dont know anybody else that lovedmountain riding as much as he did., Filmmaker Jacques Russo was someone who met Kelly at thattime, when the pair worked on 1989s The Smooth Groove. Other . From 1988 to 1992 it was located in Whistler Blackcomb. Theres another key. Burton US Open 2011 Halfpipe - Kazu Kokubo & Kelly Clark Win! When I left, I gave Craig my personal board, a 1500 FE, and shook his hand. His video segments became a staple in snowboard shops throughout the 1990s, but despite his status at the top of his class, his true legacy was in turning his back on the industry and carving out his own path in the wild. No way, he said. I dont know anybody else that loved mountain riding as much as he did. From freestyle to freeride to guiding, Craig brought the spirit of snowboarding with him wherever he went. Then he retired from racing and concentrated on the halfpipe (thus giving up his overall title). We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. If I had to choose between the disciplines, it would be the halfpipe, he said. Craig Elmer Kelly was born on April Fool's Day-April 1, 1966. The Built Ford Tough Championships of Snowboarding is in progress through Sunday at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area. When I started listening to Craig, said JakeBurton Carpenter, was when my company became successful andreally took off., Kelly was making OK money from winning competitions, buthe was clearly looking to branch out and make his career as profitableas possible. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. The future of progressive snowboard designs is alive and well. Prior to 1994 there were no heli operations inAlaska; a decade later and the backcountry access industry in the areahad become huge. Press play for a hell ride through Helsinki. We arrived at this super rad yurt in the Eastern Cascades to stay for 10 days. You dont even slow down for the tollbooth, paying instead with the tossed key to your office and the executive washroom. Olivia has been around snowboarding her whole life and has been close with the Carpenter's (Jake, Donna, and their sons) for as long as she can remember. 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