Jon Johnston
The Seattle native was first plunked on skis at age four; raced throughout high school and spent time on the U.S. junior Olympic team. When it snowed 100 inches in only one week racing seemed to be the least important thing to do.
Johnston has since spent time carving powder turns in world-class ski destinations like Alaska and Chamonix (FRA), as well as touring across the United States with the Freeskiing World Tour. But he found paradise in Canada’s Coast Mountain Range: “It’s right in the center of what I think is the best skiing in the world,” he says about the terrain surrounding his home near Whistler, British Columbia. “Whenever I wasn’t in a comp I’d always try to find a way to come back here.”
Johnston’s perfect ski season involves spending an average 60 days accessing backcountry terrain by snowmobile — either sledding into known descents or searching for the next big line in remote areas.
And with endless remote wilderness between Western Canada and Alaska, there seems to be enough unskied powder in Johnston’s backyard to keep him busy for quite some time, as he continues to search out the best descents and the freshest powder. “There aren’t a lot of sports where you can work with something like snow. It’s such a cool medium to play with. It’s always changing, it’s always different, but it’s usually pretty friendly,” he says and most often discovers places where there’s little competition for that addictive white stuff. “You always feel like you can look at things differently and try new things. It’s never really the same.” Among others he managed to ride the Plinth Plak, north from Whistler – a 2.000 metre descent from the almost unconquerable 2.677 metre high mountain.
