Making big terrain look small. Kai Jones takes flight in the Wyoming backcountry. Photo: Nic Alegre Words MAX RITTER Jones loves birthdays, but not just for the parties. May 5th, 2023, his 17th, marked the day he walked again after the worst day of his life. It was a sure sign that he would ski again. Two months earlier, Kai was deep in the Teton backcountry shooting for Teton Gravity Research’s film Legend Has It in a zone he had skied dozens of times before. He dropped into the steep, pillowed face, a technical but familiar line. He felt confident, and his turns, graceful beyond his years, showed it. He aired deep, but clipped a rock on landing and started tumbling. When he came to a stop at the base of the apron, he was in the worst pain he’d experienced in his entire life. It felt like both of his legs had exploded. After a swift heli evacuation and multiple emergency surgeries, the outlook was grim. He’d shattered both growth plates in his knees—not ideal for a teenager, much less a teenager whose entire life revolved around skiing. Lying in his hospital bed, “I had the realization that I might not ever walk again,” he recalls. At 16, Kai could have just left it at that. He had already made his mark on the ski world, appearing in five TGR feature films, gathering three consecutive nominations as International Freesports Film Festival (IF3)’s Rider of the Year, even earning a coveted spot on the Red Bull athlete team at just 13 years old. Why go through what would be the hardest recovery of his life to put himself back out there? He thought he’d been aware of the risks he’d been taking, but suddenly the weight of this world felt heavier. He stared up at the Tetons outside his hospital window and wondered: Is this really what I want to do? Kai was born into one of the most recognizable families in American snowsports. His uncle, Jeremy, made a name as a big-mountain snowboarder, pioneering a style of riding in Alaska and the greater ranges that’s still largely unmatched. Meanwhile, his other uncle, Steve, and his father, Todd, co-founded the iconic production company Teton Gravity Research in 1996, ushering in a new era of ski films. Grow-ing up in this unlikely environment undoubtedly influenced the direction his life would go, but Kai asserts that he was always given the choice and opportunity to do what he wanted—which just happened to be skiing. KAI 076 The Ski Journal
The Ski Journal Volume 18, Issue 1: Page 76
