Jeremy Jones takes us 'Higher'

Slated for a September 2014 world premiere, "Higher" traces the origins and pinnacle achievements of Jeremy Jones, one of the greatest big mountain snowboarders of our time.

Under the famed cables of the KT-22 lift at Squaw Valley, California, thousands of fans arranged themselves on a grassy lawn to see the latest Jeremy Jones/TGR project "Higher." The evening had a brisk fall chill, indicating snow season is right around the corner, so it was a fine time to load up the sensory receptors on inspirational snowboarding.

Which is exactly what Jones and his big-mountain brethren have been doing for the past six years: inspiring. Their adventures, going from Antarctica to Nepal, have resulted in countless snowboarders turning to splitboarding around the world, which is nothing to scoff at. But Jones says his move toward the foot-powered method of accessing backcountry lines was a natural transition, not one done with making movies in mind. However, we're glad he brought the cameras along.

With "Higher" -- the final installment in a trilogy that includes the groundbreaking "Deeper" and its follow-up, "Further" -- we see Jones' other career transitions: from racing gates in Vermont in his decade-plus-long dominance of steep lines, to dropping out of the helicopter for a hike. The new footage that comprises the meat of this final chapter shows Jones in classic form, accompanied by Brian Iguchi, Ryland Bell and Luca Pandolfi in the Tetons, Alaska and the Himalayas, respectively.

Night fell as the film began, with hoots and hollers echoing around the valley as the first shots of the massive peaks glowed onto crowd. Here's what Jones had to say about being the heartbeat that fuels the pulse of big-mountain snowboarding.

This foot-powered stuff, I didn't do that because I thought it would make for a good film, it's where I'm at with my life. ... My excitement for snowboarding and real adventure, for unplugging and camping and spending lots of time in the wilderness, my love for that is stronger than it's ever been. -- Jones

ESPN: How is "Higher" different than the first two movies in the trilogy?

Jeremy Jones: For starters, the film is based on three major descents, as opposed to with the other films where I more went to the areas and sessioned a bunch of different lines. "Higher" is about three of the biggest, most tech lines I've ever done. It also weaves my story, and takes the viewer from Cape Cod to the Himalayas, and throughout the film we go into these archives of different stages of my life. It's really more personable, meaning you hear more from me about what's really going on mentally with how I justify the risks and why I do it. I get asked the hard questions that I've never been asked in the previous films.

What did you learn over the course of making the three movies and what did you learn from the first two that applied to "Higher"?

I've learned so much with all of them, really in three categories. First and foremost my snowboarding. The mountains I go to, my way of hiking them, all that is a track that I would be on with or without these films. Never was a trip or a mission decided because we thought it would be good for the film. The cameras just [have documented] where I'm at with my progression as a snowboarder.

I went through this huge progression as a snowboarder over the six years [of filming the trilogy], and almost on a daily basis I found myself in a position that I couldn't have gotten into a day earlier in my life. That's so exciting, needing the whole toolbox to be where I was at in that moment in the mountains.

That's why it's been such a crazy, rich, invigorating experience. The only time in my life as a snowboarder that's been this exciting were the first six years of snowboarding where you're learning something new every day. I'm always envious of the beginner snowboarder. Their Mount Everest is the blue square right under the lift.

Second, the component of documenting the snowboarding has been super challenging and an incredible learning experience. From a technical side with "Higher," for example, we shot it all on 4k cameras which are three times heavier than the cameras we used in "Further" -- and the cameramen are hiking to everything.

In "Deeper," we had these little DSLR cameras and by the end of the trip we'd be down to one camera and one minute of card space, broken tripods, fogged lenses -- we made every mistake you could make. Then we took a big step with "Further," and then an even bigger step with "Higher" from a production side.

Third, the post production, that's been equally as challenging as every other stage of the actual riding. Documenting the riding is really learning how to tell this complete story with Acts 1, 2 and 3, and keeping the viewer intrigued through the length of this film and not just relying on the action. With this film especially I reached out to some award-winning documentary [makers]. I screened it more than any other film and got advice from people. At times the advice was very deflating and challenged me and TGR on our movie-making, and that's been really exciting too.

Courtesy Teton Gravity Research It really is impossible to overstate how steep and scary hiking to, and riding down, something like this is.

What was the scariest part of filming "Higher?"

Every line is really intense for me. Without giving away some of the film, there are some really intense moments on the mountain that were some of the scariest moments I've had in the mountains. They were not something that I am proud of at all, and I would love to not have that stuff in the film, but it happened and it's a disservice to the viewer to not show my mistakes. I wish they weren't there, but they were a reality and they're in the film.

How did you come about choosing the small cast of riders in this movie?

For the three locations -- the Tetons, Alaska and the Himalayas -- I went and found the best riders I could find for those locations. For the Tetons, I continue to spend more and more time there with Brian [Iguchi] and he's probably my favorite person in the world to be in the mountains with. His level of knowledge and joy, and actual snowboarding, is just at a spot that you don't get to without 25 years of committing your life to it. We jibe really well together.

For Alaska, Ryland Bell is from Alaska, and I always try and connect with locals where possible. It's a good omen. You want to stack as many good omens or karma into a trip, and since Ryland has been coming out on these on-foot trips we've had a lot of success. It's like, why change that?

Luca Pandolfi, going into the Himalayas, I knew I would be at my max, and I couldn't be concerned with another rider and if that person knows how to set up an anchor, or drill in an ice screw, or fix a crampon that falls off in the middle of a sketchy face. Luca is from Italy and lives in Chamonix and has done arguably some of the heaviest lines ever ridden on a snowboard in the last couple years in Chamonix. Plus he has Himalayan experience. That was really hard to find, someone who could handle the altitude and could handle these long trips. I really only snowboarded with Luca one day before the trip. But I hung out with him, he rides for Jones Snowboards, and was basically the best rider that I could find for that expedition.

What kind of technology was used for the filming of the aerial shots in the film?

Another huge difference in the film is the aerial cinematography. TGR acquired this new heli-mount, a cutting edge gimbal camera, called a GSS. We used that one day in the Tetons and two days in the Himalayas and the footage was just shocking, and we used it for a half a day in Alaska. The footage was so spectacular it's actually a big part of the film, even though out of the 80 or so days spent filming it was only there for three and a half. TGR has so much experience with aerial filming. My brother Todd shot that stuff and it was really cool connecting with him on that.

As you mentioned using the heli-mount camera system for some of the filming, did anyone give criticism for that in what is promoted as a foot-powered movie and did you have any conflict in that department?

I am very aware of my impact and always critical of my carbon output. In all areas of my life I continue to reduce my impact on the planet. This includes snowboarding and filming "Deeper," "Further" and "Higher." They have a much smaller carbon footprint than the traditional films I have worked on over the last 15 years. But they do have an impact and this is why I have never called them "eco" films.

Courtesy TGR Jeremy Jones: Just another day at work.

Ever since I started Protect Our Winters I have received criticism and this will probably continue. But of the three films, "Higher" has the smallest footprint because it was only three locations, two of which required long plane flights, Alaska and the Himalayas. The impact of using the heli for three days was far less then the plane travel it took to get us to these places. The aerial footage we did capture is a significant part of the film and helps take "Higher" to the next level.

If there is one message to your movies or one idea that you want to relate to your average viewer, what would that be?

Life is precious, don't let anyone get in the way of your passions. Challenge yourself -- and that doesn't mean you have to go jump some huge cliff, just challenge yourself in life. Don't settle. Reach for the stars.

You must get asked this a ton, but can you comment on any future plans? Is there an encore movie in the works?

I'm hoping for a foot-powered trip in Alaska next year with Travis Rice. That's on a technical side, more from an overall perspective, though. This foot-powered stuff, I didn't do that because I thought it would make for a good film, it's where I'm at with my life. It's really opened up the world from my home range, the Sierra, and my hit list now is 10 times bigger than six years ago when I started these films.

My excitement for snowboarding and real adventure, for unplugging and camping and spending lots of time in the wilderness, my love for that is stronger than it's ever been. I'm at a level that I've never been to on that front, in terms of getting into unknown mountains and figuring them out and hiking up them and camping. I'll continue on that path and how that's documented -- or if that will be documented -- I don't know.