Craig was the leader of a generation that essentially established snowboarding as a house-hold sport, inspiring both young and old to take up a pursuit that bucked the elitist image of skiing. One of the most influential snowboarder to ever live. The four-time World Champion was literally the best of the best, and brought serious freestyle credibility to Burton. 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. 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. The Craig Kelly World Snowboard Camp was created to help kids improve their snowboarding skills. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Taking in the mountains had become an addiction for the innovative powder hound from Nelson, Canada. Over his 15-year professional career, he won 4 world championships and 3 U.S. championships; he won the Mt. We're reprinting one of Craig's favorite columns written by Ken Achenbach from the January 1992issue ofTransWorld SNOWboarding to honor him. Its the life you left behind when you sold out. Craig wrote, If this (list) comes across as uninteresting or meaningless to you, please consider it an educational experience. In that list of eleven people, Craig included both Tom Sims and Jake Burton Carpenter-Craigs quiet way of giving credit to all those who helped him along the way. When youre ready, I told him, Id be honored to help out in any way youd like. He said hed dream about it. By the end of his first season of competition, Craig had taken second place in two additional events and was itching for a win that came the following March at a Hyak, Washington banked slalom and then again in a slalom at the soon-to-be prestigious World Snowboarding Championships in Breckenridge, Colorado. One day, cruising to your full-time office job that you had to get a few years back to make payments on all your keys, you drive past a guy on the corner with his thumb out and a snowboard under his arm. Hood with Mark McMorris and The Burton Crew, Nitro Hard Drive | Dominik Wagner - The Bad Seeds, Phenoms in Finland: Jesse Augustinus & Max de Vries, R.I.P. Hed be the living legend Id introduce my kids to some day, and theyd know immediately who he was because Id have already told them his story: Craig Elmer Kelly was born on April Fools Day-April 1, 1966. Kelly, who leaves behind his girlfriend, Savina, and 2-year-old daughter, Olivia Maria, was a free-spirited. 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. Press play for a hell ride through Helsinki. Over his 15-year . He has always been the mentor for my friends and me. By 1985 it wasdecision time: with the launch of a new magazine,and a burgeoning competition scene, there was thepotential to follow a dream. Craig was a Sims Snowboards rider, founded by Tom Sims, from 1983 until 1987. The Southern California Boat Show, billed as the Wests largest indoor boat show, is scheduled Feb. 15-23 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Donations in memory of . Halfway through third grade he was moved ahead to fourth grade, and from that point forward, he was always one step ahead. Baker Banked Slalom snowboarding competition in 1988, 1991, and 1993. I dont know anybody else that loved mountain riding as much as he did. Now that you have a job, girls know youre not a total loss and you end up with a girlfriend. He was never malicious, he was just Craig., As Craig worked his way through college, he set lofty goals for himself. He was the first child born to Pat Kelly and Janet Hansen; they considered him their practice kid. Soon enough, Craig confirmed that his parents were doing something right. 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. How many times has that trip been emulated since? Downing, 34, who spends most of his winters filming and testing equipment in the backcountry slopes near his home in Lake Tahoe, said he has seen several avalanches, including one in which an entire upper-slope bowl released and shook the earth as it rumbled down the mountain -- but he has never been buried by one. 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. Our ability to see through the snowpack, and see what is happening everywhere with the snow in a given month is not possible.. Mt Baker Washington powder day on Hemispheres, Same weekend as Legendary Banked Slalom, Craig on unbranded board. Hes still there. Nitro Snowboards just dropped a new series called Hard Drive. Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay up-to-date with the latest from Craig Kelly was and always will be one of snowboardings most successful athletes. Kelly was working as a guide for two groups of backcountry adventurers organized by . Craigs career recently evolved into backcountry guiding where he was based primarily in British Columbia. They were just following me, s first publicized romances. Like many earlier pioneers, he hadno inkling of a career in the sport until it actuallyhappened. When going big in the streets on a snowboard is dubbed a "Brisse Spot", We've compiled a list of helpful travel tips with the goal helping you make TransWorld SNOWboarding's managing editor provides an in-depth, honest, and Terje speaks further on his controversial tweet. Craig Elmer Kelly was born on April Fool's Day-April 1, 1966. You cant give her the key to your heart because snowboarding put a combination lock on it and only your snowboard knows the number. Craig would be really bummed if I stoped riding powder because of what happened to him. Called 'Craig's', the state-of-the-art addition to the company's Burlington HQ will be the place for the techies to experiment with new ideas in snowboard design. I almost feel bad telling others how idyllic Mt. Prize money was steadily increasing but by the mid1990s, when freestyle really began to explode, Kelly decided to changedirection again, dedicating his life to freeriding. Its kind of funny how you can go from walking around with nothing but lint in you pocket and being totally stoked, to walking around with a pocket full of keys and being totally bummed. You need a place to change and store your stuff. Craig Kelly was studying to become a Certified Canadian Mountain Guide. First, she gives you the key to her heart, and then the key to her apartment. Those championships were both in halfpipe and the now-antiquated snowboard slalom racing. He said he wasnt sure if there would be enough interest in the life of a snowboarder to warrant a book. I never doubted anything Craig said he would do, even off-the-wall comments like, I think I might drive from Alaska to Chile. He told me that years before he actually did it.. To help share awareness of what Craig meant to snowboarding and Burton, we asked his daughter Olivia to share a remembrance of her fathers monumental contributions and legacy. Your mind keeps wandering back. He is the rider who put professionalism into team riding, and then laterdemonstrated his passion by dedicating his life to the sport. Theyre weighing you down. Subscribe to our free newsletter and stay up-to-date with the latest from Craig Kelly passed away January 20, 2003. Copyright a360media 2023. Woodward PC, Big Bear, and Woodward Copper with The Dust Box! Then he retired from racing and concentrated on the halfpipe (thus giving up his overall title). SNOWBOARDER. My guard will be up, but it has always been up. Last Friday was the 20th anniversary of his death. 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%). For over 15 years, Craig Kelly has left an indelible mark on the sport of snowboarding. Vision (a corporation that had a licensing agreement to distribute Sims snowboards) eventually sent Craig a contract to sign on as an official team member. He set a standard that many emulate today. A glistening canvas on which he worked his awe-inspiring magic. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. Among those scheduled to compete -- in Mammoths new Super Duper Pipe, 600 feet long with 22-foot walls -- are Olympic medalists Ross Powers, Danny Kass, JJ Thomas and Kelly Clark. Thank you for signing up. Kelly, who leaves behind his girlfriend, Savina, and 2-year-old daughter, Olivia Maria, was a free-spirited athlete and an inspiration to thousands, some of whom used that inspiration to propel themselves to stardom. Baker, in Washington state. Copyright a360media 2023. Read our full Privacy Policy as well as Terms & Conditions. A place where he found inner peace. For boots, he took a pair of Sears canvas tennis shoes into the woodshop at school, shellacked them for waterproofing, and wore BMX gaiters duct-taped to his shoes to keep out the snow.In spring of 1982, Mount Bakers Mountain Manager Duncan Howat warily began to open the resorts lifts to snowboarders-on a trial basis. It wont let you snowboard more because you ride every day and a car cant add days to the week. But back in 1988 during the court battle, Craig was mentally drained. Tom Sims, renowned for recognizing snowboarding talent, rode with Craig that winter. After that, he was way more careful with his pranks. Craig got arrested with Keith (Duckboy) Wallace at the 1991 June Mountain Op Pro for riding off the lodges roof. He attended the University of Washington where he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity and studied Chemical Engineering. He used to come up on Mondays when the ski area was closed and would set up gates with some of the workers and run them using a snowmobile to get back and forth. Born on the 1st April 1966, Craigs lifetook a left turn when his family moved to Mt Vernonin Washington State in 1979. How fortunate we are to be able to honor them by following in their footsteps. . For us groms, we learned by seeing Kelly and his Mt. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. World Championships at Breckenridge, CO, Craig got second in HP to Palmer in first., 1990. Kelly is known as the 'Godfather of Freeriding'; Terje Hkonsen called Kelly the best snowboarder of all time. A true legend, Jason "J2" Rasmus turned his persona into a professional "Snowboarding was born, lived, and died in the mid 1990s." There was money to be made. 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Yosemite breaks decades-old snowfall record, closing national park indefinitely, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a jungle and Maya ruins, Has wildflower shaming gone too far? Put a combination lock on it and only your snowboard knows the.! Freeriding ' ; Terje Hkonsen called Kelly the best, and woodward Copper the! Snowboarding skills, freestyle snowboarding became the new rage her apartment bummed if I stoped riding because! Powder because of what happened to him I dont know anybody else that loved Mountain riding as much he! That his parents were doing something right lifetook a left turn when his moved..., if this ( list ) comes across as uninteresting or meaningless to you, please consider an. Left behind when you sold out for himself passed away January 20 2003. And stay up-to-date with the latest from Craig Kelly has left an indelible on. 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