C. R. Johnson

Charles Russell Johnson III (August 10, 1983 – February 24, 2010) was a professional skier and a pioneer in the freeskiing movement.^[1] He became a top competitor and a favorite in ski films and was known for his progression, fearlessness, and passion for skiing.^[2] Johnson died in 2010 in a ski accident.

Childhood

C.R. Johnson was born and raised in Truckee, Lake Tahoe California.^[3] He grew up skiing Squaw Valley Resort, a world-class ski area that is known for its extreme terrain.^[3] At Squaw Valley, Johnson spent his time lapping the terrain park and charging difficult chutes and bowls.^[2] Johnson quickly developed a large range of tricks and excellent big mountain skills.^[2] In addition to skiing, Johnson enjoyed surfing, fly-fishing, traveling, and spending time with close friends and family.^[4]

Career

In 1999, Johnson emerged on the freeskiing scene when he successfully landed a 1440.^[1] The skiing community quickly recognized Johnson as a talented young star who could help progress free skiing.^[2] Johnson was a fearless skier willing to try any tricks and ski any backcountry lines.^[1] His passion for skiing and dedication to improve propelled him to become one of the best free skiers in the world.^[1] In 2001, Johnson placed first at the Core Games quarter pipe in Japan and podiumed at the Big Air Winter X Games in Mount Snow, Vermont.^[4] The following year at the 2002 Winter X Games, Johnson won silver in slopestyle.^[4] In addition to his medals, ESPN Action Sports nominated Johnson for Male Skier of the Year.<^[4] In 2003, Johnson won bronze at Winter X Games Superpipe.^[4] If it was not for him crashing on the lip of the pipe, Johnson might have gotten Gold over Candide Thovex.^[1] Regardless of the results, Johnson exemplified the future of half-pipe skiing by launching 20 feet above the pipe’s walls and landing technical tricks with many spins and intricate grabs.^[1] During this period, Johnson also spent time filming and producing ski segments with action sport producers like Matchstick Productions, Poor Boyz Productions, and Teton Gravity Research.^[5] From 1999 until 2004, Johnson had a significant role in many ski films.^[5] Some of his most notable segments were in films called “Front Line,” “Focused,” and “WSK 106.” ^[5]

Injury

On December 8, 2005 Johnson was filming his latest movie, Show and Prove when he suffered a life threatening injury.^[6] He was skiing at Brighton Ski Resort in Utah on a powder day, when he and Kye Peterson, along with the snowboarders Zach Siebert & Tommi Ylianttila, launched off natural features under the Millicent chair, one after another.^[6] Johnson being the first one to descend stopped after landing an air to collect his gear, when Kye Peterson struck him right below his helmet.^[6] The impact knocked Johnson unconscious for about three minutes.^[7] When help arrived he was immediately sedated and flown to the University of Utah Hospital.^[7] There he was put into intensive care but his recovery was questionable.^[6] For 10 days, Johnson remained in a medically induced coma.^[7] However on December 18, 2005, Johnson opened his eyes halfway.^[7] Eight days later Johnson began whispering, eating, and moving both sides of his body.^[7] He was then moved out of the critical care unit to a neural rehabilitation unit where he began speech, physical, and occupational therapy.^[7] After being hospitalized for 34 days, Johnson was finally able to return home.^[6]

Comeback

Johnson was determined to start skiing again.^[1] He was not going to let his life-threatening injury prevent him from doing what he loved.^[8] In 2007, Johnson began the ski season with the attitude and mindset that he would return to his original form.^[8] That November and December he spent six weeks in Colorado training half-pipe.^[8] Unfortunately, Johnson had a hard time progressing and decided he was not strong enough to compete.^[8] He then spent time traveling to different competitions, heli-skiing in British Columbia, and filming with Matchstick Productions.^[8] At the end of the year, Johnson had overcome many mental hurdles and reestablished a new direction for his ski career.^[8] He decided to concentrate on filming and progressing his backcountry skiing.^[8] In 2008 and 2009, Johnson continued to travel and film with several ski production companies.^[9] He continued to improve and in 2010 Johnson placed third at the Red Bull Line Catcher event in France.^[4]

Death

On February 24, 2010, at age 26, Johnson died skiing at Squaw Valley Ski Resort in the Light Towers area.^[10] He had chosen an extreme rocky line to go down the mountain and caught an edge on an exposed rock which caused him to fall .^[2] Medical assistance arrived several minutes after the incident but pronounced him dead on the scene.^[2] His death had significant impact throughout the freeskiing, mountain sport, and especially in the Squaw Valley community which has lost several high profile athletes near the end of the decade.^[11] A funeral service was held March 5, 2010.^[12]

References