Daydreaming of the Extreme

Back country mountains of Salt Lake City, Utah
 taken on Jones' trip in March, 2009.

Once you ride down the back country mountains of Salt Lake City, Utah, feet strapped into a snowboard, wind hitting your face, no sign of civilization in the distance, it's hard to remove the memory from your thoughts.

Ohio University, junior, Brooke Jones, has never been able to stop dreaming about the Western mountains from the first time she was able to visit Utah during her freshmen year of high school.

It is not just the mountains that attract the adventurous student to the beautiful area of the country, but it is her long love of extreme sports at the root of it all. Picking up a snowboard for the first time at the young age of 12, Jones knew from her first few experiences in the snow that her life was forever changed. 

What is it About Snowboarding?

Jones laughs, when asked what is so special about the extreme sport that she has fallen in love with. Her anecdotes are truly endearing, as she starts by describing a middle school version of herself.

"I remember in seventh grade ski club, I always stuck with a group of guys who snowboarded and I was determined to keep up," says Jones. "One day, they challenged me to go to the terrain park (an area containing ramps and various jumps), and of course I accepted the challenge. I was not going to be shown up at my sport, even it meant breaking my arm." 

Jones and her snowboard during her 2009 trip to
 Salt Lake City, Utah.

Considering Jones' tiny stature, I couldn't help but ask if she fell that day in the terrain park, and sure enough she fell more times than she could remember, but she assures me that "it was the start of a deeper love for the sport." 

Jones took her first trip Westward to Keystone, Colo. during her freshmen year of high school with her father. She explains that she knew she would be living their someday from her first 3 days on the mountains. 

"At one point I was waste deep in powder after falling, but it was great. I truly loved every moment of being on the mountains," Jones said. 

Jones' first trip was followed by 5 more to destinations in Colo. and Utah. Easily her most momentous trip, was one to Salt Lake City, Utah to visit her cousin, who is a resident of the area. Jones was able to see areas of the city that tourists don't often get the chance to.

"My cousin showed me the back country mountains, where not many people are familiar with. I felt like we were the only people for miles, and the view was breathtaking," Jones described.

Jones said she knows she is meant to live in that part of the country, and is determined to do so.

                              An Index of Jones’ Westward Trips

March, 2005	Keystone, Colorado
March, 2007	Keystone, Colorado
March, 2009	Salt Lake City, Utah
March, 2010	Denver, Colorado
March, 2011	Denver, Colarado

Life in the Meantime

Jones at her home in Athens , Ohio. 

Jones currently resides in Athens, Ohio as a student studying Exercise Physiology. Not surprisingly, her dreams of becoming a physical therapist also fit into her dreams of living in the mountains.

"I picture myself rehabilitating patients who have suffered from injuries as a result of skiing and snowboarding in the mountains. It is a dream, but we will see if it ever actually happens," Jones said.

Click below to see some of the amazing places Jones has visited:

Keystone, Colorado

Back country, Salt Lake City, Utah


Article posted by Ellyn Coder