Jacob Wester

I first met CR Johnson at Freestyle.ch in Zürich, Switzerland, the year 2004. I remember being star struck immidiately, CR was one of the skiers that had inspired me to do what I was doing, since the super early days. I remember watching his ski movie segments in the early MSP films, blown away by how far ahead of everyone else he was, doing his trademark bio spins, all the way up to 1260s. One of the first shots I ever saw of him was of a 1440, an amount of rotations I never thought was possible up until then. One of the best ski movie segments ever made is still CR’s part in Poor Boyz Production’s Happy Dayz, even today, 7 years later, it would be a legit movie segment a skier only could dream of putting together.

Yesterday, CR was skiing his home mountain, Squaw Valley, California, when he caught some rocks on an exposed cliff take-off, causing him to tumble off the cliff.

He passed away.

I really don’t have words for my feelings right now, this is the second big icon of our sport passing away in one year, due to tragic accidents. I guess it leaves you with the feeling that life is indeed fragile and you have to live in and appreciate every moment of your life, because you can be pulled away from it any second. Thank you CR, for being one of my biggest inspirations, and a great friend.

CR in Snoqualmie, Washington, may 2008.

~ by jacobwester on February 25, 2010.