Origins Extended : Mammoth Mountain

Every generation of riders seeks a proving ground, somewhere to meet others at the forefront, to see how they measure up. Between 200 and 2005, there was no better place than Mammoth's Unbound Parks to know if you had what it took to be a pro snowboarder. The innovation happening there and the unparalleled level of terrain gave rise to a scene, which in turn produced some of the biggest names of the last 15 years. Danny Kass, Eddie Wall, Kyle Clancy, Zach Leach, Colin Langlois, Charlie Morace, and Scotty Arnold were just a few who felt Mammoth's pull clear across the continent from their icy home resorts in the East. Then there are those who grew there: Jeff and Billy Anderson, John and Eric Jackson, and Tommy Czeschin.

These stories are what we set out to find with our Origins project. For the first half, we focused on the riding and influences of three riders that Mammoth irrevocably shaped - John Jackson, Eric Jackson, and Kimmy Fasani. You can see that in their Origins full movie parts. The second half of the project, starting here, looks more closely at the forces that shaped freestyle.

Words: Gerhard Gross