Riding the Edge of the Earth: Pro Snowboarder Elena Hight Shares Insights from the Summit
Photo by Tyler Ravelle
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Show Notes
This interview is a special one to me and I think it will be for you too. In the mid-90s, I was a professional snowboarder. It was such a fun chapter of my life because snowboarding was in a wildly innovative phase. Tricks were getting technical, jumps were getting bigger, handrails were getting longer, curvier, and more kinked. But like most board sports, snowboarding has many dimensions. One of those is backcountry riding. Unlike the super technical trick nature of park and pipe riding, backcountry riding is more of an art form. It’s marked by the creativity of the line you choose on big, blank canvases, your flow, the style of your air, and how long you can hold your grab. Today’s guest, Elena Hight, has performed at the top of both of these dimensions of snowboarding.
Elena is a 2 time Olympian snowboarder, an X-games gold medalist, she’s the first female to land a frontside 900 in competition at 13 years old, the first snowboarder to land a double backside alley-oop rodeo in a halfpipe contest, she’s the first female to ride the infamous Tahoe Grizzly Spines, she’s graced the cover of many magazines, and it’s a complete honor to have such a badass Nature Junkie on the show.
If you’re worried that we’re going to geek out too hard on trick technicalities, don’t hesitate. We checked that stuff at the door. Instead, this is a conversation about Elena navigating life’s transitions, doing extremely hard things, and learning how to better connect with everything through nature. Whether or not you’re a snowboarder, I have no doubt you’ll glean something insightful from this convo. Elena dropped all kinds of Nature wisdom hard-earned from her depth of experience in vast mountain landscapes.
Enjoy the Ride,
Jeff
Episode Links
@ElenaHight on Instagram
Ode to Muir Snowboard Film
Edge of the Earth on Max/HBO
Protect Our Winters (POW) - A non-profit that helps passionate outdoor people protect the places we live and experiences we love from climate change.
Creation Theory Film by Arc’teryx
Flying High Again Snowboard Film by Teton Gravity Research and Mike Hatchett
Connect with Nature Junkie
@NatureJunkieRadio on Instagram
Email: hello@naturejunkielife.com (submit a microdose of nature by emailing a 30-60 second voice memo with your name, how you microdose nature and how it makes you feel so we can share it with the community)
Show Production Credits
Podcast cover art by Ahab Nimry (@ahabnimry, https://bigdaytheagency.com/)
Outro music by Tyler Johnson
Editing by Aashish M.
