JT Robinson

Home Base: Ogden, UT

Current Quiver: Team 130s and Team 100s

Recent Accomplishments: 5th place at Crested Butte Extreme Skiing Championships

Recent Media: Tough Guy Productions’ Open Windows and new release HarmLess, Lipstick Films’ Since We Last Spoke and photos in recent articles in Telemark Skier Magazine and Powder Magazine.

I was drawn to the mountains to fulfill my college aspirations, leaving my home in Wilmot, Wisconsin at age 18 to attend Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. In Ogden I worked in local restaurants at night and took out student loans to get my bachelor’s degree in finance and ski five days a week. I noticed freeheel skiing around Utah a lot and switched soon after because of the level of skill and challenge it seemed to require. The options for different styles of turns appealed to my desire to add more to the big-mountain skiing that I was learning in the Wasatch. I felt like I could bring more to my skiing without sacrificing anything I loved about alpine skiing. The art appealed to me, and I pursued it further into competition, which landed me some sponsors and invitations to shoot for movies and television shows. Now my sponsor support has grown to include Karhu, DNA, Bomber, Scarpa and Utopia Optics, and I’ve had the opportunity to ski and shoot films in places like Jackson Hole, Mt. Baker, Alaska, Austria and many other locations.

Everyday in the mountains is a blessing, and I work hard to keep this lifestyle a reality. Not many people get the chance to experience the kinds of things I have been doing for the last five winters, and I am grateful for the ability chase these experiences. I have to spend a lot of time away from my family, but they support my aspirations despite some apprehension. I am in a lot of their prayers helping keep me safe from injury and death. Fear is a large obstacle in this line of work, but it is the ability to overcome and perform fluidly in the face of fear that has enriched my zest and appreciation for life. The experiences, the people, the mountains and the art of the turn are what keep me pushing forward in my life, my skiing and my goals for the future of the sport. Skiing everyday in the mountains is the motivation, the risk and the reward.