C. R. Johnson

C. R. Johnson

Personal information
Full name	Charles Russell Johnson III
Nationality	American
Website	Official MySpace
Sport
Sport	Freeskiing

Charles Russell Johnson III (October 8, 1983 – February 24, 2010) was a skiing mastermind and a pioneer in the freeskiing movement. He became a top-notch competitor and a favorite in ski films. He was known for his progression, fearlessness, and passion for skiing. Johnson was also an extremely positive person who loved and lived life to the fullest.

CHILDHOOD

C.R. Johnson was born and raised in Truckee, Lake Tahoe California. He grew up skiing Squaw Valley Resort, a world-class ski area that is known for its extreme terrain. At Squaw Valley, Johnson spent his time lapping the terrain park and charging difficult chutes and bowls. Johnson quickly developed a large range of tricks and excellent big mountain skills. In addition to skiing, Johnson enjoyed surfing, fly-fishing, traveling, and spending time with close friends and family.

CAREER

In 1999, Johnson emerged on the freeskiing scene when he spun a quadruple 360. The skiing community quickly recognized Johnson as a talented young star who could help progress free skiing. Johnson was a fearless skier willing to try any tricks and ski any backcountry lines. His passion for skiing and dedication to improve propelled him to become one of the best free skiers in the world. In 2001, Johnson placed first at the Core Games quarter pipe in Japan and podiumed at the Big Air Winter X Games in Mount Snow, Vermont. The following year at the 2002 Winter X Games, Johnson won gold in big air and silver in slopestyle. In addition to his medals, ESPN Action Sports nominated Johnson for Male Skier of the Year. In 2003, Johnson won bronze at Winter X Games Superpipe. If it was not for him crashing on the lip of the pipe, Johnson might have gotten Gold over Candide Thovex. Regardless of the results, Johnson exemplified the future of half-pipe skiing by launching 20 feet above the pipe’s walls and landing technical tricks with many spins and intricate grabs. During this period, Johnson also spent time filming and producing ski segments with action sport producers like Matchstick Productions, Poor Boyz Productions, and Teton Gravity Research. From 1999 until 2004, Johnson had a significant role in many ski films. Some of his most notable segments were in films called “Front Line,” “Focused,” and “WSK 106.”

INJURY

On December 8, 2005 Johnson was filming his latest movie, Show and Prove when he suffered a life threatening injury. He was skiing at Brighton Ski Resort in Utah when him and four other skiers launched off a cliff one after each other. Johnson being the first one to descend stopped after landing to collect his gear when Kye Peterson struck him right below his helmet. The impact knocked Johnson unconscious for about three minutes. When help arrived he was immediately sedated and flown to the University of Utah Hospital. There he was put into intensive care but his recovery was questionable. For 10 days, Johnson remained in induced coma. However on December 18, 2005, Johnson opened his eyes halfway. Eight days later Johnson began whispering, eating, and moving both sides of his body. He was then moved out of the critical care unit to a neutral rehab where he began speech, physical, and occupational therapy. After being hospitalized for 34 days, Johnson was finally able to return home.

COMEBACK

Johnson was determined to start skiing again. He was not going to let his life threatening injury, prevent him from doing what he loved. In 2007, Johnson began the ski season with the attitude and mindset that he would return to his original form. That November and December he spent six weeks in Colorado training half-pipe. Unfortunately, Johnson had a hard time progressing and decided he was not strong enough to compete. He then spent time traveling to different competitions, heli-skiing in British Columbia, and filming with Matchstick Productions. At the end of the year, Johnson had overcome many mental hurdles and reestablished a new direction for his ski career. He decided to concentrate on filming and progressing his backcountry skiing. In 2008 and 2009, Johnson continued to travel and film with several ski production companies. He continued to improve and in 2010 Johnson placed third at the Red Bull Line Catcher event in France.

DEATH

On February 24, 2010, at age 26, Johnson died skiing at Squaw Valley Ski Resort in the Light Towers area. Witnesses said he caught his ski on an exposed rock which caused him to fall several hundreds yards down a ridge. The medical assistance showed up several minutes after the incident but pronounced him dead on the scene.

Accomplishments

• In 2000 he won 2nd place at the Spring Jam Big at the Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe.
• In 2001 he won 1st place at the Core Games quarterpipe in Japan and the bronze (big air) at the X-Games in Mount Snow, Vermont.
• In 2002 he was nominated for Male Skier of the Year at the ESPN Action Sports and Music Awards.
• In 2002 he won the gold (big air), silver (slopestyle) and bronze (slopestyle) at the US OPEN.
• In 2003 he won the Bronze (superpipe) at the XGames, in Aspen, Colorado.
• In 2004 he won 2nd place (big air) at the Ultimate Bumps & Jumps and ranked 4th; he also won fifth (slopestyle) place at the XGames in Aspen, Colorado.
• In 2007 he created his pro model with 4FRNT called the CRJ.
• In 2010 he won 3rd place at the Red Bull Line Catcher.