Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25123
In the fall of 1995. brothers Steve and Todd Jones and their best friends Dirk Collins and Cory Gavitt were living in Jackson Hole. Wyoming. They had an insatiable thirst for heart-stopping terrain and would do anything. to support their habit. They tried the pro thing. skiing for Warren Miller's Endless Winter and a few independent ski videos. but grew frustrated with producers who weren't willing to go into the extreme kinds of places they wanted to ski. Like drug addicts in need of a fix. they sold everything they owned to get to Alaska to ski the fabled steeps of the Chugach Range under the guise of their mentor. Doug Coombs. A Jackson-based Mountain guide. Coombs was responsible for pioneering what was then primarily uncharted terrain. Riding shotgun in Coombs' helicopters changed their lives forever. After blowing every last penny on heli time. the 25-year old guys headed for the ports of Bristol Bay to endure backbreaking labor and many sleepless nights aboard commercial fishing boats. Luck would have it that that sp was an ally good year and they returned to Jackson with $25.000 each. So they bought a camera and set up an office in Steve's room. making a desk from plywood and a few milk crates they found behind a grocery store. They had one phone line with call waiting. a little bit of support from industry sponsors and a ton of vision for what Teton Gravity Research would become. A lot has happened since then: Now they have a commercial office space just feet from the tram at the base of Jackson. five feature- length films. a full-time salaried staff. a national film tour. an updated web site and email. an in-house editing system. an extensive activewear clothing line and multiple phone lines with reggae on hold. Established companies like Jack Daniel's and Kokanee top their sponsor list. they have formed an exclusive media partnership with Petersen Publishing (publishers of Powder, Snowboarder, Surfer and 600 other titles) and are working with big networks like NBC and ESPN. Dirk got married. Todd lives with his girlfriend. Cory hired a full-time national sales rep to help him with clothing. Steve got a car-a beater he traded for a pair of skis. But watching them dance around the editing suite. it's clear that some things will never change.