10 MINUTES: With Jonny Law
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In 2004, Jonny Law’s skiing career was about to take off. He had won the 2003 U.S. Freeskiing Championships at Snowbird, finishing second at Worlds, and had started working with Teton Gravity Research. Then Law, a Nova Scotia resident, shattered his femur when he underestimated a line in Alaska and tumbled 1500 feet. Law now lives in Squamish, British Columbia. His recovery has been long. Now that he is finally skiing without pain, his approach to the sport has changed dramatically.
How did the injury happen?
It was in 2004. I was in Alaska and there was a feature I wanted to work on. It ended up being twice as big and twice as steep and I realized I couldn’t get on top of it. It was just two shear. My plan was to get on top of it and my slough would go around. But my slough took be down and I got beat down the mountain for like 1500 feet.
Before the injury, where was your ski career going?
I had just started working with TGR and getting in the right position with sponsors and then I found my leg bent from my quad to my shoulder. Since, it’s been a relatively slow recovery. I feel fortunate to be skiing again. But it took a good two years to start training. I had to rehab for two years. Last year I was back on skis and in pain.
Being back on skis now, does the injury stay with you in the back of your mind?
Not so much. It’s taken some bigger falls that have given my confidence back–realizing that my femur can take the abuse that it used to. I’m not as into taking heavy risks. It’s about having fun and making something look good and fluid. It’s not about being the ballsiest. It’s not about pulling something off crazy–it’s about skiing every day. I definitely challenge myself, but I ski stuff that doesn’t have as much consequence.
Do you think you’ll enter competitions again?
Yeah, I think so. If anything I’ll do it for fun. I did one last year even though, as I mentioned, I was skiing in extreme pain and low confidence. I picked a line that wasn’t about winning, but about skiing the way I felt like skiing at the time. And that’s really what I want to get out of skiing. It’s not about what people think when they watch. It’s about doing what feels good. I skied well. The scene is such a blast. So many people go to competitions. It’s a great vibe. Everybody is stoked for whoever wins.
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