Josh Jespersen

Occupation: American Mountain Guide

Home Town: I grew up in Millville, PA and can't forget my rural Appalachian roots! I now live in Silverton, CO, which is just as tiny of a town placed in much bigger and rowdier terrain.

Home Mountain: Big Boulder in the Poconos is where I started snowboarding and spent most of my youth, but now if I ride a chair the closest one is the proud 16 acres and 283 vertical of Kendall Mountain Ski Area. There's also another single lift ski area up Cement Creek from town that you may have heard of.

Snowboarding Since: I started on two planks in 1989 as a 3 year old, but somehow by the grace of Odin I was shown standing sideways on a snowboard in 2001 at 15 years old. Although I am a bi-slider, I haven't looked back from snowboarding and will argue tirelessly with anyone about why a snowboard turn in deep pow is undeniably the best form of sliding on snow.

Riding Venture Since: 2023! I have ridden many snowboards before, and am so excited to finally get Venture under my feet!

Board of Choice: Odin! If you enjoy going fast, this is the deck for you. Klem and I also share Danish ancestry and I appreciate the nod to Scandinavian culture.

Bio: I grew up in Pennsylvania, which believe it or not has a great ski culture with the 5th most ski areas of any state. After being an obsessed skier and snowboarder for my youth, I joined the military in 2005 and served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL. When I separated from my service, I immediately moved to Colorado to reimmerse myself in skiing and the mountains. Since then I have split boarded around every mountain range in our awesome state and gone on the most amazing adventures to slide on snow. In 2017, I became the first and only person to climb and ski all 54 of Colorado's 14ers in a single ski season, breaking the previous record of 361 days and doing it in just 138. I did it on a split board to make a point and show people that the moniker 'slowboard' does not belong. I've found ways to combine bikepacking and packrafting with snowboarding as well and continue to try and engage with unique adventures in my backyard. I love my job as a mountain guide and am stoked to be able to take my clients all over the world as an IFMGA/AMGA American Mountain Guide.

Why Venture? It's so simple... I can walk to the factory and give high fives to the people making my snowboards. They're made in the USA, in CO, and in Silverton... how could I not appreciate that.