Olympic Valley, CA – The communities of Lake Tahoe, snow sports and beyond will come together this Saturday in celebration of local professional skier CR Johnson’s profound effect on the sport he helped shape during his heralded career. Seating will begin starting at 6 p.m. outside at Squaw Valley’s KT Base Bar for the world premiere of “CRJ – The Chronicle of a Freeskiing Icon.”
This event is free of charge with all ages welcome to attend. The 20-minute film will begin at 7:30 p.m. Lawn chairs, warm clothing and blankets are recommended. There’s no need to bring a hat, however, as Bigtruck Brand will be hosting a sew-on-site hat tent with limited edition CRJ patches made from Johnson’s old outerwear.
The film, produced by 4FRNT Media with help from Inspired Media, Level 1 Productions, Poor Boyz Productions and Teton Gravity Research, outlines Johnson’s rise to icon status in the world of freeskiing, documenting his career through film segments and insights from those who knew him best.
Charles Russell Johnson III, better known as CR or CRJ, was a pioneer in the freeskiing movement. People recognized Johnson’s talent from a young age and, at the age of 17, he rose to skiing stardom after landing a 1440 (degree rotation) at his home mountain of Squaw Valley.
During his career, Johnson competed in the Slopestyle and Superpipe Winter X Games events, filmed with many top-tier ski film production companies, and returned to a professional level of freeskiing after a life-altering and career threatening head injury in 2005 when another skier landed on top of him at Brighton, Utah. Throughout his highly public skiing career, Johnson’s passion for skiing and dedication to the sport set him apart. Despite injuries and setbacks, he couldn’t stop skiing because for him, skiing was just too much fun.
“CR was so passionate about skiing and about being out in nature. He loved terrain park skiing until it wasn’t realistic for him, then he returned to the backcountry while thoroughly enjoying being outdoors and discovering what he could accomplish while skiing off natural aspects,” says his sister, Kahlil Johnson. “I believe his skiing truly soared after he combined his skiing experiences in the terrain park and backcountry. CR’s heart sang through his unmatched ability to float freely from one powder pillow to another, take to the air, and make beautiful turns through the trees and on big mountain aspects. These abilities which CR focused on made him so enthusiastic about the positive life he lived.”
Johnson tragically passed away in a skiing accident at Squaw Valley on February 24, 2010. 4FRNT’s new film is dedicated to his legacy and all proceeds from the film will benefit the High Fives Foundation’s CR Johnson Healing Center, a program service of the Foundation located in Truckee, Calif. While at the world premiere at Squaw this Saturday, Johnson’s fans can purchase tickets for $20 in a special raffle to support the CR Johnson Healing Center.
Following the World Premiere, a free after party will take place at Squaw Valley’s Plaza Bar at 9 p.m. with music by The Silver Boombox Thief and DJ Treez.