American · United States · Born 1 April 1966American snowboarding pioneer known as the 'Godfather of Freeriding,' a four-time world champion whom Terje Håkonsen called the best snowboarder of all time, who died in an avalanche in 2003 while training as a mountain guide.
Craig Kelly was born on 1 April 1966 and grew up in Mount Vernon, Washington, discovering snowboarding in 1981 when a local shop bought a couple of boards as a test case, alongside friend Dan Donnelly. His talent quickly convinced Mount Baker's initially reluctant owner Duncan Howat to embrace the sport, and the resort became an experimental hub for early snowboarding. An honors chemical engineering student at the University of Washington, Kelly left school just short of his degree to pursue professional snowboarding full time, winning four World Championships and three U.S. titles between 1987 and 1991 across both halfpipe and the era's slalom-style race formats - a versatility rare even among his era's competitors. Riding first for Sims and then, for the rest of his career, for Burton Snowboards, he helped design several signature boards and, alongside Burton founder Jake Burton Carpenter, played a central role in convincing North American ski resorts to open their slopes to snowboarders between 1983 and 1995. Kelly walked away from competition at the top of his game to pursue backcountry freeriding, becoming one of snowboarding's most influential filmmakers' subjects and founding the Craig Kelly World Snowboard Camp in Whistler in 1993. He was pursuing certification as a mountain guide with the Canadian Avalanche Association - having already achieved the highest level of any snowboarder - when he was killed in an avalanche near Revelstoke, British Columbia on 20 January 2003, alongside six others he was guiding. He was 36 and was survived by his partner Savina and infant daughter Olivia. Terje Håkonsen called him the greatest snowboarder of all time.
Winning four World Championships and helping transform snowboarding from a fringe activity into a globally recognized sport, before pioneering backcountry freeriding
How They Played
Fluid, precise all-around rider equally dominant in halfpipe and race disciplines, later renowned for pioneering technical backcountry freeriding
Lasting Impact
Widely regarded as one of the most influential snowboarders in history, whose style shaped generations of riders and whose partnership with Jake Burton Carpenter helped open North American resorts to the sport
Career Honours
- 4x World Champion
- 3x U.S. Champion
- 3x Mt. Baker Banked Slalom Champion
- Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential snowboarders in history
American Athletes