Joonas Karhumaa

 

Full Name:  Joonas Karhumaa

Age: 27

Living: Stockholm/ Sweden

Years skiing: 23

 

Website: www.joonaskarhumaa.com

 

Sponsors:  Elan, Four Elements, Bollé, Alpingaraget, DaKine, Kask

 

Favourite Kask Beanie: Rutan

 

Achievements/ movies / comp results / other proud moments:

 

-Keeping up with telemark bindings for 15 years and beating some great alpine dudes.

-Got the comment: ”is this your new women collection?”, while wearing my latest male design on a party.

 

 

Favorite areas or descents: Andermatt/CH

 

Describe your skiing background.

 

- I spent all my free time at our backyard skihill (25m vert) at my school age. Somehow I got super stoked of telemark skiing at the age of 13. All my friends were snowboarders or skiers though, so I hanged with them, tried to do the same stuff and saw myself as a skier or snowboarder, not really a telemarker.

 

 

What was your big breakthrough or defining moment in skiing?

 

- It is still to come.

 

 

Describe a skiing experience when things got out of hand:

 

- Attending Engadin Snow freeride competition for about five years ago. I thought that I could ski, but after 5 turns I was so tired that I had nothing left to give and had to force my way down doing hooks and butt sliding down. Quite embarrassing, but I guess I learned a lecture.

 

 

What are you up to when you’re not skiing?

 

- Training for the season, trying to be creative and learn clothes designing, skateboarding with my kids and learn life.

 

 

Any training advice or suggestions?

 

- Make training into a lifestyle and enjoy it. Be creative.

 

 

Who or what inspires you?

 

- Creative people in- and outside the skiing world.Snowboarders.

 

 

How do you see skiing evolving in the next five years?

 

- I guess that competing will be more organized which I see as a good thing. But people will always go skiing because it’s fun, as long as there is snow.

 

 

Do you have any vices that you would like to share?

 

- Enjoy every day and remember that you choose.

 

 What are your future plans or goals in skiing?

 

- To be a better skier, to learn some alpine skiing, to win everything and to have fun with friends.

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 Competitions:

 

 

 

·      1st (22nd in alpine class) Scandinavian Big Mountain Championships, Riksgränsen/ Sweden

·      3rd (1st in qualifications), Flaine Freeride

·      7th (1st in telemark category), EngadinSnow, Silvaplana/ St Moritz

·      2nd Mystic Experience, Monte Rosa

·      Best trick in Nendaz Freeride, 18th Finals, 2nd Nendaz Open, Nendaz/ Verbier

·      Best trick, Bettery UpHill Jam, Levi/ Finland

·      Battery Bag Jump Helsinki (Jam Sessions, no results)

 

·      10th FWQ ranking 2010

 

 

Interviews and other published photos:

 

- Article with me in Skimbaaja 1/2010, double page

- Cover in Telemark SKIER mag, nov 2009

- Double page in Telemark SKIER mag, nov 2009

- One page photo in Telemark SKIER mag, dec 2009

- Interview with me at homeboyski.com (link here)

- Interview with me at telemarkeur.com (link here)

 

 

Films and TV:

 

- Leadig part in VIRNE, a Finnish freeride film (link here)

- VIRNE shoved several times in Finnish TV

- Starring in HIUTALE, a Finnish TV-series of freeskiing in national TV channel 4 in Finland.

- reprise of Raiders of the Lost Snow (a TV program of Skiing in Narvik/ Norway) shown in Travel Channel all over the world

- Interview for the French NRJ radio station during the Flaine freeride

- Interview during the Engadin Snow competition, for the Swiss TV and EuroSport

- Interview during the Scandinavian Big Mountain Championships, for the Swedish TV