MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Fall Winter 2018

FALL/WINTER 2018 MLCM 69 words :: Ben Osborne Jessa Gilbert has a disposable camera in her pack, but it’s just for fun. Her typical supplies for a day at the office include a sketchpad, pencil, paintbrush, and maybe some watercolour paints. Her mode of transport? A splitboard, a mountain bike, or her own two feet. Leading a life of artistic dualism, Jessa heads into the mountains to “paint” lines on the landscape with her snowboard or mountain bike. Next, she transports those ephemeral feelings–of standing on a ridge top, skinning through an old growth forest, or plunging into an alpine lake–onto paper or canvas. And eventually, she releases her artwork out to the rest of the world. Growing up in upstate New York, Jessa had a plan: when her snowboard career ended, she would shift into the art world. Art was something to work at (she studied art and art history at the University of Vermont), but snowboarding was her first love. After years competing on the east coast freestyle circuit however, Jessa began to realize her body was taking a beating. By age 25 she had soldiered on through four knee surgeries, countless concussions, and a few broken teeth to boot. The fifth knee surgery would prove to be the final straw, however, and after a massive reconstruction that took more than 11 hours and 30 staples, her surgeon gave Jessa an ominous prediction: “You may never snowboard again.” “TRUST THE PROCESS” ANYA CHIBIS ARTIST