Freerider Luca Pandolfi killed in an avalanche

Italian snowboarder, freeride champion and one of the Jones team’s original riders Luca Pandolfi regrettably passed away in an avalanche earlier this week. Pandolfi was the first to drop into a 1,900-metre gully off Mont de Flassin while out touring with a partner in the Gran San Bernardo Valley in Italy. He made a few turns before an avalanche caught and carried him to valley bottom. A report said the force of the avalanche tore Pandolfi’s beacon from his body, and a rescue dog unit was required to recover his body. More details beyond that are unknown. 

A long-time athlete and member of the Jones family, Pandolfi’s appearances in the Deeper, Further and Higher films as well as his personal resume of alpine guiding, split board mountaineering and notable big-mountain descents has left behind quite the mountain legacy. 

“MORE THAN A PHYSICAL PLACE, [ CHAM ] IS A MENTAL BUBBLE WHERE PEOPLE DREAM BIGGER, IN ANY DISCIPLINE, AND YOUR MIND GETS USED TO A DIFFERENT IDEA OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE AND WHAT IS NOT.” - L. Pandolfi