JT Holmes takes pushing the limits of skiing seriously.

Every once in a while an athlete comes around with a natural inherent talent to progress the sport in which they participate, a visionary of sorts for their sport. JT Holmes is a professional athlete from Squaw Valley, CA who has lived almost his whole life as a skier. JT's obvious love for the sport and passion to push the limits of what is possible on skis has opened the eyes of young skiers across the globe to not only what can be accomplished on a pair of skis but also what is yet to come.

JT Holmes was born in Boston, MA, soon there after JT was relocated to Palo Alto, CA and at the young age of three was introduced to skiing while his family would spend the weekends skiing Squaw Valley, CA. Although it took some time, "I'd cry and pee my pants frequently," JT reminisces of his first experiences on skis, JT fell in love with the sport and spent every possible weekend on the ski hill. Holmes ski raced until age 10 and skied moguls from age 12-15. With a solid technical skiing background and an undying passion for the sport JT decided that skiing was his path and that no one could take that away from him. Matchstick Productions was fortunate enough to hook up with JT at the juvenile age of 17 for his first ski film appearance in Sick Sense, Matchstick's 1997 release.

Since his first ski film appearance in 1997 Holmes has been featured in over 9 ski films and has had numerous appearances in ski magazines and in contests across the globe. His peers recognize Holmes as an innovator of the sport for his involvement in a new ski trend ski-BASEing. Ski-BASEing is an idea derived from James Bond stunt men in the 70's where a skier launches off a cliff too big to mortally survive and opens a parachute at the last second floating safely to earth. Shane McConkey, a close friend of Holmes's had been ranting about ski-BASEing for close to five years before the duo began to truly see the possibilities of the new-born sport. Holmes's first base jump was in the summer of 02' the day after his 22nd birthday with his friends Shane McConkey, Aaron McGovern, Chris Davenport, Jeff McKitterick, and Othar Lawrence. It took place at the famed "Plunge to your Death Camp" which Shane set up for his closest friends to share his newfound passion for BASE-jumping. JT left Death Camp that year with the hunger for more BASE-jumps and the dream of one-day ski-BASEing. Death Camp was more than just a fun weekend with friends; it changed JT's life forever.

Holmes soon thereafter purchased base jumping gear and returned to the death camp bridge without a clue of how to assemble his parachute, much less pack it or fly it. Luckily, he hooked up with some Australians at the bridge that weekend who would go on to teach him the basics of BASE-jumping, how to pack his chute, safe take off and landing zones and how to fly his canopy. These Aussies charged JT for their services and they later became friends. JT took that knowledge back to his home in Squaw Valley, CA where he met back up with Shane and the two became jumping partners. JT feels that his experiences with the Australians were important because it took the burden of teaching off of Shane. JT explains "BASE jumping is dangerous behavior and one would feel terrible if they taught some one every step of the way and then that person maimed themselves or ended their life or career."

On January 15th 2003 the duos ski-BASE dreams became a reality while in Lake Tahoe, CA filming with Matchstick Productions. Both JT and McConkey got their first ski-BASE jumps under their belts, while BASE-jumpers, Mark Broderick and Eric Roner looked on. JT admits "I wasn't sure if I'd actually ski off of Lover's leap that day as I hiked to the top with skis and a rig… but as usual Shane made the unthinkable look easy." The very next week Roner returned to Lover's leap to go for his first ski-BASE. This jump didn't go so well, he was a little too excited and did a lengthy freefall, an undesirable opening that resulted in him smacking into the cliff face followed this. Eric became a member of team wall strike that day; a team that Shane and others would soon join. Roner, tough as nails, wasn't deterred by his injuries or his wall strike and he went on to ski base several cliffs with a bit more luck.

Last year JT racked up 25 ski-BASE jumps across North America and Europe and held a very strong presence in Matchstick Productions latest film Yearbook. "Ski-BASEing has evolved way beyond what we could ever imagine" Steve Winter, Founder and Director of Matchstick Productions, has stated. The revolutionary new addition to a respectably old sport is asking every skier to once again question what is possible on skis. JT is largely responsible for the coming evolution of skiing and is now recognized worldwide as an innovator and ambassador of the sport.

JT currently calls Squaw Valley, CA his home, but has also been living in Park City while studying at the University of Utah. JT attends the fall semester studying Emergency Medical Services, and spends the rest of his year working to build a groundbreaking segment in Matchstick Productions yearly ski film release. His interest in medical training has stemmed from spending so much time in the backcountry. "Seth and I found a severely concussed avalanche victim in the Alaskan backcountry one year and I wished I could do more for the guy." JT reminisces of a past backcountry experience. He chose to study EMS because he new he would be faced with a similar situation again. JT is a true hero in the freeskiing world for not only his amazing skiing but also for his unsurpassed passion to push the sport where it has never been before.