Emma Crosby

The Salomon up-and-comer doesn’t like talking about herself that much, so we just talked about Louif Paradis and Jamie Anderson.

[Mark Clavin]: How’s the walk? 

Emma Crosby: How’d you know?

Pretty easy to tell when people are on a walk on the phone. 

Yeah, that makes sense. I’m just a bit lost, walking around Salt Lake. I guess not lost, just out. 

What are you working on this year? 

A three-trip Salomon movie that Bryden [Bowley]’s making and Des’ [Desiree Melancon’s] Bittersweet. Between that and Natural Selection, the winter went by pretty quick.

And you were coming off of an injury, yeah? 

I think it was last year. Yeah, I hurt my ankle. 

Clean sheet this year, no injuries?

Yeah, I got concussed, which sucked. But that’s manageable, kind of, in a way. I was in [the TK of] Georgia, actually, on a Salomon team trip, which I forgot I did, honestly. That’s probably because of the concussion. But it was a high-production—like, RED camera stuff—trip for some boards. 

What’s it like coming off an injury season and knowing you’ve got to ride for your job? 

Yeah, it’s definitely hard. It’s always in the back of your mind to not get hurt again. Injured seasons are always super hard mentally and physically. More than anything, I was just appreciative to be on every trip this year. Nothing worse than spending the trip days back at the Airbnb. [Laughs.] 

And then you did three trips with Bryden for a Salomon project. Where’d you guys go?

Oslo, Japan and Finland. It was pretty sweet. Every trip was a little bit of a different dynamic, and it was really cool. We went on a trip with Louif [Paradis] and it was everything everyone talks it up to be.…He’s so knowledgeable. 

Did you learn anything from him? 

Yeah—kind of a lot, even just in his daily presence. He showed up so on point, and it made you just try to be the best version of yourself. 

As a new father, did he try to be the father of the trip? 

No. That’s the coolest part. He lets you figure some stuff out for yourself, you know?

Classic dad move.

Yeah, maybe that’s what he does as a father.

So he did not scold or send anyone to their room for not landing a trick?

No. [Laughs.] But I think I would have felt disappointed in myself or something. You know, it’s like—

A fatherly relationship.

Yeah, I wish.

You wish? If Louif was your dad, that would be like LeBron and his kid playing together on the Lakers. 

Yeah, I mean, same.

What if we operated like the NBA and you could be traded to a different team in snowboarding? 

Fuck it, let’s do it. Let’s change some stuff up. That’d be fun.

You are part of a wave of riders that is getting bigger and bigger every year. What does that feel like? 

I definitely still have a long way to go! I’m just trying to come out with parts that feel overall, like, the best that I can. But it feels good just kind of working towards that every year. Every season, I learn a little bit more and I add some stuff to the résumé, and I’m stoked to hopefully keep that going. 

Who are your peers? 

I feel like I’m, like, in between people, almost. Kennedi [Deck]’s younger than me but has been around and has been, like, pressing for a while. I would not put them anywhere near me. But then, of course, you have Iris [Pham] and Egan [Wint], who are a bit younger. Even, like, Savannah [Shinske], but it’s hard because we all snowboard kind of different, you know? And different areas, too. 

How was competing in Natural Selection? 

It was pretty cool being in that atmosphere coming off a street trip. I have never really ridden terrain like that, untouched and studying it before snowboarding on it.…It kind of made going into the street trip after that more exciting too. Not to mention being around Jamie Anderson…going from not really competing in snowboarding to competing against arguably the greatest competitor of all time in snowboarding.…They told me I was going to be up against another up-and-coming rider…then I get a text from T-Bird saying they were gonna announce my duel the next day. I asked, “Who am I up against?” And he’s like, “Oh no! Like, no one’s told you?”…But I learned a lot from her. And the day of the contest just felt like friends riding the backcountry, building off that energy. 

Can we expect more Natural Selections for you?

I’m not sure. I think that’s a question to ask their board. My dad was super hyped on Natural Selection. He has seen me cheer on Jamie at contests forever, and then to have me go against her, I think he was like, “What the hell? How did that happen?” It was really cool to see him be hyped and tell his friends about it. 

Do you see yourself staying in Salt Lake?

That’s a great question. For the time being, I see myself here, at least during the winters. It’s close to an airport, there’s always someone who wants to snowboard and it’s pretty close to drive anywhere out West. It’d be cool to also check some other places out, though, and see what happens with that.

Do you think you have imposter syndrome? 

Yeah, I think probably. I think everybody has it. If you don’t, you’re probably an asshole.

Anything that you want to talk about? 

No, but fuck, I would love to, like, even just take, like, a day or two and think about it and come back to you. I feel like I always come into these interviews with you and I don’t really think about much, but it would be cool to take some time and come back to you about something, like, a little bit more serious. [Emma never got back to us. —Author]