A somewhat modest cabin near Squaw Valley ski resort still serves as a comfortable winter home for Jonny Moseley.
Although his competitive skiing days are long gone, Moseley still keeps a close association with Squaw, a tie that goes back more than three decades and includes plenty of time in the cabin that his parents purchased long ago.
“The cabin still looks the same, except we no longer have that dirty old rug,” laughs Moseley.
Moseley was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but it’s not a stretch to suggest that he “grew up” at Squaw. He began skiing there at age 3 in the Mighty Mites program and progressed so rapidly that Moseley won his first ski race two years later, and by age 7 was a member of Squaw’s freestyle ski team.
A daring young skier, Moseley became master of the moguls and proved it to the world by performing his signature 360 Mute Grab and capturing the freestyle skiing gold medal in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
The 1998 highlights didn’t end in Nagano. Following a comic appearance on David Letterman, Moseley returned home briefly to Tiburon (Marin County suburb) and Mayor Willie Brown declared a “Jonny Moseley Day” in San Francisco, where 10,000 people showed up for the parade and he was given the key to the city .
Despite all the accolades and celebrations, Moseley returned to the World Cup tour that same year and won the final two events. He recorded nine victories that season, won the World Cup Mogul Skiing title, and later captured the U.S. National championship.
At age 40, Moseley can reflect on his decorated ski career, yet he prefers living in the present. Life has come full circle for the decorated skier. Jonny and Malia Moseley’s two boys (age 5, 8) learned to ski in the same Mighty Mites program as their dad and oldest son (Jack) has advanced to Squaw’s development race team.
“It’s kind of funny; they are carrying on the tradition. It’s great. We are very lucky,” Jonny said.
Keeping up with Moseley’s career off the slopes has been tougher than skiing side by side with him during his prime. He’s hosted Saturday Night Live, finished third on Skating with the Stars, hosted The Challenge, an MTV reality series, regularly provides color commentary for freestyle skiing events each season, has been a spokesperson Ford, Sprint, House of Air, Lifttickets.com and Zozi. Moseley also found time to get his college degree from U.C. Berkeley.
Among his greatest joys has been narrating the annual Warren Miller ski film since 2008 and serving as ski ambassador for Squaw Valley. At Squaw, he skies with guests for free over the Christmas holidays, shoots in-house promotions, and occasionally goes on the road to promote the famed resort in the U.S. and internationally.
“Jonny is approachable and engaging with our guests in his duties, from helping out at the rental shops to skiing with our guests, media and special groups,” said Andy Wirth, President and Chief Executive Officer Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows. “He also plays an important role in business development and his input on every facet of the operation and our future plans is sought and very much welcomed. Jonny is a good friend of ours and a truly great person. We are very fortunate to have partnered with such an incredibly esteemed, genuine and charismatic representative.”
Moseley is on the Squaw payroll, but often times it doesn’t really feel like work.
“It’s pretty awesome. I’m very fortunate; it’s a real bonus working for Squaw,” Moseley said. “It’s an easy sell for me when I’m going around the country selling the ski resort. I still love being here.”
Jeffrey Weidel can be reached at skiweidel@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffweidel and visit his website at www.tahoeskiworld.com.
