Craig Kelly 7-Credit 2007 Burton Snowboards.jpg
© 2007 Burton Snowboards
Craig Elmer Kelly, doing what he loved: Scoping an epic, untracked line in the backcountry.
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Craig Kelly 4-Credit 2007 Burton Snowboards.jpg
© 2007 Burton Snowboards
For riding the fresh with speed and flow, no one could touch him.
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Craig Kelly-CK_Achenbach93.jpg
© Achenbach/Burton
Ditto for getting the shot when it counted.
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Craig Kelly 3-Credit 2007 Burton Snowboards.jpg
© 2007 Burton Snowboards
Kelly spent his last years making himself at home in the mountain ranges of Western Canada.
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Craig Kelly 5-Credit 2007 Burton Snowboards.jpg
© 2007 Burton Snowboards
Check out the spray! Throwing a fan like that is infinitely harder than he makes it look.
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Craig Kelly-CK93.jpg
© Burton
Kelly's feedback and ideas were vital to many of Burton's greatest board designs.
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Craig Kelly 6-Credit 2007 Burton Snowboards.jpg
© 2007 Burton Snowboards
He worked hard at becoming the first snowboarder certified as a backcountry guide.
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Craig Kelly-94CK_Weatherly1.jpg
© Weatherly/Burton
Long after he stopped competing, Kelly was still snowboarding's most photographed rider.
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Craig Kelly-89CK.jpg
© Burton
Craig Kelly, at the height of pro status, having just made the sponsor switch to Burton.
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Craig Kelly-CK_88.jpg
© Burton
And here, at the height of globe-trotting, powder-riding glory.
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Craig Kelly 2-Credit 2007 Burton Snowboards.jpg
© 2007 Burton Snowboards
Still, there wasn't much he loved more than a deep powder turn.
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Craig Kelly-CK_Curtes03.jpg
© Curtes/Burton
Kelly called "The search for the poo-powder," his greatest quest.
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Craig Kelly-Credit 2007 Burton Snowboards.jpg
© 2007 Burton Snowboards
And he found it in the steepest places.
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Craig Kelly-CK_Curtes_98.jpg
© Curtes/Burton
Kelly often rode not only with a fully equipped pack but the knowledge to use what was in it.
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Craig Kelly-CK_Epstein_88.jpg
© Epstein/Burton
The iconic photograph that became the "Free At Last," ad, celebrating the end of the legal battle between Sims and Burton over Kelly's sponsorship.
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Craig Kelly-CK_Eshom96.jpg
© Eshom/Burton
After helping design Burton's best-selling freestyle boards, Kelly's focus was powder guns.
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Craig Kelly-CK_Gallup_Fortress95.jpg
© Gallup/Burton
His style was evident at every turn.
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Craig Kelly-CK_Mathis_90.jpg
© Mathis/Burton
One reason Kelly became known as the world's greatest rider: He ruled race courses, too.
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Craig Kelly 8-Credit 2007 Burton Snowboards.jpg
© 2007 Burton Snowboards
Why is this man smiling? As a prankster, Kelly was equally legendary.
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Craig Kelly-CK_Schriebl_88.jpg
© Schriebl/Burton
Holding a blank board he had to ride because of the Burton-Sims court battle, Kelly celebrates a US Open win over freestyle rival Bert Lamar (left).
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Craig Kelly-CK_Vianney99.jpg
© Vianney/Burton
Before his death, Let It Ride director Jacques Russo believes Kelly had found happiness with his family, still riding powder in the backcountry.
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Craig Kelly-CK_Walker_90.jpg
© Walker/Burton
Kelly defined snowboard freestyle with skate-inspired tricks.
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Craig Kelly-Craig89.jpg
© Burton
He was one of the sport's last true, overall champions, good at every discipline.
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Craig Kelly-Craig93.jpg
© Burton
But it's his method-air style that could prove Craig Kelly's most remembered move.
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Craig Kelly-Craig_Eshom_96.jpg
© Eshom/Burton
The way he rode big mountains was informed by his other true passion: Surfing.
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Craig Kelly-Craig_Vianney_99.jpg
© Vianney/Burton
From any angle, his timeless turns remain the same.
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CraigKelly91.jpg
© Burton
Roast beef? Fresh fish? Kelly was a master of all the food grabs and this one's fitting: Canadian Bacon.
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CraigKelly92.jpg
© Burton
What to call this? Nuclear, not nu-cu-lar.
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