Johnnie Paxson, Gus Kenworthy & Jossi Wells, shot by Nate Abbott at Mt. Bachelor, OR

“This feature came from the crazy mind of Pete Alport, one of his mellower ideas for sure. It was a lot of fun though and I had a blast riding with Jossi and Gus. I’ve never had a problem with skiers, it makes no difference to me what’s on your feet. What matters is the kind of person you are. Those guys are super cool and we had a great time hitting the peace pipes. We all share a similar passion, why not do it in peace… get it?”

–Johnnie Paxson

“I enjoy riding with snowboarders a lot. I think it really helps diversify your skiing to see it from a different perspective. I had a blast riding with Paxson in Oregon—dude has amazing style and to me that’s the most important part of what we do. If you make something look good, no matter what you’re on, that’s rad to me. Sometimes egos get in the way with the whole skier/snowboarder thing, but in my eyes we all do the same thing for the same reasons.”

–Jossi Wells

“The overcast weather, which would normally ruin a photoshoot, was welcomed because it eliminated potential shadows from the cherry picker overhead. Between the three of us being close enough together, all sliding the rail smoothly, and Nate timing the photo perfectly, it took a little longer than expected to get the shot, but it was worth the work. Johnnie is the man too, and I was stoked on the idea of seeing a banger photo published with skiers and snowboarders side- by-side. Ski/snowboard beef is so 2000.”

–Gus Kenworthy

Note: Prior to the release of this cover, we let folks know the image featured three athletes, two of whom were Jossi Wells and Gus Kenworthy. We then invited them to guess the third individual, hinting that the athlete’s name included the letter “J.” Among the guesses below, David Thexton and Tom Robinson were correct—David and Tom win free, three-year subscriptions to Freeskier magazine.

What do you think of the cover image? Sound off in the comments section below. The Photo Annual ships to subscribers on 11.25.13 and hits newsstands 12.17.13.