COVER “The crazy summer sunsets at Folgefonna, Norway, don’t go down until around 11 p.m., so you have the chance to ride all day, chill for a bit, then really get after it. It’s one of the most beautiful sunsets you’ll see, with surrounding mountains and the Hardanger Fjord as the backdrop. As the sun dropped lower and the view became even more spectacular, Sage Kotsenburg dropped proper homage to Gigi Rüf with this switch backside 180. Style and respect meet beauty.” Photo: Chris Baldry UP TOP 01 “The forecast in Rogers Pass, BC, called for flat light and uninspiring snow conditions, so Forrest Shearer, Connor Ryan and I ventured up the glacier with simple hopes of finding preserved cold snow and exploring an ice cave. For-rest spotted a line above the cave connecting the hanging snowfield with the bowl below if he straight-lined the ice. His vision was rewarded with powder above and below the seracs. As the crew descended, the zone continued to provide quality cold smoke and the clouds parted just enough to let the evening sun sparkle through.” Photo: Matthew Tufts 02 “Shooting contests gets a bit repetitive. Most riders are throwing similar insane tricks and everyone is hitting the same exact features. This makes my job interesting because as a photog you tread the line of having to get the shot but at the same time keeping a fresh perspective. Luckily when Kyle Mack was competing, he’d always bust out these KMack™ front 3s to warm up, so naturally that was my time to shine.” Photo: Mike “Dawsy” Dawson 03 07 “Chris Rasman had already landed an early morning frontside 360 off this natural takeoff, but when Sean Miskiman overshot a nearby feature and took a season-ending knee to the face, the session was put on hold. The crew immediately went into rescue mode, called for a heli, and put their skills from Pat Moore’s Risk Maturity course on display. Sean suffered some serious injuries, but he was in good spirits and the guys took good care of him until search and rescue arrived. Once Sean was safely en route to the hospital, the rest of the guys were understandably uneasy about continuing the session, but we were all sure that Sean would want them to get more clips. So eventually Chris went back up and casually stomped this frontside 7 melon more than three hours after his first hit.” Photo: Duncan Sadava 08 “Collin Maynard taking a different approach at a classic Minnesota spot by redirecting to the roof.” Photo: Peter Limberg “Ståle Sandbech, Beijing, China, Big Air. Shooting in Beijing for the Olympics was a huge goal of mine and dream come true. It was a restricted venue due to COVID protocols, so it was tough to find unique angles around the site. This was a very long day and I found myself sitting next to the judges for this shot.” Photo: Mike “Dawsy” Dawson 04 Mark Rainery tweaks an enviable frontside grab and points it through the trees on a deep, gray day at Juneau, AK’s Eaglecrest Ski Area. Mark’s been working on a core film out of Southeast Alaska called “The Outliers” for the past few seasons—dropping on thesnowboardersjournal.com on January 17. Photo: Scott Baxter 09 “When we were sessioning this spot in Park City, UT, a lost dog came upon us. It was scared and didn’t let us get close enough to check its collar, eventually scampering off down a trail. I hope that dog found its way back home.” Taylor Miller, lipslide. Photo: Benjamin Littler 05-06 “My good friend and snowboard buddy, ‘Free Lil’ Will,’ called me and said some young goats were hanging about and I should come by to photograph them. It was later in the evening and the sun was already behind the hill. On the way up to the barn, a few friends and I crossed underneath the Aletsch Arena, Switzerland cable car. We shared beer and chips and laughed at the goats.” Photo: Phil Bucher 10 “Friendship is arguably the best part of snowboarding. It seems like snow-boarding often tends to build long-lasting friendships, even if day-to-day life takes the same people in very different directions. Nicholas Wolken and Raphael Rocha still sharing snowboarding after 20 years of friendship, seen here in Hoch-Ybrig, Switzerland. Tell your friends you love them.” Photo: Aaron Schwartz THE SNOWBOARDER’S JOURNAL 015
The Snowboarder's Journal The Snowboarder's Journal 20.3: Page 15
