* Marie-France Roy, Dom Vallee, Claudia Avon

The internet is an ephemeral affair. While we all enjoy a good snowboard clip on the web, next minute it is all but forgotten. However, 2011 was the year of online video parts, and we decided to present you this countdown of the 10 best full online parts of 2011, starting with Marie-France Roy’s re-edited part from Rome Snowboards’ The Shred Remains.

We arrived at our top 10 list by using a complex scientific calculation method to determine the quality of these clips. Every time something stoked us out we had to exclaim ‘Fuck Yeah!’. It could be a triple cork, it could be some rail dancing, it could be a face shot, it could be some editing, but once uttered it was scrawled down and added up at the end. The part with the most ‘Fuck Yeah!’s won.

It must be noted that we also made the decision to include any full part posted on the internet in the calendar year 2011, regardless of if the movie they were from came out that year or not. It must also be said that while the internet never sleeps we, from time to time, must and so we had to prepare this a little in advance – we watched the clips on December 8 – hence anything after wasn’t subject to our sweary scoring system.

And with 22 ‘Fuck Yeahs’ for her riding in this part, MFR made our top 10 with ease. From pillow lines to multi-kinks the Quebecoise shows once again why she has bagged multiple Rider of the Year awards and is considered one of the most versatile female riders out there.

Rider: Marie-France Roy
Movie: The Shred Remains
Posted Online: 10.10.2011
Fuck Yeah! Score*: 22

Watch this video of Rome riders LNP and Will Lavigne visiting Ståle Sandbech’s home town of Oslo for some solid street jibbing, followed up by LNP heading to Helsinki with Marie-France Roy. Not gonna lie, it gave us the horn…

We had the Oslo section in our first issue of the season and, as you’ll know if you bagged yourself a copy of that mag, the riding was off the hook. This video is off the hook-er. Here’s Rome’s chat:

During the filming for Rome’s third full length video The Shred Remains, LNP and Will Lavigne flew to Oslo to meet up with Ståle Sandbech and film some rails. After that LNP flew to Helsinki to film with MFR. Here’s what went down.

Ok so we’ll fess up. Rome dropped this last week but as it’s never a bad time to enjoy MFR’s riding, we’ll chuck it up regardless.

Cirque du Soleil: summer camp.

SATURDAY

Well, the Burton European Open went down in Laax/Switzerland, and Jamie Anderson, Roope Tonteri, Kelly Clark and Peetu Piiroinen won. TWSnow spends three minutes with Marie-France Roy. Yobeat keeps rejecting edits. Desiree Melancon had a litte accident. And Motorhead’s Lemmy tells the best story he’s ever heard (clearly, Saturday wasn’t that exciting).

SUNDAY

Here’s some mid-Atlantic magic. Ducksjen goes Tryvann. That’s all for Sunday.

MONDAY

Klaustrofobiatch is the new Duckjen movie, and it is fairly solid. Everyone goes nuts about Roope Tonteri’s Cab 1440 at the BEO. And have all the other BEO highlights, too. We post the list of confirmed riders for the Air&Style Innsbruck. Torstein Horgmo does auditions. Xavier De Le Rue goes splitboarding in Canada. The girls part from The Storming gets remixed. Girls? Here’s another Roxy Refreshments episode, and it features the girls + Heikki Sorsa. The Tahoe Dangerzone Pop episode is pretty sick. Whitelines has a 30something shred flick. No doubt, Chalet Girl will change the way we look at snowboarding. And Analog announce the European winner of their feature design comp.

The jib paradox: The more difficult your trick the longer the box feels.

TUESDAY

Joe Sexton’s epic part gets remixed, and so does the equally brilliant Cale Zima Absinthe video part. The Bataleon family edit is dope. Horgmo and Biittner cruise Keystone. Toots and McMorris talk. John Jackson wins an award. Chas Guldemond tells you how to stomp a back 10 dub. We are lazy and throw the WEARE2012 crew and the L1/Nitro team into one big jib post. The Roxy Girls become the Chalet Girl. Yobeat’s Terrible Tuesday is a really good kink klip.

WEDNESDAY

Terje Haakonsen writes an open letter to the IOC. Partysnake 3: Videogrease is this week’s most popular piece of content. A must-see! Aaron Biittner faces Andreas Wiig in this game of In Your Face. Jon Weaver writes an ode to Europe. Yobeat unearth the Winter’s Children video (Laura Hadar naked!). Greg Bretz signs Snowboarder’s Guestbook. ESPN calls MFR. This Snowboard Realms pow clip just keeps getting better. You want Enni Rukajärvi to take you home? Here you go! Here’s the I Ride Park City early January edit. Fun days at The Canyons. We give away tickets for the Air&Style Innsbruck, and the riders list for the A&S Munich gets released. Austin Smith is a gooner. The Nike 6.0 Stairset Battle shakes up Talma. And Hana Beaman lets the good times rock and roll.

Damn those beans for breakfast.

THURSDAY

Shaun White is awesome. Mervin is more awesome. Drew Amer talks about the worst snowboard injury, ever. Chas Guldemond shows you the Killington slopestyle course. Yobeat shows you Big Boulder Boarding. ESPN explains the ongoing dispute between FIS and everybody else. The Austrian Sane! crew creates their own jib park. Crewzin’ goes Videograss. The Ästhetiker stay in Chile. Romain de Marchi is featured in our desktop wallpaper of the week. Signal Snowboards create a boom-board.

FRIDAY

Gigi Rüf has a great history as one of the Pirates. Jonas Carlson’s The Storming part gets remixed. These two guys rode Rhode Island. We post the highlights from the World Rookie Fest in Livigno.

Finnish snowboard mag Slammer reintroduced us to a true shred classic, and you should know it, too!

Have a good weekend everyone!

MFR’S skilla are intense. As one ofe the girls who truly pushes the limits whenever she straps in, she’s part of the pack making women’s riding legit. A couple of short but heavy parts in recent absinthe flicks, a TWS Rider of the Year award and bouncing back from a nasty back injury… Marie-France has for sure got game. Here’s what she works her magic with.

STATS:

Date of Birth: April 17, 1984
Hometown: Whistler (winter), Vancouver island (summer)
Home Mountain: Whistler
Stance: Regular, 22 inches, 21,-21
Sponsors: Rome, Oakley, Redbull, ThirtyTwo, Etnies, Cilla, Kicker, Axis, Whistler/ Blackcomb, PoM PoM

Marie-France Roy, Photo: Cole Barash

Board: Rome Lo-Fi

Word is you’ve been on the Lo-Fi for a few years. What is it about this board that makes it work so well for you and your riding?

The Lo-Fi is just the best all around board Rome have. You can do anything on it. It’s so good on jumps and in pow but you can also be confi dent to hit rails and boxes with it.

Did you have any input into the improvements they made for this year’s model?

We worked a lot on the graphic together and it’s my favorite ever. As far as technology goes, they always step it up a notch. One of the main additions they made to the Lo-Fi this year was the “Pressure POP technology”, which is basically basalt plates that transmit pop energy from under your feet to the tips of the board. They have a lotmore tech specifications that are really well explained on their website as well.

Where do you stand on the regular vs reverse camber debate?

I’ve tried both and I do enjoy riding the Lo-Fi Rocker on a mellow day doing hit runs on the mountain because of its looser feel. But if I am going to hit bigger sized jumps in the park, I like to have that extra precision on the pop and edge so I prefer the regular camber.

BOOTS: ThirtyTwo Lashed Women’s

What is it about the Lashed that you particularly dig?

I ride softer boots so the Lashed is perfect for me because it offers good support but I don’t feel all stuck like in ski boots. I have been wearing the 32 for at least 7 years, as I would always buy 32 before I started riding for them because I loved how comfortable they were.

Are you backing speedlace or are you more traditional in your boot lacing tastes?

I’m backing regular laces. Good and old fashioned.

BINDINGS: Rome Madison

They say this binding ‘meets the demands [MFR] places on the product.’ In what way do these fulfi l your needs?

I love that the binding is simply solid, easily adjustable without tools, and adapted to women. This year they have a new tech that they call VRod Baseplates, which improves the flexing of the board and is lighter.

Do you rock them straight out the box or do some tweaking?

I rock them straight out of the box and when I get on the hill it takes about a minute to adjust them perfectly to my foot – no tools needed and it’s on!

Marie-France Roy, Photo: Scott Serfas

OUTERWEAR: Oakley Jacket & Pants

Do you generally use one particular line from Oakley’s range and if so what do you dig about it?

I use pretty much the whole line because the days spent sledding in the backcountry have very different outerwear needs than riding the park or just some rail session. So they have something adapted to every style. Oakley has it dialed as far as technology goes. They always have series of field testing involving the designers and the riders to make sure everything is taken care of.

How much input do you have in the Oakley women’s range, and anything particular you’ve suggested that they’ve implemented?

The riders have a lot of input at Oakley. Two years ago I had the chance to work with designers to pretty much make my dream jacket. That program is coming back next year and we’ve already started working on it.

GLOVES: Rome Norfolk MFr

What is it you look for from a pair of gloves?

It depends on what I’m gonna be riding that day but I love the Norfolk because its not too insulated so your fingers feel really loose and  comfortable but still warm. I have worked with Rome to make a rider inspired version and I’m super stoked on how it came out. For powder days, they have the Everlast and I highly recommend it, it’s the best mitt ever.

GOGGLES: Oakley Elevate

What do you like specifi cally about your goggles?

The Elevate is a new awesome model they just put out. It offers super wide vision but it doesn’t feel as big as the Crowbar on your head. It’s not a  women’s goggle, but it’s perfect for smaller faces like mine.

EXTRAS

What other stuff do you always make sure you’re riding with?

I never go ride without my Cilla under layers. I swear for the last 3 years I haven’t spent one day on the hill without them. You can usually tell the difference in rider owned companies and this is the best example. Check it out at cillalayers.com; the stuff is so comfortable and so stylish.

These two short edits of the Oakley/Billabong Resolutions: Retallack trip feature three of the biggest names in female snowboarding: Marie-France Roy, Jenny Jones, and Anne-Flore Marxer. Check out how they score pillow line after pillow line…

With the teaser let loose, we hit up director Patrick Armbruster for the scoop on their new shred porno.

The teaser for Absinthe Films‘ highly anticipated shred flick, NowHere, dropped last night and if you have’t seen it yet, stop reading and press Play – it’s heavy.

We wanted more meat with our two veg, so we hit up one of Absinthe’s co-founders, Patrick ‘Brusti’ Armbruster and managed to drag him away from the edit suite for a couple of minutes to answer a few questions about filming and what we can expect from the flick. We can also now announce the Premiere Tour dates for Europe, so check ‘em out at the bottom and book the day off already…

Onboard: How does a new project develop in the minds of yourself and Justin [Hostynek - Brusti's partner at Absinthe]? Do you have a clear idea of what you want from the movie before you start shooting?

Brusti: There is usually a few ideas around that we try to realise every season. At the end of the day the flow of the winter dictates a lot of the feel of the film. It can be a pain in the ass waiting for the goods but other times all the factors come together and magic happens.

OB: How do you manage to improve the team every year? Are you always looking out for new riders?

B: We try to keep a healthy balance. As you can see, you always know at least half of the guys that are in there from the previous movies. In fact, the guys that you keep seeing since almost the beginning seem to just get better every year – still! The riders are loyal to us and so are we. At the same time we are open to suggestions when the riders recommend someone. It’s always that much more fun and productive if the crew vibe is up.

OB: Is it difficult to find a new concept each year or do you just go with the flow of what happens when shooting?

B: The concept really develops over the season. The experiences you had, the snow you rode, the weather, the places you went… all these factors create the rough story line. What we are doing at this very moment is honing it, bringing it all together. Finding this fine balance of conveying the past winter and packing it up so people are looking ahead to that next snow fall is what we are trying to achieve.

OB: Who’s new to the team and what do you think of those riders?

B: Jake Blauvelt, Lucas Debari, Tadashi Fuse and Taka Nakai have never been in an Absinthe movie. It’s also the first time that we have a Japanese presence! Fredi Kalbermatten is back, Terje Haakonsen, Blair Habenicht and Bjorn Leines as well. Jake and Lucas definitely have an impressive debut at Absinthe. Terje has very entertaining footage in there. Bjorn had the gnarliest accident …well, actually that was probably Marie-France Roy who broke her neck. Bjorn broke his elbow very badly on the Pyramid Gap.

OB: What can you tell us about this year’s movie?

B: It’s gonna be great! I’ll have to get right back to it. Get ready and support us by buying your own copy.

OB: What trip stands out most for you guys?

B: For me it was the trip with Fredi, Brisse, Sylvain and Jules to Courmayeur in Italy. Another highlight was the trip with Terje, JP and Fredi to far east Russia – Kamchatka. I always wanted to go there and it was spectacular. Baloo and his crew took great care of us. A trip of a lifetime.

OB: Any part you think will stand out?

B: Dan Brisse is showing a very diverse part. Killer shots on the streets and on the mountain. Everybody has highlights, I think it will be a great movie.

OB: Looking forward to it! Thanks heaps for your time, Brusti.

Absinthe Now/Here European Premiere Dates

presented by Bench and LAAX

07.09.2010 Zurich (Switzerland) – Kino Corso
08.09.2010 Chur (Switzerland) – Kino Apollo
09.09.2010 Innsbruck (Austria) – Kino Metropol
10.09.2010 Munich (Germany) – Kino Sendlinger Tor
11.09.2010 Stuttgart (Germany) – Kino Gloria
12.09.2010 Oslo (Norway) – Fugazi
13.09.2010 Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) – Kino Harmonie
14.09.2010 Lyss zwischen Bern / Biel / Solothurn (Switzerland) – Kulturfabrik Lyss
15.09.2010 Luzern (Switzerland) – Kino Bourbaki
16.09.2010 St. Gallen (Switzerland) – Club Kugl
17.09.2010 Wien (Austria) – Gartenbaukino
18.09.2010 Graz (Austria) – Postgarage
20.09.2010 Rome (Italy)
21.09.2010 Grenoble (France) – Cinema Les 6 Rex
22.09.2010 Lausanne (Switzerland) – Cinéma Atlantic
27.09.2010 tbc – Paris (France)
28.09.2010 Antwerpen (Belgium) – Cinema Zuid
29.09.2010 Den Haag (Netherlands) – Filmhuis
30.09.2010 Hamburg (Germany) – Zeise Kino
02.10.2010 Saas-Fee (Schweiz) – Living Room / Popcorn
tbc St. Moritz (Switzerland) – Kino Scala
30.10.2010 Köln (Germany)

Dan Brisse at Chad's Gap. Photo: Bob Plumb.

Absinthe’s new film looks like it’s gonna be out of hand.

NowHere is the crew’s 11th full-length movie and from what the teaser suggests could very well be it’s strongest to date. No mean feat, that. In the micro-art of teaser making, this gets full marks and is for sure in our top 5. Enough yakking, watch it now!

Starring: Dan Brisse, Jake Blauvelt, Gigi Rüf, Tadashi Fuse, Lucas Debari, Fredi Kalbermatten, Sylvain Bourbousson, Romain De Marchi, DCP, JP Solberg, Taka Nakai, Annie Boulanger, Marie-France Roy, Bjorn Leines, Jules Reymond, Cale Zima, Terje Haakonsen, Blair Habenicht, Bode Merril, Wolfgang Nyvelt, Nicolas Müller.

Here’s what they say, but let’s be honest – you won’t read it…

“Fans of snowboarding everywhere have been eagerly awaiting a taste of the new Absinthe movie NowHere. Today the wait is over. Known for spectacular action and featuring the best riders in snowboarding, Absinthe Films’ latest release NowHere continues the legacy of pure, progressive riding and roots powder exploration. Shot in Super-16mm and stunning HD digital formats, NowHere will take viewers on a vibrant shred trip around the world: from Alaska to Russia and everywhere in between.

Supporters: Billabong, Burton, Oakley, Nitro, Nike Snowboarding, The North Face, Salomon, DaKine, Capita, YES, Levitation, Slytech

Official Movie Release Date: September 1, 2010

iTunes Release Date: October 4, 2010

Connect – www.absinthe-films.com & www.facebook.com/absinthefilms

Rome TM John Cavan checks in on Skype with Marie-France Roy to find out about her recent injury, how’s she’s doing, and what’s next for her.

This has been a gnarly year for serious snowboard injuries. Kevin Pearce, Danny Davis, Nick Dirks, LNP, Andreas Wiig, Chris Grenier, and Pat Moore all experienced major injuries, some season-ending and others life-threatening. Earlier this year when I got word that Laurent had broken his back, I got that sickening feeling in the gut and feared the worst for my friend. The hairy Canadian wonder is Ok now, but I got a few more grey hairs.

A couple weeks ago I got another one of those dreaded phone calls. Our favorite female snowboarder Marie-France Roy was seriously injured in a fall in the Whislter backcountry while filming for the new Absinthe film, resulting in a Heli evac and a fractured C2 vertebrate. Marie is one of the happiest, most positive people I know and she has been taking everything in stride with her typical sense of humor, and go-for-it attitude. We’ve spoken several times since the injury and it amazes me how positive she is. We did this little Skype interview the other day while I was in Big Bear so she could tell everyone how she’s doing – Cavan

John Cavan: yo hippy

Marie-France Roy: brah

JC: Laurent says hello

MFR: hello!! I miss the sweet Lou

JC: So this will be easy and painless

MFR: doubt it

JC: ha ha ha

MFR: ha

JC: So you had a little bit of a rough one recently in the Whislter Backcountry can you explain what happened?

MFR: Yep. I was up Brandywine with Absinthe. Me and Annie (Boulangier) and our filmer Paul and Chaloux went on a cruise while DCP and Romain built a jump to find stuff to do. We found this ice wall at the blowhole and I tried to wall ride it and the speed didn’t work so we were just gonna leave and then I said I could just drop from the top over a lil cornice and land on the ice wall. I dropped in and it was pow. The take off looked soft but as soon as I got on it, it was rock hard ice. I was already going a bit too fast but that made me go even faster. I went 45 feet down to an ice flat landing.

JC: Fuck, and so what ended up happening to you

MFR: As soon as I took off in the air and looked down, I knew I would most likely break something. If it was pow, I would have tried to land on my back a lil to absorb the impact but I knew if I did that on that ice, I would break my back so I landed on my feet and just crumbled down I think. My head hit the ground at one point. I didn’t pass out but that happened so fast, not sure how I twisted. I slid down a bit further and I could feel my arms and legs, thank God. My arms were really numb and tingly for about 30 seconds. I could hear the others asking if I was okay but I couldn’t breathe right away from the impact. Then I could feel something wrong in my neck. I laid there and breathed for a few minutes and Paul mentioned the heli, I was like, no maybe I’ll be fine to sled down, maybe I should just try to sit up. As soon as I tried I could feel a gnarly pinch in my neck and I just stayed down. They called the heli and it showed up 2 hours later. I was freezing. They brought me to whistler for X-Rays. They didn’t really know and said I needed better scans and an MRI, so they put me in an ambulance around 10 pm and drove me to Vancouver. I did all the scans that night, they said they’d tell me in the morning if I needed surgery. Luckily the next day they announced to me that I fractured my C2 but that it was the best way possible, and it didn’t require surgery. Just a brace for about 6 weeks (not the halo), and about a year to 100 % recovery. I’m SO lucky.

JC: Damn, how scared were you waiting for the heli? Were there all kinds of crazy things going through your head?

MFR: I was pretty relaxed. I knew I need to chill and wait and see and that there was no point of thinking of how bad it could be. Annie (Boulangier) was really nice. She kept me warmed and entertained, ha! It really hurt when the rescue guys put the neck brace on me and moved me in the heli, but I was already trying to stay positive. Just that I could feel my arms and legs was a really good sign for me.

JC: Yeah Annie was awesome she took care of letting us know back in VT and keepin us in the loop, man between you and Laurent you are giving me gray hairs…a back and a neck…..this has been a crazy season. So what’s the plan now? What will you be doing for the next few months while you recover?

MFR: It’s been 4 weeks already and I’m super positive and happy. I have such great peeps around me and time flies so quick. I’m not even bored one bit, and I’m not even watching movies and tv shows and reading… I can walk so that’s awesome. I’m at my house on Vancouver Island so I go walk on the beach almost every day. I started picking up plastic trash on the beach and make earrings out of it and will sell them for charity. Since I can’t surf, I started filming my friends in town here. They are trying to get a movie together for the surf shop team. There’s a few chicks here in town that rip at surfing and skating so we’ll probably do a lil chick flick as well. I’m gardening a bit, I want to get chickens! Can anybody help me build a chicken coop? haha!

JC: Awesome, by the way, while we are doing this I’m watching Laurent, Will and Paxson play scrabble…….you can only imagine how high level the word play that is going on here right now

MFR: haha! I’m guessing its pretty poor! I’ve been playing so much scrabble. I got an iPhone so I play “Words with Friends” a lot. Watch out next time! and remember last time you argued with me about one of the rules? I’m pretty sure I was right. Just sayin… ha! The other day I made the word squid for 117 point!

JC: Damn girl…….Laurent is a lot better than you’d think, apparently he played a lot while he was nursing his back…..I don’t play Words with Friends, it’s cheating and a big time waste…but anytime you’re ready for the real game I’m ready…..just saying HA

MFR: okokok well I’m sure Laurent kills it. I bet Paxson is pretty good too, he seems smart. It’s true that words with friends isn’t as legit as the real game but why don’t you stop hating so much for once? ha!

JC: So next year you can just ask to get out of doing Team Shootout, you don’t have to do something so drastic…….I kid I kid, Little Marie (Marie Hucal) killed it for you out here

MFR: I know it was perfect timing!! ha! I’m sure Marie killed it. I miss that lil nugget!

JC: Yeah she is awesome. She rode super strong. Well everyone out here wishes you the best, keep it easy style out there. Heal up strong, and keep working on your scrabble skills……although I wouldn’t be able to play you past a third grade level in French HA HA

MFR: Thanks a lot!!! I’ll be back strong on any kind of board, snow or scrabble!! ha! I can’t believe how supportive everyone has been. Thanks for all the flowers, the good vibes and messages, I feel so lucky to have such good friends and people around me. Thanks to Rome for all the presents and treats from the whole staff, 32 sent me flowers as well, so crazy. I love you all and it would have been a lot harder without everybody’s love. Thank you!!! Xoxox bye bye now

JC: Cool I’ll talk to you soon ma friend