For a while we have been setting up riders against each other in a little web game of shred trivia called “the Knowledge”. On our website you can check these out on onboardsnowboarding.com/tag/the-knowledge. The massive success of these duels based on shred history have convinced us to transfer them from web to print. In this inaugural magazine version of the Knowledge Innsbruck local sani Alibabic meets his slovenian buddy Marko Grilc. Read on to find out who came out on top…

Illustration by Matt Ward (www.linguistine.com)

1. Who holds the world record for the longest snowboard jump?

s: I think it’s still Mads.

M: Mads!

Both are correct. Mads Jonsson still holds the record with 187 feet (57 meters), which he achieved in hemsedal over a 40-meter kicker in 2005. sani 1 Marko 1

2. Who won the first ever Air&style 1994 in Innsbruck?

s: I actually saw it… I think… I think it was… either Terje or Palmer.

M: Shaun Farmer.

the correct answer is Reto Lamm, now the president of the ttR. still a tie between sani 1 and Marko 1

3. What is the 2010 Videograss movie called?

s: I haven’t seen any teasers. I really don’t know.

M: What the fuck is Videograss?!

After their self-titled debut their new production is called ‘Bon Voyage.’ still no change: sani 1, Marko 1

4. Who won last year’s freestyle.ch snowboard final?

s: I wasn’t here, but… err… I think Iouri.

M: This one I need to know… Eero!

In 2009, Eero Ettala won the event in Zurich, while seb toutant won the Berlin leg of the event. sani 1 Marko 2

s: I’m blowing it [laughs].

5. Who opens true Life to souls of Mischief’s ‘93 til infinity’?

s: JP Walker? Devun?

M: JP Walker! …no no no no, Peter Line!

Correct answer: Chris Duffi cy opened Forum’s second team movie from 2001. sani 1 Marko 2

6. Which year was the ttR founded?

s: 2001.

M: It must have been the year when Crepel won. Five years ago.

the ttR was established in 2002. sani 1 Marko 2

M: Fuck, I suck!

7. What female rider broke her neck earlier this year filming for Absinthe’s current movie, Nowhere?

s: The French Canadian…. Marie-France Roy!

M: Marie-France Roy.

Correct answer. If you want to feed your voyeurism go watch Nowhere, as it includes footage of her accident… sani 2 Marko 3

8. What does hannah teter sell under the name ‘hannah’s Gold’?

s: Perfume?

Peter König (who sits next to Marko): “Urine!” [laughter]

M: Hannah’s Gold? She does this charity thing. Is it the same thing? All her prize money goes to Africa. That’s Hannah’s Gold.

Onboard: No, it’s a product.

M: Well, she’s really into organic stuff. It has to be something related to that. I don’t know.

the correct answer is maple syrup, but all her profits indeed go to good causes in Kenya. We’ll give half a point to Marko. sani 2 Marko 3.5

9. Which two riders went on a freeriding trip to Antarctica last year?

s: Jeremy Jones and… Travis?

M: Jeremy Jones and… ugh… was it Xavier De Le Rue?

Marko is right, it was Jeremy Jones and Xavier De Le Rue. Only 0.5 points for sani. Current score: sani 2.5 Marko 4.5

10. What movie production company started out with a fl ick called ‘New Kids on the twock’?

s: Probably Mack Dawg.

M: No clue… Standard?

sani is correct. Mack Dawg’s 1990 production was called ‘New Kids on the twock’, and it features the riding of Noah salasnek, Chris Roach, Jeff Brushie, shawn Farmer and many other big names of the early days of shred.

Final score: sani 3.5 Marko 4.5 – surprisingly, Grilo takes the victory with a solid one point lead.

“This PirateLog is about two very different sessions in the Austrian Alps. On the one hand hand made quarter pipes are fun for sure, but air time is more likely to be found in a machine made park like the one in Sölden! Ether way it’s about how you ride it…”

This second PiRATE LOG is all about Europe, our home turf! Watch Marco Feichtner, Gigi Rüf, Sani Alibabic, Tyler Chorlton, Björn Hartweger, Arthur Longo, Danny Larsen and Kalle Ohlson talk about each other and last year’s filming sessions on the old continent.

Get HOOKED including a 100 page artBOOK in your local core shop, or download the flick on iTunes!

Words: Danny Burrows

Sani Alibabic, Peetu Piiroinen, Fredi Kalbermatten, Stephan Maurer and JP Solberg join Terje Kaakonsen to rip the snowcapped volcanoes of Kamchatka…

Peetu Piiroinen discovers that outside of icy parks there’s this soft stuff called ‘powder’. Woop!

Kamchatka hangs from russia’s east facing head into the Pacific like a great elephant’s trunk, its hide pockered by living volcanoes. Our outpost of Snow valley, comprising five newly built wooden lodges, is two hours by truck from the nearest conurbation and 20-minutes fl y time to the lines of the peninsula’s suppurating cones. Beyond the camp an expanse of snow and skeletal trees, black and bare, drapes down from the shrouded heights like bridal trails. as Sani put it, it’s the end of the world.

JP Solberg.

Absinthe’s Brusti negotiates sulphurous slop.

When the crew had scored enough face shots it was time to build. JP Solberg sends it long on a backside 7 at the end of the trip.

We are a big group by snowboard standards, with three still photographers, me, Adam Moran and Russian snapper Andrew Piromov; Brusti is here to film for Absinthe’s new movie NowHere and Burton filmer, Tim Manning, is also onboard. Maxim, a local of these parts and founder of the Kamchatka Snowboard Association, is our main fixer and guide and our murder of rippers reads like the guest list of a snowboard blockbuster: Terje Haakonsen, Sani Alibabic, Peetu Piiroinen, Fredi Kalbermatten, Stephan Maurer and JP Solberg. And last but not least there’s Svein, Terje’s friend and physio. This would be his sixth time on a board and he had been quite literally dropped in at the deep end; however you wouldn’t have known it. He was throwing down McTwists off a corner we built near the lodge and doing backfl ips off the big kicker in the backcountry, none of which he landed but the idea and guts to try were there – with a little time he would stick them. According to Terje, whatever sport he tries is mastered.

The sleds allowed access to some fun terrain down low. Fredi Kalbermatten boosts a Method.

We had flown eight hours from Moscow to Petropavlovsk, the Kamchatkan capital, leaving behind a city shattered by two explosions on the rush hour subway. Suicide bombers from the troubled provinces of the Caucasus had brought war to the city, killing 37 and wounding dozens more; another sad note in the diaries of a country with more scars than a failed bare-knuckle fi ghter and for us not the most reassuring introduction to Russia.

Sani and Maurer

Terje & JP get the Russian Heli 101

Terje Haakonsen makes good use of heli drop No. 3,796 on his ever-increasing list.

Our trip was the culmination of two years of brain storming between Terje and his friend Maxim and once rolling the rest of us jumped the cart to help pay the $5000 daily levy on the helis, and I guess for a bit of company on the hill. The vertical here, according to Sani, is like that of Japan with heaps of potential for getting your shred on and as well as lines there’s also spaced tree runs to cut. With strong winds, though, the snow on the
mountains proper was blown and it felt sketchy with no pits being dug, but our guides according to Maxim were the best in Russia. On the second drop of the fi rst day, on what was a mellow line by Sani’s standards, he asked the guide if it might slide. The answer was a little ambiguous: “Maybe, but not likely.” Sani’s line was safe but when Maurer dropped next, hitting a lip, there was that unmistakable deep ‘whoomp’ as an avalanche triggered. “I remember looking down seeing this big spider web appearing in front of me. My fi rst thought was “what the fuck is this?” ‘cause it took me a second to realize what was going on ‘cause I really didn’t think that something could slide there and then that was followed by “oh fuck, an avalanche, that’s what it is! Get the fuck out of here!” He kept his speed and momentum and cut left and out in time to watch the face slab and funnel into a narrow gully. For Sani it was the sketchiest part of the trip.

And there was us thinking cats had an aversion to water. The Sprocking one slashes the pool.

Fishy Method on the lower fl anks from Stephan Maurer.

What makes riding here unique is that we were riding volcanoes, cutting lines between vents, ceracs and fi ssures that have cooked through to cauldrons of yellow-stained rock and patches of hot, black lava. In the crater of Mutnovkiy sulphur spewed in rolling cotton blooms from these openings and burned the lungs as we hiked back to the heli. There’s even a valley at the base of the Kikhpinych volcano called the Valley of Death where on still days gases hang thick enough to kill and cat-like the valleys river regularly deposits its victims downstream. Thankfully, it wasn’t on the itinerary.

Bad-weather days are a no-go for helis, but a short sled ride meant Fredi found something to play on. Tree ride to backfl ip out.

The helis here, all MI8s, are like fl ying school buses. We sit 14 to a chopper facing each other on canvas seats, with our gear stacked at our feet. There are no seatbelts and the pilots seem intent on trying to scare the living shit out of us, setting the craft into steep dives that leave us weightless. We hang on the assurances of Maxim that our pilot, Dimitry Zaderey, is the best in Kamchatka; he’s been fl ying heli trips here for over 10 years but still amazes Maxim with his control of his bird. The funny thing is that with the high winds that we’ve had any other crafts would be grounded – not ours.

Sani Alibabic lays one out on his way to peer into the earth’s guts.

Great piloting and guiding aside there is nothing stronger than nature and on our last day in the country, while we were out sledding and hitting kickers, one of these helis with a full payload of riders was taken out by an avalanche 2.5 meters deep and 400 meters wide. The exact details of the crash were murky but according to Maxim it was just one of those freak accidents. He went to see the wreckage after and said that the remains of the
heli resembled waste paper. 10 people died in the accident.

While the other guys went to build a jump, Terje said to Sami “I’ve built enough kickers in my life, let’s do something different.” A quick bit of shaping and the classic Haakon Method was busted out.

Of the ten days that I’ve been in Kamchatka we’ve ridden nine: three drop days from the MI8s, six on sleds and one day at the beach where we braved  the Pacific to surf. Where the snow had been assimilated into the sea, black sand contrasted the whites of winter. The water was dark and cold and the waves a glassy 2- to 3-feet, but as Terje put it, “any drive to get surf is always worth it.” Out there, somewhere, subs from Russia’s main base in Petropavlovsk sleuth the depths, their periscopes trained on the shores of America where Sarah Palin, eyes bulging on the stalks of her binoculars, brushes up on world politics.

Solberg, Fredi and a guide enjoy some afternoon delight - beer and fi sh. ALLBOOK117-ENG.

In Kamchatkan mythology the volcanoes are inhabited by huge fl ying ogres. At dusk they lumber up on the thermals, swirling masses of black soot, and glide out to sea to skewer whales on their harpoon-like fi ngers. They return in the night to grill their prize in molten lava, lighting the sky with fl ickers of fi re. These beasts may not be real but what they represent – the power of nature – is the lasting image that will stay with us all of this wild outpost of Russia. We drew lines down volcanoes that overnight are whipped clean; swam in a pool heated by thermic energy from the earth, which at any moment might burst through winters veneer and roast us all.

There’s not many places on the planet that boast such a backdrop. Terje lets one rip by the Pacific.

Man soup.

Russia exists in its own sphere of reality, brutal and yet beautiful. Here none of us are bigger than nature.

Look closely and you can just make out the GoPro rig sticking out of Maurer’s pack. GoPros, so hot right now.

Maurer broke the trip down to simple stats for his blog.
Days on the road: 15
Days on the mountain: 9
Bad weather days: 1
Hiking days: 0
Sledding days: 6
Heli days: 3
Days fl own with a MI-8: 3
Days riding on an active volcano: 1
Runs taken that went all the way down to the ocean: 1
Lost credit cards: 1
Longest period without Internet: 168h
Days without real cell phone reception: 11
People that knocked themselves out while partying at the lodge: 1
People that fell asleep in a strip club: 1
People that took off their shirt while getting a lap dance: 1
Suicide bombings in the subway on the day of our arrival in Russia: 1
Tragic helicopter accidents in the Kamchatka region during our stay: 1
Descent size avalanches that were set off on the trip: 2
People almost sending it over a 30m cliff to total fl at: 1
People jumping head fi rst onto a huge ice block: 1
Bottles of vodka that were bought fi rst thing after landing: 11
Average time spent in the pool every day after riding: 2h
Amount of lifebuoys in that pool: 3
People that fell into the pool with their snowboard gear on: 1
Powder sprays done on the trip: 1348
Really cold water surf days: 1
Ski poles on the trip: 1
New things learned about how to drink vodka the right way: 5
Average speed Dmitry drives through Moscow: 107km/h
Number photos taken on the trip: 22,394
Fun: A LOT!

Hella good riding from Canadian summer camp

Real good snowboarding, real good filming, real tight Euro crew, real neat hand dragger from DBK… just watch and enjoy. For real.

Featuring – Mark Sollors, Marc Swoboda, Seb Toots, Zak Hale, Annie, Boulanger, Natasza Zurek, Spencer O’Brien, Stephan Maurer, Iouri Podladtchikov, David Bertschinger Karg, Sani Alibabic, Charles Reid, Chris Sorman, Ludwig Lejkner, Andrew Burns, Derek Dennison, Kim Rune Hansen, Ben Bilocq, Zach Aller, Jake Kuzyk

Song: True LOve By Spiral Stairs

Filmed By: Leo Hoorn, EG and Cole Taylor

www.campofchampions.com

Pirates Week winds down with the final three installments of their webisodes.

Aaaaaargh! It’s been a fun week of Pirating but as Yoda or the dude from the Karate Kid might say: ‘all good things must end, grasshopper.’  For the last day of Pirate Week we’ve got Sani Alibabic scrubbing one of his 9 lives as he’s buried by and avalanche in Austria, Hans Ahlund tackling a sweet roof gap/drop in Umeå, and Marco Feichtner and Bjorn Hartweger staying in the Krippenstein Lodge and scoring bluebird pow pow.

We’ll be swinging our eye back on the Pirates as soon as the teaser for their new shred skinflick, Hooked, drops in a couple of weeks where we’ll showcase that bad boy and also have an interview with Captain of the Pirate ship, Basti Balser. Till then, keep them timbers shivvering and drink more rum.

Sani Buried

MPORA Action Sports >>

Hans Roof Drop

More Snowboarding Videos >>

Krippenstein Crib

Pirates Krippenstein Crib >>

Arthur Longo, Sani Alibabic and Marco Feichtner feature in Day 4 of Pirate Week.

Young Frenchie Arthur Longo gets his balls broken for slacking off building a booter – you tell him, Fichtl! – while Sani Alibabic and a less lazy Longo take a tour through Flachau’s Absolut Park.

Shovelling vs Love

Pirates Shovelling Love >>

Absolut Park Tour

Pirates Absolut Park Flachau >>

Two weeks Stubai Zoo presented the replica of the Billabong Air & Style kicker. German parkdesigners Schneestern made a great opportunity for riders to familiarize with the conditions. Almost the same kicker and perfect weather conditions gave riders opportunity to start with even more self-confidence into the Billabong Air & Style.

Riders like Seppe Smiths, Marko Grilc, Sani Alibabic, Gigi Ruf, Marc Swoboda, Eero Ettala, Peter Konig and Co. showed that no matter how big is the kicker they can throw any trick the crowd wants to see it. Going switch, making double flip, doble rodeos or corks, even big spins with double grabs, all that and even more was just a piece of cake for the present riders. The whole Stubai glaicer was holding breathe while riders were having fun.

Check the the video HERE or HERE.

Yesterday Stubai glaicer entertained a real madness. Stubai Zoo presented the replica of the Billabong Air & Style kicker. The almost similar takeoff, table and landing. We are talking about perfect conditions to warm-up runs and check the last tricks before Billabong Air & Style at the Bergisel Stadium on 05.12.09.

German parkdesigners Schneestern made a great opportunity for riders to familiarize with the conditions. Almost the same kicker and perfect weather conditions gave riders opportunity to start with even more self-confidence into the contest on Saturday.

Everything went great! But a day before on Teusday Schneestern confronted with major impediment. 70 cm of fresh snow. While some of us were having fun in pow pow, Schneestern shapers were sweating and trying to rebuild the kicker. And they made it! Big up to bros from Schneestern!

Riders like Seppe Smiths, Marko Grilc, Sani Alibabic, Gigi Ruf, Marc Swoboda, Eero Ettala, Peter Konig and Co. showed that no matter how big is the kicker they can throw any trick the crowd wants to see it. Going switch, making double flip, doble rodeos or corks, even big spins with double grabs, all that and even more was just a piece of cake for the present riders. The whole Stubai glaicer was holding breathe while riders were having fun.

We were also delivering LIVE streaming over these two days, but don’t worry, if you missed any it is still possible to rewatch our videos. Check what was going on and join our SnowBroader community. And don’t forget to come back, because a short movie is also coming in few days. First you will be able to see it on Saturday at The Soundclash Party in Innsbruck after the legendary Air & Style. So be there!

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