Illustration: Matt Ward

In early November, we accompanied the Nike 6.0 team on a short trip from Manchester to Halifax. We shared the car with Kevin Backström, Jamie
Nicholls and Gjermund Braaten and having spaced out the Travel Scrabble set we decided it was time we played a little game of Knowledge. Since Gjermund had already taken part in our vastly popular online version back in February, it was to be between the UK’s biggest shred asset and one of Sweden’s upcoming stars. Read on to fi nd out who knows more about our passion’s glorious past & present.

1. What is Eiki Helgason’s board sponsor?

J: Rome.

K: Rome.

Bang. One point each. Jamie 1 – Kevin 1.

2. What year was the fi rst Arctic Challenge held?

K: 1993?

J: 1994?

Both are wrong. The correct answer is 1999. Jamie 1 – Kevin 1.

3. The Robot Food Movies were Afterbang, Lame and…?

J: Afterlame.

K: Afterlame.

Both have the correct answer. Afterlame was released in 2004 to complete the legendary Robot Food Trilogy. Jamie 2 – Kevin 2.

4. Who won last year’s Air&Style in Innsbruck?

J: Marko Grilc

K: Marko Grilc

What can we say? They know their shred history. Jamie 3 – Kevin 3.

5. Can you name all fi ve Tyrolean glaciers?

J: Kaunertal… Hintertux… is Dachstein one? Stubai…

K: Kaunertal, Stubai, Hintertux, Dachstein… and there’s one more… I’m just going to say… I don’t know.

Alas, Dachstein, while in Austria, is not in Tyrol. Both are also missing Sölden and Pitztal. No points this time. Still Jamie 3 – Kevin 3

6. What’s the new People crew movie called?

K: Do you know it, Jamie? I have no idea.

J: Cheers.

Jamie has the right answer. Jamie 4 – Kevin 3.

7. Which US state is Jake Blauvelt from?

J: Utah?

K: I really don’t know… Maybe Vermont?

Unbelievably, Kevin’s wild guess is correct. Backcountry slayer Jake Blauvelt is originally an icy East Coast local. Jamie 4 – Kevin 4.

8. Who did Travis Rice share his legendary Chad’s Gap session with as documented in Absinthe’s Pop?

K: Maybe some… I don’t know.

J: I’m just trying to remember his name… Romain de Marchi.

Jamie is right. If you don’t know yourself we highly recommend checking out the opening section of the movie! Jamie 5 – Kevin 4.

9. Who won women’s Gold in the Halfpipe at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City?

J: Kelly Clark.

K: Kelly Clark.

One point each. Jamie 6 – Kevin 5.

After question number nine things deteriorated into an all-car quick fire quiz. We had to put an end to our offi cial game and declare Jamie Nicholls the winner. He beat his teammate Kevin by one point. Congratulations to the young Yorkshire lad

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.

Jeremy Thompson and Tim Humphreys. East Coast represent. Photo: Sami Tuoriniemi.

An East Coast installment of our snowboard trivia nerd off.

As snowboard geeks, we like to think ourselves well-versed in the deep memory banks of snowboarding’s trivia. But how much of it do the riders know? That’s what we set out to find with The Knowledge, where we’ll put two shreds face-to-face and get ‘em to flex their mind muscles.

Squaring up to each other this time round are two East Coast Flow team duders – Tim Humphreys and Jeremy Thompson. Seeing as they were en route to Hintertux for some pre-season leg warming, we dragged ‘em from Munich airport to our office under the pretense that we wanted to give Jeremy a copy of Onboard 117 with him getting wicked on the cover. No sooner was the mag in his hands than we took ‘em aside and gave ‘em a grilling…

1. What was Joni Mäkinen’s signature symbol that he had on all his pro model boards?

Jeremy Thompson: Who? I’ve never even heard of him [belly laugh]. His signature symbol? Oh man, I don’t know. Maybe a Finnish flag?

Tim Humphreys: Fuck I don’t know. [Ed in Chief pipes in trying to give a hint to the derision of his colleagues] Cellphones? I don’t know what the best export from Finland is! Black liquorice? That’s what all the Finnish kids eat. That shit’s disgusting.

Answer: Scandalous as it is that Jeremy didn’t know one of Europe’s legendary riders, and that despite the Ed in Chief’s meddling Tim didn’t know what Finland’s number one export is, the correct answer is, of course, THREE PINE TREES. He had them on his boards back in the days on Joyride to when he finished his career a few years back on Option.
[Jeremy: 0 – Tim: 0]

2. Which of these countries does NOT have a glacier resort? Germany? Italy? Spain? Or France?

JT: I’m gonna say Spain.

TH: Which one of them? It’s definitely not France, I don’t know. It’s probably like Spain or something.

Answer: Italy and France have a bunch, Germany has one thanks to some generous Austrian king giving them the Zugspitze back in the day, so the correct answer is SPAIN that despite having no glacier resort, does have sun, sand and sangria. Party on, Wayne!
[Jeremy: 1 – Tim: 1]

3. How many X-Games Slopestyle gold medals does Janna Meyen currently hold?

JT: Zero? Hehehe, I’ve never even heard of that guy either. [Though in Jezza’s defence we think he may have been having trouble understanding our German ed’s accent…]

TH: A lot. [Jeremy pipes in with “I just realised whose name you were saying!”] I’m not counting, but 5 or 6? I know it’s a bunch, way more than I have ‘cause I have zero [laughs].

Answer: Janna Meyen, who is most definitely a woman by the way, Jeremy, holds a whopping FOUR X-Games Slopestyle golds.
[Jeremy: 1 – Tim: 1]

4. Who landed the first double flip in the pipe?

JT: Aw c’mon. There’s so many people that’s not even… I know it goes back quite a while. [Ed in Chief gives an all-too obvious hint about chucking] Michaelchuck!

TH: Fuckin’ Mike Michaelchuck.

Answer: It was indeed the visionary, though stylistically impared, Canadian MIKE MICHAELCHUCK who first hucked a double back in the pipe in 1998 or so, and he even scabbed a double back rodeo similar to what Luke Mitrani has perfected today.
[Jeremy: 2 – Tim: 2]

5. Name the reigning female TTR World Tour champion.

JT: Right now, who’s the champion? I honestly don’t know.

TH: Female TTR champion? Aww man. I should know this, what the hell. Jeremy probably got it right too. [“You hooked up with her,” jokes Jeremy.] Did I? Torah Bright, really? [laughs] I’m gonna figure this shit out… was it Ellery? I have no idea.

Answer: Last season’s women’s TTR World Champion was Finnish rookie ENNI RUKAJÄRVI, who came out of nowhere to blitz all the established competition and take the title in her first season on the tour.
[Jeremy: 2 – Tim: 2]

6. Terje broke the world record for a quartepipe air in 2007. Who held it before?

JT: Jamie Lynn maybe?

TH: Heikki Sorsa.

Answer: It was HEIKKI SORSA who, at the Arctic Challenge in 2001, fired himself higher than any man had been before and taking down Ingemar Backman’s unofficial Riksgränsen monster from 96.
[Jeremy: 2 – Tim: 3]

7. Which one of these films is not a Mack Dawg production: Jumping with Jussi? Shakedown? Pulse? Or Lost in Transition?

JT: [without skipping a beat] Lost in Transition.

TH: Lost in Transition. What was that, a Standard movie?

Answer: Indeed, it is Standard Films’ LOST IN TRANSITION that’s the odd film out.
[Jeremy: 3 – Tim: 4]

8. What is this year’s Pirates movie called?

JT: Umm, Pirate movie? Man, you guys are really killing me. I watched it the other day but I don’t know the name of it.

TH: Oh I know this. Apparently I don’t know it ‘cause I can’t think of it… Umm, I don’t know.

Answer: HOOKED is the name of Europe’s biggest movie production company’s latest release.
[Jeremy: 3 – Tim: 4]

9. Who won last year’s US Open men’s slopestyle and the BGOS title?

JT: Oh that was Peetu. [Massive debate ensues about whether or not it was Chas Guldemond or not, and it’s agreed upon that ‘last year’s’ is a bit too confusing for us snowboarders who count in seasons.]

TH: Was it Peetu? [“2009! Fail!” buzzes Jeremy]

Answer: Last year, being 2009, CHAS GULDEMOND won both the slopestyle title and the overall BGOS series at the US Open. Last season, Peetu Piiroinen won the BGOS, but Mikkel Bang took the slopestyle.
[Jeremy: 3 – Tim: 4]

10. What nationality is Romain de Marchi?

JT: I’ll go German. No. Yeah? I don’t know. Somewhere in Europe? He’s like Louri I-Pod or whatever he claims to be.

TH: Is he French? No, no, no he’s not French. He’ll probably hate me for saying that. Um, where the hell is Romain from? I don’t know.

Answer: Romain de Marchi is SWISS. As is Iouri Podlatchikov, when he’s not Russian.
[Jeremy: 3 – Tim: 4]

Despite our general confusion with question 9 and Jeremy’s difficulty understanding the peculiar lilt of our German ed, we have a winner! Tim Humphreys, who Jeremy had already said would win as “he’s such a nerd”, takes the tie with a not-particularly impressive score of 4 out of 10. And if you also don’t know who Joni Mäkinen is, shame on you…

Danny and Stian. Photos: Sami Tuoriniemi

Pirate-flavoured Nerd-off.

As snowboard nerds, we like to think ourselves well-versed in the deep memory banks of snowboarding’s trivia. But how much of it do the riders know? That’s what we set out to find with The Knowledge, where we’ll put two shreds face-to-face and get ‘em to flex their mind muscles.

Facing off first this season are a couple of likely lads – Danny Larsen and Stian Solberg. After his part in last year’s This Video Sucks, Stian jumped aboard the Pirate ship this winter where he joined up with fellow Norseman, black metal fiend and longtime buccaneer Cap’n Larsen. We caught both as they were Innsbruck-bound for the world premiere of Hooked and faced them off. Are they snowboarding Einsteins, or more like George Bush after a night on the sauce? Let’s see.

On yer marks…

1. Who won the first ever Burton European Open in Slopestyle?

Danny: I have no fucking clue about contest results. I’m gonna say Terje Haakonsen.

Stian: David Benedek.

Answer: Burton saw fit to bring their already long-running Open contest to European shores in 1999. Seegrube was the place for a primitive slopestyle jam session where… Sani Alibabic walked away with the win. (Danny: 0 – Stian: 0)

2. What’s the name of the new scoring system that will be implemented in some TTR contests this year?

Danny: The name of it? The Andreas and Torstein scoring system from Arctic Challenge.

Stian: Scoring system implemented in the TTR? Erm… probably… I have NO idea. Shit. Probably rate the outfit or something [laughs].

Answer: SLS (Snowboard Live Scoring system) is the name. Larsen was close – Andreas Wiig and Torstein Horgmo, along with Terje, worked extensively with the judges to develop the SLS bus as we’re tight bastards he gets a fat-ass zero. (Danny: 0 – Stian: 0)

3. In 1997 Jake Burton Carpenter appeared in a TV commercial – for which brand?

Danny: I’m guessing Burton.

Stian: I don’t know, Taco Bell?

Answer: Though we would have taken the answer “Who cares?” it was in fact American Express. Not much more to say. (Danny: 0 – Stian: 0)

4. Who is the current female TTR Tour Champion?

Danny: Ah goddamit with all these contest questions! Erm, Torah Bright.

Stian: Oh it’s that Finnish chick. What’s her name. I don’t know but she’s Finnish. The name’s too hard to pronounce for me probably.

Answer: Had we replaced ‘is the current‘ with ‘was the 06/07‘, Danny would have gotten off the mark, but Stian was closest – at least he got her nationality. Enni Rukajärvi is the current women’s TTR Tour champ. (Danny: 0 – Stian: 0)

5. Who had the ender in last year’s Forum film Forever?

Danny: John Jackson, with a double part.

Stian: John Jackson.

Answer: Indeed, it was John Jackson who fully slayed the end of Forever. Interestingly, both the guys answered correctly before the question was finished. (Danny: 1 – Stian: 1)

6. What tricks did Halldor Helgason get a perfect score with at last year’s X Games Big Air?

Danny: Ahhh, something twice upside down with a lot of spins [laughs].

Stian: Backside double cork 1260, oh and frontside double cork 1080.

Answer: As we said, we’re tight bastards so while Larsen’s actually kinda right, he gets nothing. Stian, on the other hand, was on the money and is off the mark! Halldor got 100 out of 100 for the laziest frontside double cork 1080 and followed up with almost an equally smooth backside double cork 1260. (Danny: 1 – Stian: 2)

7. Who won the first ever Air&Style in 1994?

Danny: Reto Lamm.

Stian: Ooof. Wasn’t that a quarterpipe contest? Let’s just say Terje.

Answer: It wasn’t a QP comp, it was a pretty sketchy-looking straight jump in the Bergisel which current TTR bossman Reto Lamm won with a frontflip Indy. Danny claws one back and scores are tied again. (Danny: 2 – Stian: 2)

8. Where did Romain de Marchi and Travis Rice hold their legendary session that has been immortalised in Absinthe’s Pop?

Danny: Chad’s Gap. That’s in the United States of Freedom, by the way.

Stian: Chad’s Gap. Yes! See how fast I did that one!

Answer: Both right, both answered before the question ended. It was of course Chad’s Gap, and your extra bit of trivia is it’s named after the ski dude who hit it first. (Danny: 3 – Stian: 3)

9. How do you do a Canadian Bacon grab?

Danny: I have no idea. I’m sure I’ve done one, I probably called it something else.

Stian: Ooh. [starts imagining being strapped in] I dunno, back hand through your legs onto your nose with your front hand on the nose as well.

Answer: There was some debate on this but it’s rear hand through legs to grab toe edge, with a bit of tail bone. Whatever Stian’s grab is sounds awesome, though. (Danny: 3 – Stian: 3)

10. – What’s the working title for Brain Farm’s new project?

Danny: Oh what is it called? It’s caaaalled… something about being in the air. Is it… I’m just going to go with Flight.

Stian: Errr, I do not know that name of that. I haven’t even seen the teaser or anything, so I have no idea. I’m gonna say That’s It, That’s All II.

Answer: Though there’s no teaser yet, Travis Rice has been referring to Brain Farm’s follow up to That’s It, That’s All but the name of Flight. (Danny: 4 – Stian: 3)

——————–

It’s clear that both of these guys care little for snowboarding’s competitive side – when it came to questions about movies they were way more on it – but when all was said and done it was Danny Larsen who scored highest with the reall pretty lame score of 4 out of 10! We would say we’ll buy Danny a bunch of beers, but as we talked about yesterday he already owes us a bunch of bunch of beers, so let’s just call it a round shall we Larsen?

As snowboard nerds, we like to think ourselves well-versed in the deep memory banks of snowboarding’s trivia. But how much of it do the riders know? That’s what we set out to find with The Knowledge, where we’ll put two shreds face-to-face and get ‘em to flex their mind muscles.

This time round The Knowledge pits the wits of two French riders of the same generation against each other: Aluan Ricciardi and Johann Baisamy. These youngsters both went through the rigours of Olympic preparation the last few years, both got unlucky at different stage of the competition, before Aluan made that probing 5th place at the Euro X Games in Tignes. Both are now recovering from injuries, so we caught them for a trivia face-off…

On yer marks…

1. Let’s kick off with an easy one: where will the next Olympic Games take place?

Aluan and Johann at the same time: Sotchi, Russia.

Answer – Sotchi, 2014 [Aluan: 1- Johann: 1]

2. How many halfpipe medals has France won since it became an Olympic discipline.

Aluan: None?

Johann: Ah, that’s a bit more difficult… Doriane Vidal in Salt Lake ? She had silver.

Aluan: you’re a salt lake, Johann. Basterd! Damn I need to concentrate more. Does it count that I buzzed before him?

OB: Unfortunately not, Aluan…

Answer – France have bagged 1 Olympic halfpipe medal. Doriane Vidal came second in Salt Lake City 2002. [Aluan: 1 - Johann: 2]

3. Where does the term ‘Indy’ come from?

Johann: From the Indians?

Aluan: No, from the Eskimos!

OB: You’re crap guys! Ok, a little clue: it comes from the name of a skate brand…

Johann: Woof, it’s not like the first question for sure! Does that skate brand stil exist?

Answer - Yes. Ok, Duane Peters – who performed that trick first – it made it on an Independent [skate trucks brand] ad, and everybody remebered the trick as the Indy ad… and from then on it became the name of the grab. [Aluan: 1 - Johann: 2]

Aluan: Damn, I didn’t know that!

Johann: Wow! That’s what you call culture, eh! We learned something [laughs]!

OB: Don’t want to be rude, but that was written somewhere in Onboard in 2009…

Aluan: Ouch, now we look like bad students [laughs].

4. Who was the first TTR  World Tour champion?

Johann: Mathieu.

Aluan: Mathieu.

Answer – Mathieu Crepel was the first ever TTR champion at the end of the 2005/06 season. [Aluan: 2 - Johann: 3]

5. Which riders were in the finals of the X-Games big air 2009, and what were their tricks?

Aluan: Hmm, I don’t know…

Johann: I’d say Torstein and Halldor. No, wait! 2009… That was Travis and Torstein.

Aluan: I do remember the tricks, though. Double backside rodeo, and switch backside 12.

Johann: Yeah, there was a big fuss around the decision as well, after Torstein landed that bad ass 12, it was just madness!

Answer – Torstein Horgmo (the best switch back 12 ever) and Travis Rice (scabbed double backside rodeo 10) were the riders and the tricks. We wonder how come Aluan remembered the tricks but not the riders, but that’s half a point for him, and one for Johann [Aluan: 2.5 - Johann - 4]. 78% of the SMS voting went to Travis’s Double although he didn’t land it clean, which created a big fuss indeed. We still think Torstein was robbed…

6. Who won the first ever snowboard contest in New York City?

Aluan: It wasn’t me!

Johann: Shayne Pospisil. Did I pronounce it right?

Aluan: Come on Jo, stop pretending you knew that!

Johann: Booom!

OB: Correct and good pronunciation!

Aluan: Jo, you’re not funny…

Johann: But no, that was the Red Bull contest, remember? The big fiasco!

Alaun: Yes, but only you remember the name of all the riders!

Answer – Shayne Pospisil. Local rider Shayne won the Red Bull Snowscrapers in NYC in February 2009. [Aluan: 2.5 - Johann: 5]

7. What was the name of the first Onboard video, which came out in 1996?

Johann: Errr…

Aluan: That’s old!

OB: So old you can only find it on VHS!

Aluan: The only videos I watched on VHS were The Resistance, TB5 and Nomade!

Answer – Board Games. [Aluan: 2.5 - Johann: 5]

8. What year was Terje born?

Aluan: 73?

Johann: 76?

OB : Nope, another chance?

Johann: 74?

Answer – Terje was born on October 10th 1974 in Vinje, Norway. [Aluan: 2.5 - Johann: 6]

Aluan: Damn Johann’s too good. And when he’s not good, he’s lucky… I’m fooked!

9. Mathieu Crepel and Xavier De Le Rue appear together in which Standard video?

Aluan: Aesthetica.

Johann: Aesthetica. We watched it together in Saas Fee!

Answer – Aesthetica in 2008. [Aluan: 3.5 - Johann: 7]

10. Which legendary rider plays in the band Kandi Coded?

Aluan: Andrews, Trevor.

Johann: No, that’s Trouble Andrew. And he said “legendary” rider [laughs]!

Aluan: Peter Line?

Johann: As a guess, I’ll say Jim Rippey.

Answer – Jamie Lynn. [Aluan: 3.5 - Johann: 7]

Johann: Arrrgh, no way!

Aluan: At last, one thing that our snowboard facts geek didn’t know! Johann is like an encyclopedia!

Johann: Yeah, at last!

So, when all’s said and done Johann Baisamy wins this face-off with a none-too-shabby score of 7 points. He showed some really sharp skills remebering contests, winners and so on, and deserve surely to be faced off to one of the other winners of The Knowledge, maybe in a future episode !

An all-British test of snowboarding trivia.

As snowboard nerds, we like to think ourselves well-versed in the deep memory banks of snowboarding’s trivia. But how much of it do the riders know? That’s what we set out to find with The Knowledge, where we’ll put two shreds face-to-face and get ‘em to flex their mind muscles.

It’s an all-Brit affair this time round, and we figured there’d be nowt better to put head-to-head than Messers Tyler Chorlton and Scott McMorris, Oakley teammates and each boasting deep wizards sleeves full of shred magic.

On yer marks…

1. What year did Steve Bailey land the first recorded backside 900 on a Dendix dryslope?

Tyler Chorlton: 86? Nah, 95.

Scott McMorris: I’ll go with 95.

Answer – 1995. Steve had a sequence of a back 9 on Dendix (a type of dryslope surface with zero padding, bristles, bits of metal, and even holes that were known to snap fingers) taken in the summer of 95, and it was featured in Snowboard UK issue 25. [Tyler: 1 - Scott: 1]

2. Who managed to blow a gold medal by trying to pull a Method?

Tyler: Ooh. Tough one. [repeats question to himself] I’ll say Ross Powers for fun.

Scott: Terje? Oh, ah, the boardercross bird! Fuck, what was her name? I know who you mean… err… the last Olympics, not the one just gone. I’ll have to come back to that one.

Answer– Lindsey Jacobelis. Arguably the world’s greatest trick, we would say there’s never a bad time to bang one out, however we’re  sure American rider Lindsey Jacobelis would disagree. Her failed Method on the last hit of the 2006 Olympic boardercross meant Tanya Frieden made up the 100-or-so-metre lead Jacobelis had to take gold and allowed Ed Leigh a priceless moment in TV commentary. [Tyler: 1 - Scott: 1]

3. Name members of the original Forum 8.

Tyler: Oh fahkin ell, let’s see… Peter Line, JP Walker, Jeremy Jones, Joni Malmi, err, Bjorn Leines, Devun Walsh, and Wille Yli Luoma.

Scott: Joni Malmi, Peter Line, Devun Walsh, JP Walker, Jeremy Jones, Chris Dufficy, Bjorn Leines, and… I was gonna say Miikko Sjoblom who fucked himself but he was more of an am… who am I missing? Oh god. I dunno. Pass. [sounds distraught]

Answer – In no particular order, the OG Forum 8 were: Peter Line, Joni Malmi, Devun Walsh, JP Walker, Jeremy Jones, Chris Dufficy, Bjorn Leines, and Wille Yli Luoma. Tyler rolled his off without a second thought, but only named 7… [Tyler: 1 - Scott: 1]

4. How many words for snow did David Benedek say there were?

Tyler: 91.

Scott: 91.

Answer – 91. David and his buddies at Blank Paper produced the seminal movie 91 Words for Snow. [Tyler: 2 - Scott: 2]

5. Where was the first snowdome opened in the UK? And what year for a bonus point?

Tyler: Ooh… Is it Tamworth? No idea about the year, I wasn’t around then [laughs]. I’d have to guess at 99-2000?

Scott: Tamworth. God. 93.

Answer – Tamworth in 1994 was where and when the UK’s first snowdome opened. [Tyler: 3 - Scott: 3]

6. Who won this year’s TTR title?

Tyler: The tour? Peetu.

Scott: Peetu.

Answer – Peetu Piiroinen knocked the back out of the TTR this season, claiming the tour title with one 6-star event to spare. [Tyler: 4 - Scott: 4]

7. Who was the cover star of Onboard issue number 1?

Tyler: [whistles] Me. [laughs].

Scott: Ingemar. That was a total guess [laughs].

Answer – Seal. Yes, the person gracing the first ever issue of Onboard was none other than the Mr Heidi Klum. To quote ex-Onboard honcho Drew Stevenson who took over from issue 2 “It was the worst cover that has ever been run and will ever be run in snowboarding.” [Tyler: 4 - Scott: 4]

8. Which rider famously qualified for the Baker Banked Slalom riding switch?

Tyler: Terje.

Scott: Terje.

Answer – Terje Haakonsen. There’s rumours he’d been gorging on dodgy fungus shortly before, too. [Tyler: 5 - Scott: 5]

9. Who started the UK’s first snowboard magazine?

Tyler: Err, Ed. Ed… it was Ed wasn’t it. Ed, ahm, what was his last name? Ah, fuck. Kiwi Ed. I need to look on Facebook to remember his last name, sorry.

Scott: Eddie Spearing.

Answer – Eddie Spearing. Snowboard UK, the UK’s first shred mag which is alas no longer with us, was started by Eddie Spearing. Eddie did move to NZ, but ‘Kiwi Ed’ gets Tyler nul points. [Tyler: 5 - Scott: 6]

10. What was the name of UK movie company Lockdown Projects’ first film?

Tyler: The first one… Updog. Or was that third already? I only came in at Updog, I didn’t know the guys before that.

Scott: Proper.

Answer – Proper. There was a lot of banter about this after the interviews. We were almost convinced Tyler was right until we saw Lockdown co-founder Adam Gendle and got him to set us straight. Although Updog was the first TSA movie, edited by Gend, it was Proper that was the first to be released under the Lockdown Projects banner. [Tyler: 5 - Scott: 7]

It was close there for a while, but the winner of this edition of The Knowledge is… Scott McMorris. Had Tyler remembered Eddie’s last name and remembered that we were looking for the EIGHT guys from Forum it might have been a different story, but as it stands it’s Scott that rides off into the sunset as the wiser man. Well done, sir.

Chris and Hampus. Photos: Sami Tuoriniemi

As snowboard nerds, we like to think ourselves well-versed in the deep memory banks of snowboarding’s trivia. But how much of it do the riders know? That’s what we set out to find with The Knowledge, where we’ll put two shreds face-to-face and get ‘em to flex their mind muscles.

Up this week is an all-Swedish duel. Hampus Mosesson is already an old hand in the snowboard biz. The 27-year-old won the Air&Style in 2005 and has appeared in numerous video productions from early Scandi films to Robot Food’s Afterlame and MDP’s Picture This. He is currently filming for the new Euro Gap project. Chris Sörman, three years younger, oozes with style on and off the slope. He won the BEO slopestyle back in 2005, has filmed with the Pirates, and has slayed numerous contest setups since. So what do the Swedes know?

On yer marks…

1. What was the TTR’s preceding snowboard association called?

Chris Sörman: Before Ticket to Ride? Those guys who had world cups and stuff? I should know THAT one! FIS and… am I stupid? It’s three letters, I know that. Can I come back to that later?

Hampus Mosesson: IFS… ISF!

Answer: It was called International Snowboard Federation (ISF) and ceased to exist in 2002. (Chris: 0 – Hampus: 1)

2. Who scored the bronze medal in the men’s halfpipe competition at the 2006 Olympics?

Chris: That was Markku Koski.

Hampus: Markku Koski.

Answer: Markku Koski came in third behind Shaun White (Gold) and The Knowledge veteran Danny Kass (Silver) (Chris: 1 – Hampus: 2)

3. What song is played in JP Walker’s section in Shakedown?

Chris: Hampus gonna know that one. But I don’t think that I’m going to know that.

Hampus: This Is How We Do It!

Answer: His legendary section opens with ‚This Is How We Do It’ by Montell Jordan. (Chris: 1 – Hampus: 3)

4. Who invented the Lien Air?

Chris: Skateboarders. The name? I don’t know. Skateboarders is my final answer.

Hampus: Jeff Brushie?

Answer: Skateboarder Neil Blender. ‘Lien’ is his first name spelled backwards. (Chris: 1 – Hampus: 3)

5. Who won all X Games WOMENS Snowboard Slopestyle Titles between 2003 and 2006?

Chris: A girl? In snowboarding? I don’t know.

Hampus: Phew! Women? Janna Meyen?

Answer: Janna Meyen claimed all titles between 2003 and 2006. (Chris: 1 – Hampus: 4)

6. What’s the name of David Benedek’s last movie project that was released in 2007?

Chris: Is that the one with all the avalanche stuff? No, that’s 91 words…

Hampus: I think I should know it… what was it called? I know it’s wrong but I am going for a wild guess: White Blind?

Answer: In Short. (Chris: 1 – Hampus: 4)

7. Who famously won his qualifier for the baker banked slalom riding switch?

Chris: Terje.

Hampus: Terje.

Answer: Terje Håkonsen. (Chris: 2 – Hampus: 5)

8. What company did Björn and Erik Leines start?

Chris: Was it clothing or boards? I don’t know that.

Hampus: Didn’t they start two companies? I am not sure but I think Celsius and Drop.

Answer: Celtek gloves. (Chris: 2 – Hampus: 5)

Hampus (again): But what about Celsius, the boots? Maybe not both of them, but I think Björn is one of the guys behind Celsius.

Answer: OK, half a point to Hampus for causing confusion. (Chris: 2 – Hampus: 5.5)

9. Who is Gigi Rüfs current board sponsor?

Chris: Right now? Volcom.

Hampus: Volcom.

Answer: As one of very few Gigi gets to ride Volcom boards. (Chris: 3 – Hampus: 6.5)

Chris (again): Is it… is it… ISF?

Answer: Alright, we’ll give you a point for this late answer. (Chris: 4 – Hampus: 6.5)

10. Which of these movies was not made by Standard films: White Balance, Paradox, Lost in Transition, or Amp?

Chris: Which was the second one? Paradox? I think that wasn’t a Standard movie.

Hampus: Amp.

Answer: The first three are all Standard films: White Balance was released in 2003d and was followed by Lost in Transition (2004) and Paradox (2005). Amp (2000) is a Mack Dawg Production. (Chris: 4 – Hampus: 7.5)

The scores are in once again and – drumroll – Hampus Mosesson wins this edition of The Knowledge by a mile! However, after finishing his questions Chris said: “It is kind of fun to be bad!” That’s one hell of a good advice. Pass this on to your boss, teacher or partner whenever you fail at something. We are sure they will understand!

By the way: We cannot confirm that the Leines brothers are or are not involved in any other brands. Hampus was really convinced they were. If you know – drop us a line!

Tonton and Droz.

As snowboard nerds, we like to think ourselves well-versed in the deep memory banks of snowboarding’s trivia. But how much of it do the riders know? That’s what we set out to find with The Knowledge, where we’ll put two shreds face-to-face and get ‘em to flex their mind muscles.

Up this week are two more influential riders. Coming from both sides of legendary Portes du Soleil area, Nicolas Droz and Tonton Holland have a lot in common – They’re of the same generation of riders, have the same high profile, same all-round shred talent, same passion for music… And of course both are shooting for the same video project: Homies. Will their knowledge of snowboard history and trivia be the same too? Let’s find out…

1. Where are the first Euro X Games taking place this year?

Nico Droz: Tignes.
Tonton Holland: In Tignes. And, by the way, it’s a bit disappointing to see so few Euro riders invited to this first one in Europe…

A – Tignes, France. (Droz: 1 – Tonton: 1)

2. What year was the first US Open? We’ll give you a 5-year leeway for that one.

Droz: 1990?
Tonton: It’s old, I’d say 95…

A – The first US Open was held in 1982! (Droz: 1 – Tonton: 1)

3. What was the last trick Shaun White landed in the Cypress pipe?

Droz: Double McTwist.
Tonton: His McTwist Double Cork, quite on the limit by the way.

A – Double McTwist 1260. We would have like to have the complete trick name, but that was good enough don’t you think? (Droz: 2 – Tonton: 2)

4. What snowboard video from 1991 included the infamous ‘Farmer’s Rap’?

Droz: That must be from a Fall Line or TB videos, but which one… Critical Condition maybe?
Tonton: Critical Condition! After this one, I kind of stopped watching all the videos. That rap Shaun did was pretty good, he had a good flow, for a long haired beatnik like him!

A – Shaun Farmer’s bid to dethrone Vanilla Ice was in Critical Condition. Click the link to check it. Awesome. (Droz: 3 – Tonton: 3)

5. Name the song featured in Jamie Lynn’s part on Volcom’s video The Garden.

Droz: No, I don’t know.
Tonton: Neil Young! Wait, what was the title… I even got the album… Heart Of Gold!

A – Jamie puts down his seminal part to Neil Young’s Heart of Gold. (Droz: 3 – Tonton: 4)

6. Which year did Onboard release its first issue? We’ll give you a two-year margin of error…

Droz: 1995?
Tonton: Hmm… wait, 95?

A – It was actually November 1994, but 1995 is good enough! (Droz: 4 – Tonton: 5)

7. Who is often referred to as the ‘Godfather of Freestyle’?

Droz: I’d say Peter Line or Terje.
Tonton: I don’t know… I’d say Damian Sanders or Craig Kelly, but maybe it’s older than that?

A – Older, it was Terry Kidwell. (Droz: 4 – Tonton: 5)

8. Who were the top male and female riders of the Duotone team in late 90s/early 00?

Droz: Franck Screm, and Stine or Jenny Waara.
Tonton: Franck Screm and… Wait, she’s a team manager now… Stine Brun-Kjeldaas!

A – Advantage to Tonton who gave the two good names – Franck Screm and Stine Brun-Kjeldaas – where Droz gave three… We know it’s hard, but life is hard, innit? (Droz: 4.5 – Tonton: 6))

9. What trick won the last Air&Style, and who did it?

Droz: Marco Grilc with a switch backside 1080.
Tonton: Marco Grilc won that, and his trick was… Switch back double cork, 10 or 12?

A – Not quite the exact trick although both were very close so we’ll give ‘em half a point each. Marco Grilc won with a switch backside late cork 10. (Droz: 5 – Tonton: 6.5)

10. What decade saw the first lift in Avoriaz?

Tonton: I’d say the sixties
Droz: The sixties maybe?

A – The resort was indeed created in the sixties, but the first lift – which was one of the first in Europe – was put up the hill in the 1930s! (Droz: 5 – Tonton: 6.5)

The scores are in and Tonton Holland wins this face-off, thanks to his video and music knowledge! Even though he claims not to watch the new movies, we are sure he does! Tonton doesn’t beat Nicolas Müller’s 9-point record, but both of them definitely showed some all round knowledge, both old and new. Props to them!

Photos: Sami Tuoriniemi.

Pitting riders head-to-head like Mastermind…

As snowboard nerds, we like to think ourselves well-versed in the deep memory banks of snowboarding’s trivia. But how much of it do the riders know? That’s what we set out to find with The Knowledge, where we’ll put two shreds face-to-face and get ‘em to flex their mind muscles.

Up this week are two of snowboarding’s most influential riders. Danny Kass has nearly won more US Open pipe titles than he’s had hot dinners, bagged Olympic silver twice and created Grenade on a chairlift, while Nicolas Müller’s natural terrain freestyle and transition mastery has him rightly pegged to inherit Terje’s crown. These two have a few more miles on the clock than last week’s motley two, but will they know their history?

On yer marks…

1. Where did Ingemar Backman pull his legendary backside air in 1996?

Danny Kass: Riksgransen.
Nicolas Müller: That was very close to Riksgränsen station, in fact it’s probably 1.8 kilometres from it.

A – Riksgränsen would have done, but Nico’s got it spot on when he says it was a little further down the road. (Danny – 1; Nicolas – 1)

2. Which rider grabbed attention in Absinthe’s movie Transendence by riding his whole part in a bunny suit?

Danny: JP Solberg. Great song, the Beatles…
Nicolas: That was Jan Petter. Shampy as they call him.

A – JP Solberg. (Danny – 1; Nicolas – 1)

3. Who has the first ever landed double cork off a kicker on film?

Danny: Double cork or double flip? I think the biggest hyped one would be JP Walker, but I think I’ve seen a lot of double flips go down on film. Like back in the day Russel Winfield… oh man, double fronts… heavy. I dunno, the double cork, shit man, I’m just gonna say Travis Rice to say Travis Rice but I’m pretty sure JP did the double CORK, but the double flip’s been going on for a while.
Nicolas: Maybe JP Walker eh. But Gigi did one before but he didn’t land it.

A – JP Walker in Mack Dawg Productions’ movie Shakedown. (Danny – 1; Nicolas – 1)

4. Who won the first ever Olympic halfpipe titles? Men and women.

Danny: Gian Simmen and women would be… I know Shannon Dunn got third. Shit, who was good? Oh I remember that one babe who got second, cause she got naked. That was pretty cool. Fuck, I don’t know.
Nicolas: Gian – sick. He’s from Arosa which is where I started snowboarding. And Nicola Thost.

A – Men: Gian Simmen. Women: Nicola Thost. We have no idea if second placed woman Stine Brun-Kjeldaas actually got naked, or whether he was confusing her with Thost (who did once appear in the buff in Playboy), but Danny was pretty stoked on thinking she did either way. (Danny – 1; Nicolas – 2)

5. Halldor Helgason just won the X-Games big air. Which country is he from?

Danny: He’s from… Finland. Right, or no? Oh shit…
Nicolas: He’s from Iceland. Is he?

A – Halldor comes from Iceland. And he falls asleep doing double cork front 10s. (Danny – 0; Nicolas – 1)

6. Who won the TTR World Tour last season?

Danny: TTR, erm… was it Kevin Pearce? Oh, oh, Peetu.
Nicolas: The whole tour? Peetu.

A – Current TTR World Number 1 and Olympic Silver medallist, Peetu Piiroinen. (Danny – 1; Nicolas – 1)

7. What was the name of the first Forum team movie?

Danny: The Resistance.
Nicolas: Forum team movie!? The first one? Shit, I don’t know. I guess I’m not a jibber [laughs], that wasn’t the title. Erm, it was, shizzle [laughs] Forum Eight? I can at least have one wrong…

A – The Resistance. (Danny – 1; Nicolas – 0)

8. Pamela Anderson is featured on the topsheet of one of which brand’s boards on show here at ISPO?

Danny: This season? Who cares, I ride a BANANA.
Nicolas: Yes or Nidecker. I think it’s Nidecker.

A – Pam and her funbags appear on one of the Nidecker Design Kreative sticks. (Danny – 0; Nicolas – 1)

9. Which rider was well known for riding without gloves?

Danny: Jamie Lynn.
Nicolas: Erm, that was… who was that? Oh, I got it. Some American… it’s not Chris Engelsman, it’s not Kevin Jones. Damn, I totally knew that. Can you tell me? Jamie Lynn? Dude, that’s so bad. I hope he doesn’t read this.

A – Jamie Lynn. (Danny – 1; Nicolas – 0)

10. Which influential rider one claimed he was ‘raised by chipmunks…’?

Danny: Raised by chipmunks… That’s gotta be someone truly nuts. Rippey?
Nicolas: Peter Line.

A – Peter Line at the start of his part in Standard’s TB 3. (Danny – 0; Nicolas – 1)

So, the scores are in and the winner is… Nicolas Müller with 9 points out of a possible 11. It was close there though, Müller’s seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of the sport coming a little unstuck towards the end, and Kass would have done better had he not been so down with his Banana that he took no notice of the come-hither eyes Pammy was flashing from the NDK booth. Congrats, Nico!

Photos: Sami Tuoriniemi.

Pitting riders head-to-head like Mastermind…

As snowboard nerds, we like to think ourselves well-versed in the deep memory banks of snowboarding’s trivia. But how much of it do the riders know? That’s what we set out to find with The Knowledge, where we’ll put two shreds face-to-face and get ‘em to flex their mind muscles.

Up first are two young rippers so some of the more history-based questions might have ‘em squirming: Ride and Volcom’s’ Juuso Laivisto, a 21-year-old who’s already bagging bangers for the next Pirates movie, and new Nike 6.0 and Head Snowboards recruit Gjermund Bråten, 19, who stoked us out at the BEO with his solid style. On yer marks…

1. Who had the closing part in the Pirates Jolly Roger?

Juuso Laivisto: This year? Elias Elhardt.
Germund Bråten: Ahh, fuck. Wait. I have no clue but I’ll say… was Elias Elhardt filming with them? I’ll say Elias Elhardt, but I haven’t seen the movie.

A – Elias Elhardt. (Juuso – 1; Gjermund – 1)

2. Who had the opening part in Absinthe Neverland?

Juuso: Erm… I would say Gigi. Oh, no no no. Wait a second, I’ve seen the movie only once. Yeah, I will go for Gigi, you see him on the train and stuff.
Gjermund: I’ve seen that a couple of times and I’ll say Gigi. Gigi Rüf

A – Nicolas Müller. Though Gigi is the first guy you see and the question could be misunderstood so we’ll give Juuso and Gjermund a point cause we’re nice like that. (Juuso – 1; Gjermund – 1)

3. Name the song used in Eero’s closer in MDP’s Follow Me Around. Band or song will do.

Juuso: Name of the song? Wait a second, what was that movie… I totally have the song in my computer. It is… Tom something. I can’t remember. Too hard question [laughs].
Gjermund: I know the song… what was that again? Ahh, no clue. I can’t remember it.

A – Come On Eileen. Dexy’s Midnight Runners. (Juuso – 0; Gjermund – 0)

4. How high was Terje’s world record backside 3 at the Arctic Challenge in 2007?

Juuso: [Laughs] Errrm, 9.8 metres I would saw. I don’t think he went over 10 but he probably did, but I would still go for 9.8.
Gjermund: 9.8 metres.

A – Terje’s backside 3 topped out at 9.8 metres. (Juuso – 1; Gjermund – 1)

5. What was the Snurfer?

Juuso: Snurfer? A snowboard smurf? [Laughs] I have no idea.
Gjermund: That was a board without bindings.

A – Sherman Poppen’s bindingless invention and the generally accepted precursor to the modern day snowboard. Gjermund gets point. (Juuso – 0; Gjermund – 1)

6. Who was the star of the Apocalypse Snow movies?

Juuso: Ahhhh, damnit! I have never heard about that.
Gjermund: I haven’t heard of it [laughs]. I’ll say Jamie Lynn.

A – French legend and APO Snowboards owner Regis Rolland. (Juuso – 0; Gjermund – 0).

7. Who invented the McTwist?

Juuso: That should be either Daniel Franck or Terje. What, it’s from skate? It’s not coming from snowboarding? Ok, Bob Burnquist? [Laughs]
Gjermund: Terje Haakonsen. Skateboarding? Err, Tony Hawk?

A – Interesting that both thought a snowboarder invented this trick, but then they are young. It was, in fact, skateboarder Mike McGill – check out this clip from the 1984 Del Mar bowl contest at about 7.24 – Gnarl. (Juuso – 0; Gjermund – 0)

8. Where can you not do an Indy?

Juuso: I don’t know.
Gjermund: Outside of the bindings.

A – On the frontside wall of a halfpipe. It’s just called a frontside air there if you’re anal about such things. Though Gjermund’s right too: tindys are forbidden so we’ll give him half a point. (Juuso – 0; Gjermund – 0.5)

9. Who’s won the Air&Style three times in a row?

Juuso: Stefan Gimpl. It was Cab 9, Cab 9, Cab 9 too, wasn’t it.
Gjermund: Stefan Gimpl. Cab 9s.

A – Stefan Gimpl. Interesting that both remembered he pulled the same trick three years in a row too. (Juuso – 1; Gjermund – 1)

10. Who won the first TTR World Tour?

Juuso: What year was that, 2004? That’s a hard one. I have to go for something so I’ll say Risto Mattila. I might be so wrong but I just can’t remember.
Gjermund: The first one? Shaun White.

A – Mathieu Crepel. (Juuso – 0; Gjermund – 0)

And the winner is… rookie Norseman Gjermund Bråten with 5.5 points out of 10, nice work dude. To be fair, Juuso did say he’d suck at this so props for putting yourself amongst it mate.

Next week we’ll put Swiss Buddha Nicolas Müller up against US misfit Danny Kass…