It was a crazy time. Third period of the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals. The point in time where every Calgarian knew where they were; our "when Kennedy was shot." Where was I you ask? At the Calgary Airport, in the lounge screaming at the television as last call for my flight was going off. Maybe it was a good thing I was leaving the country, off for a summertime of travelling, shreddin, and partyin down at Folgefonna, Norway.

There were three of us at this point: Mike Sudermann (Ride Snowboads, VonZipper, Mission Snowboard Shop-Calgary AB, Planet Earth), Jeff "JJ" Johnson (International jet-setting playboy) and myself (Brett Sandford- Ride Snowboards, Planet Earth, VonZipper, The Source Snowboard Shop-Calgary AB). Our fourth man, park builder and photographer Jeff Patterson (Banff, AB) was going to meet us at the destination.

We landed in London, England sometime the next day. Not in the middle of the night, but the middle of afternoon heat, smog and rush hour- not a good remedy for the night before. After a quick airport hop from Heathrow to Stansted we were off to Bergen, Norway, the closest hub to our final shred destination of Folgefonna (or simply, Fonna).

The road from Bergen to Fonna takes about two hours. Just ask tourism how to get to Jondal, and they will give you a grip of towns to go through and check out over the course of two bus rides and a ferry across the Hardanger Fjord. Jondal (pop. 1200) is the closest town to Fonna, and is most travellers' base once at the glacier.

From Jondal to the glacier you will be carted up a 20km single lane road which has some sections that would have James Bond white-knuckled in his Aston Martin. Let's just say sketchy doesn't quite describe it, but the views out of the fjord and up into the mountains are simply breathtaking.

After meeting up with the diggers, we all helped construct, board-up, paint and finally install the 20 or so rails and the 15'x20' wall ride that Fonna had to offer. The rails range from standard beginner straight, single and double kink rails and boxes to a 5-kink rail and many others beyond your wildest dreams. We figured out pretty quickly these guys at Fonna were all about progression and innovation, satisfying everyone from beginners to pros.

Next were the jump lines- 3 in total. The beginner line consisted of 3 jumps, all 10-15 feet in length- perfect for the beginner learning to spin. the medium jump line was three jumps- featuring jumps ranging from 20-30 feet. The advanced line was 3 jumps as well- featuring a 50 foot jump, into the two crown jewels of Fonna- an 80 foot jump with a 10 foot tombstone into a 30 foot high hip. These were truly the most impressive summer features i have ever ridden, hands down. Needless to say, the advanced line was subject to some ridiculous sessions, spectacular falls and hundreds of feet of film. Also included in the jump line was a regularly cut halfpipe. Huge thanks out to Jeff Patterson and Geoff Bostwick for bringing and maintaing the terrain.

After hours hijinx can be found at the local pub, fashioned out of the bottom floor in one of the local barns. Sven, the owner and operator is always down to join you for a pint, unless it's friday night when the bar gets hopping with the 18+ out of town campers and coaches.

The easiest and most cost efficient way to experience Fonna is by attending the camp that is offered there. The camp is quite basic in accomidations and ammenities, but you can bet the resources saved in that sector and put right back into the terrain. See Pricing and programs at www.folgefonna.no