The frontside of the ski area look like a freeriding playground with drops and steep lines spread all over that south face. The backside is kinda mellow but offers a great view and even better access to the Scandinavian mountain ranges. There is lots a touring potential around the ski resort. From the summit lift, a really short hike brings you to a really interesting area named Northpass, where the Scandinavian Big Mountain Championship has taken place every year since 1992. From the ridge, we where able to see the Arctic Ocean surronding the city of Narvik in Norway, a big town well known for some great skiing and surprinsingly good weather for a town situated above the Article Circle.

Finding our way between all those rocks standing on top of the North Pass ridge, we went over the Norwegian boundaries and end up skiing a steep north facing chute covered with 15 cm of fresh snow. Mmmmm, finally a taste of winter, after a month in France and Switzerland where the snow conditions weren`t that good, finding some freshies felt like my first powder day of the season...EPIC! Although the climate is extreme (24h dark in Dec.-Jan.) and could be really cold (-45 degres), spring time shine with 24h sunlight, particulary good for a late touring trip. Skiing in the midnight sun here is a life experience that I was about to enjoy. On my way down the mountain, I had a really good view of Riksgransen city, a really small town with less then 500 citizens that mostly lived in camping trailers and staff housing.

After a Rain Deer wrap and a couple of jugs of local beer, we went to bed, exhausted from our train ride and first day of shredding in the Article Circle. Plus, the train floor didn`t work quiet well on my back so I was really stoked about the idea of laying down on a real mattress for a few days. The weather forecast announced a cold morning for our second day in Riksgransen so I didn`t set any alarm clock that night, hoping that I could sleep until late in the morning and get back in shape for the Scandinavian Big Mountain Championship. At 7.30, my bed started shacking, but not like it usually does in my home town, Fernie, BC, when friendly ski patrollers wake everybody in town up with their avalanche bombing. This time, it was a heliskiing chopter, warming up 25 feet from my room window in the hotel parking lot. Riksgransen offer really cheap heliskiing that bring you to some of the finest Scandinavian terrain where first tracks are really easy to find.

On Sunday morning, everyone moved to the Northpass for the freeski comp. That really gnarly north face with some steep chutes and good size cliff drops will host the 16th episode of the Scandinavian Championship. Over 180 riders registered from all around the globe to get their chance to beat the 5 times champion, Henrik Windsted. I felt that the ambiance in that comp was much different than in North America. This event involved a lot of good skiers that hope do get their breakout moments at the ski event and get the most media coverage in Sweden. After the previous practice day, I knew that the level of skiing would be really high.


Everybody was charging the steep upper part with aggressiveness and for most of the riders, there was absolutly no fear of any danger or possible injuries. I was lucky with the start list, drawing 29th in the pack 180 riders. The weather was great, sunny and warm so the snow melted just enough to get rid of that icy layer on top. My qualifying run went really well and I had a great time. All the natural features in the first day venue gave me the chance to mix big-mountain with park and pipe in some kind of harmony, a personnal project that I was working on for a few years.


The first final day didn`t start to well. The weather was cold, cloudy and windy with a mix of rain and snow, probably the worst conditions possible for a freeski comp. After getting lost between the summit lift and the comp area because of the most intense fog episode I ever seen in my entire life, I decided to turn around and ski down back to the hotel. The officials decided to delay the comp start until 12h00. With some other riders, we decided to hike the top and go for a practice run. The visibility wasn`t good at all and I crashed on a sketchy landing in the upper part of my run. It didn`t look that bad at that moment so I skied down and complete my line like my first plan. Spinning off the massive wind lip in the middle part of the venue, I landed a little bit backseat and my left foot moved forward in my boot, just enough so my big toe touch the end of my boot shell. Then I realized that I broke my toe in that previous crash, for the second time in two months. After 12 500kms of travelling for that comp, my skiing adventure was done. Unable to ski with a broken toe, I had to cancel my final run and stay at the bottom of the venue watching guys shredding some impressive lines.


After a few pockets of good weather, the comp was going pretty well went a bad crash from one of the competitors forced the officials to stop the comp for another hour. Finally, a few hours later, the last competitors, Henrik Windsted, skied down and stumped a solid and stylish line, just enough to keep his first position.

The next morning, the super-final day was cancelled cause of the even worst weather and the icy conditions, so Henrik won the Scandinavian Championship again for the sixth time. The following night brought a super fun banquet and a really intense night of partying at the only bar in town. And for a great finish to the 16th edition of this epic big mountain comp, one of the sponsors through a crazy after party with free beers all night and a bunch of drunk Norwegian and Swedish people, all together partying inside a 2nd World War bunker.


I`m now back in Quebec City for the summer. It`s 25 degres outside and I`m just coming back from a kayak ride. Like every year, I`m already missing the snow and even more, the mountains and all the great memories I have from Europe. That first taste of the old country was a life changing experience and I can`t wait to be back there next season.

To all my friends, mom, dad, sisters and brothers, my lovelly girlfriend Marie and all my great sponsors supporting me for years, I wanna say thanks to all of you for being part of all my adventures.

To all of you, skiers and shredders, I hope to see you soon somewhere on the slopes, happy as we always are, enjoying our passion.

Big thanks to all my sponsors for being part of my adventures : ROI Recreation, Peak Performance, Movement Skis, Dalbello, Resort of Canadian Rookies, Zeal Optics, Sportzshot Camera, Hestra, Colltex, Komperdell, Deuter, Fritschi