Homeboy: Tell our readers who you are, how old you are and what you do for living etc.?

Kaisa: I am a 29-year-old (young!) woman from Joensuu in Eastern Finland. My family still lives in Joensuu, but right after graduating from high school I moved to Rovaniemi,  Lapland, to study. The Arctic Circle kind of fascinates me and Rovaniemi is a good location for getting outdoors in the fells.

I chose to study to be a sports instructor in Rovaniemi because there is a possibility to specialize in nature sports. In a way I have also used all my free time (and student loans) for studying my career, i.e. to passionately perform outdoor sports whenever possible. I graduated in 2004 and after that I have had temporary jobs all over in Finland and some abroad too. I have spent winters in the North, despite some riding trips to the Central Europe.

In the summertime I have worked in Southern or Central Finland and also done some summer sports too. I have done a great variety of different jobs: outdoor safari guiding, working on a reindeer farm, teaching snowboarding, and in the summetime I have worked as a sports instructor and as a sales person in an outdoor shop.

Doing only part-time jobs has been my particular choice for getting wide professional experience and at the same time, the only real option for maintaining my life style: to get outdoors as much as possible and to do what I really love.  All the jobs I have done relate to my hobbies, so I have at the same time gained knowledge of different sports.  This has also kept me somehow connected to “everyday work life”. Also, I did some additional studies in 2007 specializing in educational adventure. Those studies made it clear to me that I really like to work in the field of nature and outdoors in one way or another.

A year ago I started my winter job in Muonio, Lapland, as usual but to my surprise I also got a job as a teacher in Kronoby Folkhögskolan (in western Finland). Basically I was teaching outdoor guide students. Luckily I got a good deal so could manage to tour the Freeride World Tour Qualications and finally even got some nice results. Last spring was quite hectic though: I had a flat in three different locations and at the same time I travelled almost all the time.

Homeboy: Sounds like you don’t have any problem with too much spare time in winters, heh. In the summer time you must take it easy…right?

Kaisa: Well, summer wasn’t that busy; I only got to travel between two locations in Finland because of work. In addition to working I had some small-scale projects on all the time, like mountain biking or adventure races, arranging races and planning for future riding trips, etc.

I love to live in Jyväskylä. We have an old, red “grandma’s house” there by the lake. Still, when the fall comes I always want to go north.  Despite growing up in a small city, I really feel at home in Lapland, in its forests and fells.  I need some peace and lots of space around. Lapland offers plenty of both. Maybe it was my parents’ very down-to-earth philosophy and all the summers spent at our summer cottage that made me feel like such a “forest dweller”, heh.

Homeboy: Ok. Now, let’s get into the main subject of this interview – riding. How and when did you discover snowboarding?

Kaisa: If I remember right, I tried snowboarding for the first time in 1994. I got a racing board with plate bindings from the local hill’s rental shop (because there weren’t actually any other ones). At that time I didn’t realize how to turn but I just tried sliding the hill sideways with both of the edges. Naturally, there wasn’t anyone around showing how to do it and I didn’t have any idea how to made proper carves.  Well, as you can imagine, the prize for all that was a concussion and a broken wrist.

After that I continued a couple of years on skis, until my mom gave me some money to try snowboarding again. That time I had a friend to teach me and I figured out how to make some real turns. Then in the spring of 1999 I was going on a bus trip to Lapland and I was too ashamed to bring my antique skis with me. My mother loaned me a snowboard from some friends. I was stoked big time. And the board was quite big too – it belonged to the friend’s 2-meter-tall dad!

Despite the oversize board I was real happy to ride (being actually just a “passenger” on the board didn’t matter, heh), and I was hooked for good. The next fall I finally got my first own board. (For you Finns out there: the board belonged to the old school Koli-rider Juha Arponen and it was still quite long, a 162 cm purple Burton Supermodel with cool flames on the deck…).

The same winter (99-00) I also tried my first jumps on the icy gaps of Mustavaara, a local ski hill. That was another mistake again, as I didn’t know at all how to jump and I just landed on my back on the rock hard transition. The result was a hairline fracture on my lower back.  The injury itself wasn’t serious but it left a “nice” little mark in the form of a small pain every time I sit still for too long.

At the time, though, I was totally sold on snowboarding and wise enough to leave the floor bandy I played quite seriously on the national level. The season 1999-2000 was my first complete season and that season I managed to visit the Alps for the first time. I made a trip to Lyngen and Narvik too.  I guess I really took all the oppurtunities to ride back then and I fell in love with the soft snow and freeriding right from the start. I immediately knew this was my thing.

She is also a competitive mountain biker and adventure racer, AND she likes rock climbing and loves the outdoor life in general

Homeboy: Great answer. It is always nice to hear about people who have strong passions in their life. For most of the people there are just one or two. But you are a bit different that way – tell the readers a bit more about what other sports and activities you do. There are a few, am I right?

Kaisa: Yes. Mountain biking, rock climbing and adventure racing. One month ago I also did my first surfing trip ever (so you probably can’t call that a hobby yet).

From 2002 on I’ve done the Finnish mountain bike Enduro tour and every summer I do one or two adventure races. In the early 2000s I was a very active climber but lately I have climbed less because of all the riding (both snowboard and mountain bikes). But I believe I will put some more effort into climbing in the future again.

I also love kayaking but getting my own kayak will wait for some time now. As a part of my job I do trekking and camping all the time. I would especially like to do some more winter hiking and camping in my free time too.

Everything I do relates to nature and outdoors in some way and that is the whole point of my life style – being out in the nature just feels so good to me!

(Editor’s note: Wow – I can say I feel a bit of jealousy right now…being an aging, fulltime office rat…)

Kaisa’s take on the sport of snowboarding

Homeboy: How do you spend your winter snowboarding? Would you call yourself a “ski bum”?

Kaisa: There isn’t actually any given pattern to how I spend my winters. When I studied a few years ago it all depended on the studying schedule. In general I don’t like to plan too much. I keep options open as long as possible in order to sieze interesting opportunities spontaneously.

I’ve spent all my winters in snowy areas (expect one maybe) and that has made it possible for me to do winter sports in general. I mean, I have pretty good oppurtunities in my hometown too. For example, it isn’t a big deal for me to change my riding gear for a tight cross-country skiing outfit now and then and go cross-country ski a few laps. Actually I could ski some cross-country any day, probably. I love to do it now and then and it is also a significant part of my wintertime.

From 2000 on I have spent my winters in Lapland and from there I have made several trips to Northern Norway and Sweden (and some trips to central Europe too).  For example in the winters 2005 and 2006 I managed to avoid any real job and just rode. In 2005 I did the snowboard instructor examination, rode a few weeks in Verbier and LaGrave, did some teaching in Pyhätunturi (Finland), guided in Jasna, Slovakia for elamysmatkat.com and did some “traditional” spring trips to Kilpisjärvi (Finland) and Lyngen (Norway).  The next season was pretty similar but the cool thing was that I didn’t do a turn south of Finnish Lapland – I did all my riding in Finnish Lapland and in Tamokdalen, Northern Norway.

Then there are competitions. I have done several of them: The Finnish Freeride Championships in Kilpisjärvi, Riksgränsen Scandinavian Freeride Championships, Finnish Championship Boarder Cross, Nissan Arctic Tamok Freeride competition and last season I did the Freeride World Tour Qualifications. Last season brought some new locations and riding vibes: I visited The USA for the first time and rode also for the first time in Austria and southern Norway. I also did some pretty cool split-board touring trips with my boyfriend Teemu Tiiro in Lapland, and luckily I was also doing some job-related trips in Tärnäby-Hemavan area, Sweden.

Well, I can’t exactly call myself a “ski bum”. But probably I have been quite close at times, I guess. All in all I am pretty cheap and try to save all the money for trips and gear, and especially for riding. If you have enough drive to follow your passion, you will find plenty of options to save both money and time for your hobbies…

Homeboy: Tell us three reasons to snowboard and compete in snowboarding? What pushes you forward to progress?

Kaisa: Nature, fun and curiosity.

Snowboarding, freeriding especially, is a great way of being outdoors. It is fun and you meet new, interesting people doing it.  Competitions are all about curiosity for me, and also the will to progress as a rider (both mentally and physically).

At the time I make the decision to take part in the competition I will take a mental challenge. An after taking that challenge I am probably a bit stronger a person. In addtion to that I will meet new people, get great experiences and maybe also that rewarding feeling of success.

I got the motivations that drives me to train and progress from my dreams where I see myself riding huge powder lines better than ever, taking that “perfect” competition line or doing long expedition type riding trips to the mountains.  When I have that will to progress I also will get closer (step by step) to my dream of riding better than ever before. At the same time I will gain information about snow, nature and mountains. Knowing nature and the environment will make me feel more home in the nature and that, on its part, is just pure physical satisfaction for me.

Homeboy: That was a very good answer in our opinion. However, it can be also pretty dangerous in the mountains. What do you think about dangers (even the danger of dying) in the sport? (Too) many Finns have died in the mountains too… What do you think about possible accidents and dangers in riding?

Kaisa: I have a strong will and motivation to live and I try to avoid deathly danger in every situation out there. In my opinion I have a healthy fear and self-protection instinct – still, I want to control those to some degree, sometimes more, sometimes less. I won’t climb to the top of the mountain if I feel a bit of unsure about conditions or my own skills or physical capacity before the ascent.  I don’t want to defy death or try to get in to the life-threathening situations voluntarily. That said, I have to admit that I probably take more risks than people on average but then we are talking about the risk of an injury, not the risk of death. You can say an avalanche danger is the biggest risk in this sport and with that you have to evaluate the conditions every time case by case.

I don’t personally know anyone who has died or got lost in the mountains. So, I can’t take the aforementioned accidents that personally. It is always sad to hear about the accidents but on the other hand we talk about people that have followed their dreams and passions and died while doing that. The random act of violence out there or every traffic accident can be even more tragic in my opinion.

I would like to believe that by combining humility, knowledge, experience and respect for nature you can be out there safely, knowing that you have the best possibilities to spent time in the environment where you enjoy your life the most.

Are you ready for the Freeride World Tour?

Homeboy: Talking about risk involved action – You compete on the Freeride World Tour this season. Tell us a bit more about the tour…and explain why you will attend the tour.

Kaisa: The tour starts on 19th of January in Sochi, Russia. At the end of February I will compete in Squaw Valley, USA and after that in Tignes, France. The last part of the tour will be held in Verbier – the classic Verbier Xtreme. The Xtreme is an invitation competion, based on the results of the previous events. The four places in FWT snowboard women were given to the two best in the last year tour and two best in the qualification tour. In addition to us four, about four other people will be invited based on the results in the so called sister events or by “wild cards” given by the organizers.

Well, why I attend the tour is because I got some good results in last year’s qualifications tour – as I just explained.  The only reasons not to compete this year would be related to budget and work situation. But luckily I got all the things sorted out and I am free to compete on the tour! The opportunity is an enormous challenge for me, and a very interesting as such.

Homeboy: What do expect from the Freeride World Tour? Have you evaluated your chances to succeed?

Kaisa: I wait and hope for good runs and of course good snow conditions. At the same time I will get to ride and party with like-minded people. Meeting the best female freeriders all over the world is a really big thing for me; I already noticed that last season. Where I usually ride you get to meet too few female riders in general. I also anticipate progressing as a rider and good communications between the organizers and riders.

I won’t speculate on the exact results, I guess I have as good chances as any other rider in my class.  In my opinion there are a couple of really strong candidates to win and then the rest are pretty equally skilled.  It always depends on so many small issues: daily conditions, your current feeling, physical condition (and possible injuries), etc.

Homeboy: But can you name some of your biggest rivals?

Kaisa: Actually, everyone in the women’s board class are rivals. Verbier Xtreme winners Geraldine Faschnaht and Ruth Leisbach will be probably the favorites.

Homeboy: Who are your snowboard idols and why? Or do you have any idols?

Kaisa: Actually I don’t have any big idols. I know lots of good riders who I admire for their skills. And most of them are great people too. A good woman is always something to look for – because getting that good is a even harder for a girl and requires a strong attitude. The aforementioned Geraldine Faschnacht and Ruth Leisbach are pretty damn good riders, and also Victoria Jealouse of course. On the other hand my boyfriend Teemu Tiiro and Jussi Räsänen are both very skilled riders with great riding humour and good vibes. (Editor’s note: that is true!)

Homeboy: What do you think are your weaknesses as a snowboarder and competitor?

Kaisa: There are several: too little competition experience (on a snowboard), being born and raised in the flatlands, starting a bit too late – just to name some. Also, I haven’t probably “matured” as a rider yet; both my style and technique will change some all the time. I have had some feedback that my riding style is nice but that I need to add some more aggressiveness and big cliff drops to my competition runs.

Homeboy: Well, that sounds pretty challenging to us (knowing how you ride already!).  But how about the strengths – What are your best qualities as a snowboarder?

Kaisa: I am fairly critical towards my skills and myself. There is always something to strive for. My psychological strengths are probably lots of competition experience from other sports and the peacefullnes and the skill to concentrate through that experience.  I also know that I have both good physical condition and the ability to make solid, well-formed turns, which are the basis of any good competition run anyway.

Homeboy: How many seasons have you competed? Did you have any success earlier?

Kaisa: I already did some competitions back in 2002 but in reality I could call the 2007/2008 season the first real competition season. And looking at the results, the season exceeded all my expectations (Editor’s note: Kaisa won the World Freeride Qualifications tour).

Before that I have done some local competitions with varying success. All in all I can say that every competition has been a very important experience to me.

Homeboy: How are you going to prepare to the Freeride World Tour?

Kaisa: Well, I am preparing already. I started the riding season and try to maintain my physical condition as well as possible. Getting the budget together and making travel plans might be the most concrete things to prepare. Also, I have had that special excitement in my riding this season – usually I don’t get that exited about things way beforehand but now I have gladly noticed that I am pretty stoked already and feel very energetic for the upcoming tour!

Homeboy: Great to hear! We wish you all the best in the tour. Finally, a different sort of question: can you name the three best resorts where you have ridden?

Kaisa: LaGrave, Jasna and Narvik. In all of these I have spent at least two weeks and for example in Jasna about two months altogether. So, I see these resorts from quite a different angle than the resorts I’ve only seen for a few days. None of these resorts are big in nightlife, prepared slopes or additional services but when talking about freeriding all three are really good. At least I have enjoyed great powder, beautiful scenery and my own private lines in those resorts (without the crowds of the biggest resorts!).

Homeboy: Thanks Kaisa! Now those were some well though-out answers. It would be really nice to go riding again some day, like we did a few years ago in Jasna. Have a great season and be careful out there!

Kaisa wants to also thank her sponsors: City-Sport, North Face, Oakley and JKL Freeride

I first met Anni in Verbier in 1999, during the epic February storm cycle we old farts still remember warmly. Besides riding nice powder, I also realized that Anni was riding faster than 99% of the guys, whether on a pair of skis or a snowboard. Back then she probably didn’t have the finesse and control she has now  -  but that was substituted by a fearless, go-fast-or-go-home attitude. I remember riding with a friend thinking we are a pair of fast mofos… only to see Anni riding way ahead of us, basically pointing it totally straight, only slightly bouncing from some random moguls and making fast deceleration slides here and there. It was a pretty wild sight.

I guess Anni fell in love with the mountains and snow back then. After that season she found her way back to spend several seasons at Chamonix, eventually competing in world-class freeride events like the famous Verbier Xtreme Competition.

But that’s it for the history. Back to the current day, let’s pass the mic to Anni herself…

Studies, work and riding

1. What’s up? What have you been up to lately? You have worked hard in the off-season to get your studies done – tell us a liitle bit about that?

Hi! I am doing really good nowadays. I am studying in Estonia, doing my second Master’s Degree in Veterinary Science. I am in my second year now and the school takes 6 years, so I still have a bit to do!

Anni at work

I graduated from the University of Helsinki in 2005 with a Master’s degree in Animal Nutrition and Genetics. Then I concentrated on riding and spent couple of seasons in Chamonix. That was the best decision for me after graduation, because I knew that I wanted to continue studies and become a veterinarian, which I always wanted to be. It is crazy – how hard it is to get into Vet school in Finland. Only 5-10 percent of the applicants  are accepted every May, via the entrance examination system… and I should have been one of the 25 chosen from 500. I totally studied each spring for four years only for the entrance exam to Helsinki Vet school. And I also rode in Chamonix each winter. In the summer of 2007 I decided to send my application to Tartu, Estonian Veterinary school (instead of Helsinki again), and I got right in.

There are a lot of Finnish students in Estonia. Some of my friends said that  I was crazy to start school again at the age of 29, but I think that if you have strong dreams, on some level, it is just brave to follow your dreams and make them come true. I do not want to be bitter when I am 50 years old and look back on the past – angry at myself that I did not make these (right) decisions that I have done now – and did not work very hard –   to make this all happen. I feel very lucky to be studying toward my dream profession now – after so many years of trying. I feel I earned it, and after graduation I will still have over 30 years of working life left.

As far as riding and studying are concerned, I have tried to be very honest to myself and my dreams, even when that requires very strict self-discipline.  Sometimes the lack of time makes you crazy, and it is the thing you have to learn: to balance your time between hobbies and responsibilities. And you have to work to make the money for your trips. I also work while studying, all the time. My job last summer at the Vet Clinic in Tampere (Finland) really comfirmed my feelings  – I became absolutely sure that I am studying for my dream profession. In the end, riding will never be a real profession to me, but it will always be the one thing to do in my free time.

Anni pictured by Tero Repo – thanks Tero for photos. Remember to check out Teros' site http://www.terorepo.com/

Sometimes you even have to give up some good things to make all these dreams happen, – if you very clearly know, what you want out of life. The veterinary profession has always been the only possible choice for me, the one thing that I really want to do after my riding career. And in the EU, you can work throughout the whole European continent with this degree. You can do your specializing studies in Switzerland, for example. I want to specialize in small animals and surgery. There are brilliant Veterinary schools in Zurich and Bern and the Alps are very very close there… I could imagine working in the Alps as a vet. Or alternatively stay in Scandinavia too. You never know, where life will lead you… But I am happy to know that my profession will allow great flexibility and  the chance to live anywhere that feels good.

Competing on The Freeride World Tour in the Season 2008-2009

Yes, we rode last year on the Freeride World Qualification Tour (Mammoth-USA, Schruns-Austria and Röldal-Norway) and two of the best were invited to this season’s Freeride World Tour 08/09. Only four girls were invited overall.  The two other girls will be the best ones from last year’s World Tour. in the guys class there will naturally be more riders because you always have more boys riding and competing than girls. I wish there were more girls on the Freeride World Tour too, because I think it is a bit sad; how few girls they invite and how many good freerider girls you have out there. (Editor’s note: You are absolutely right, Anni!)

But the competition locations and money are limited and there are still four categories to arrange in the comps (ski and snowboard, men and women).  My last years riding was not on the very top level – because of hard studying. But I was happy to qualify for this year’s world tour. I rode only two days in Talma (Finland) before my first qualification run in the Mammoth Mountain in the USA! It feels great to start this season – when I already know that there will be lots of good riding in very cool and exotic spots, thatI have not visited yet.

Yep. The Freeride World Tour was conducted for the very first time last year and riders were invited based on the “virtual ranking”, which was based on the two previous year’s results in international freeride competitions. So, last spring Verbier Xtreme was the final for the whole world tour.

I was invited to Verbier Xtreme every year from  2001 to 2005 and finished 3rd at the podium every time (smiling). I think, this new Freeride World Tour system and ranking points is more pure and fair system to get new riders on the freeride scene and it gives more possibilities for many aspiring riders to get invited to the international top freeride events. Because the thing is, in reality, some seasons you are good, but the next year your riding can suck – or you can get injured and so on. This still does not mean that you are not invited back but you have to ride through these qualification system events to get back on the World Tour again. Last year some of the top girls were injured, and they can not ride the World Tour this year. (and I naturally feel sorry for them).

Anni's portrait by Tero Repo

I think this Freeride World Tour is a very good thing for the whole freeriding world and competitions, a fresh flash that it deeply needed, because now we have a clear system and common competitions with skiers and snowboarders. I feel proud to be a Finn and represent my home country on the Freeride World Tour. Even when you have not grown up in the mountains, you can progress as a rider, especially if you are a Scandie -  This means seasons spent in the Alps or spending some time in Lapland. I did both.

Anniina loves to teach kids to snowboard!

I love teaching snowboarding, especially to little kids. They are so pure and honest when it comes to learning and sports. The best student I ever had, was this little boy called “Olli” – 6 years old. He told me that he does not care about the turns or how to stop the snowboard. He  only wanted to learn to ride the pipe and freeride in the trees. And it was the very first snowboard lecture for him ever. After 50 minutes he was riding with good turns down the slopes at Ruka (Northern Finland). But to answer your question: I guess I do not have too much time to teach in the upcoming season, maybe only a few weeks during Christmas holidays.

I like riding the pipe, kickers and jumps just for fun and learning new tricks, but I am still really bad on jumps. I can’t land very high airs on icy, hard park landings. And that is what I am really afraid of too. I prefer jumps off rocks and cliffs in powder conditions (editor’s note: who wouldn’t?) when you know, that there will be at least a meter snowpack, waiting for you on a nice pillow line. I still want to get better in park/freestyle riding though. It was extremely rewarding when I learned to ride some small rails in Mammoth last year. Challenging too – and that’s what I love in general.

I broke my arm at Ruka -in 96 jumping the kicker and my leg in -03 speeding with guys on the way down to Verbier village. I hit a tree stump under the snow and I had an open fracture. Tibia came out 2 cm through the skin. It hurt – but I still remember a few funny things about this accident. I had a very bad French speaking doctor and I wanted to know how badly my leg was broken. Then he answered “You crazy young (yes, I was young then, haha) girl, do you REALLY want to know how badly your leg is broken… You leg is like ZigZag, it is fu..ed up. I can see the bones sticking through the skin”. And I did not let them cut my brand new Roxy  warmpants at the hospital, so they had to remove them from over the broken leg before the operation. (Editor’s note: oh those girls…) I am still wearing them! And I was walking 8 weeks after the operation – thanks to the good doctors at the Martigny hospital, close to Verbier.

Verbier Xtreme Venue

I spent more days on skis in the season 2006 than with the snowboard. I think that skiing is actually more fun than riding a board nowadays. It is very easy to ride fat skis after so many years on board. I skied for seven years before starting to snowboard, and after 15 years on a snowboard I went back to my roots -  and fell in love with skiing again. It felt good to realize how fast you can develop your skills on skis and I could already ride some classic off-piste lines in Chamonix on skis. In glacier travel and hiking, skis are a lot better than a board. I hate all this taking your bindings on and off all the time and riding flat parts with poles when snowboarding. It really sucks. I have a dream to do the Haute-Route one day with skis and spend more time with Randonnee skiing and mountaineering. I have been skiing on a pair of Salomon 155cm Pocket Rockets and I simply love them. I will try K2 Seth Pistols next winter. The skiing world is becoming more and more familiar to me after so many years of snowboarding. But on powder days I will always be on my faithful Burton Victoria’s Sensation 152. It is my true one and only!

Future plans – What does the upcoming season look like for Anniina Karvinen?

7. Cool. I didn’t actually know you have skied that much.There is definitely time and place for both sports, in my opinion. And I think it is just cool that people change back and forth from skis to board – and vice versa. But back to the interview again…what is your next season going to look like? Trips, competitions, plans…?

My next season looks pretty good. We will ride the Freeride World Tour in 2,5 months and the schedule is quite busy. The contests will be held in Sochi-Russia, Squaw Valley-USA California, Les Tignes-France and if you qualify Verbier Xtreme-Swizerland.  In April-May I hope to make some fresh spring turns in Finnish Lapland – I think after traveling the first 3 months of the season, it is so relaxing to have a good time with friends at your home resorts and enjoy the long daylight in warm sun. I just love riding in Finnish spring slush parks! I will try to take part In Scandinavian freeriding championships in Riksgränsen in May. This is all for one season, and I have to pass all the exams at the veterinary school too. It means flying and traveling between school and riding trips, but it is only fun. I live for traveling and meeting new friends from all around the world. It is like a good “elixir”,  for surviving those dark autumn days and all the daily responsibilities. Traveling balances the everyday life at home.

8. What’s your take on “ski bumming”? Wouldn’t it be easier to just settle in one resort and take it easy (sounds pretty easy on paper, at least). But do you plan to spend seasons in some ski resorts in the future again – probably combining your work (a veterinarian) and fun, as you said earlier?

The word “ski-bumming” has never represented anything special to me, quite the opposite rather. I have never been “bumming” in the Alps. We have worked quite a lot before our season in Chamonix, to stay in comfortable houses and enjoy quality time with friends during 4 months with no work or studying. All the hard work is paid back then  – when you wake up in the mountains and you see the Mt. Blanc in purple colors, when the daylight’s first rays are gently reaching its snowy top, touching the shadows of couloirs and deep blue icy tops of the Aiguilles. Looking at the Choucas (Corvus Monedula, Alpine Jackdaw) playing in the sky – in the rising sun after a three day dump of fresh snow.  You make a good cup of coffee and sit on the balcony, knowing your friends are suffering in their offices/cubicles back home and you are privileged to go up to Aiguilles du Midi soon and hopefully draw some good lines down with your friends in knee high fresh powder snow. This feeling is what I miss the most nowadays, when I can’t continuously spend so much time on the snow anymore.

Another Day at The Office

I went to Chamonix for the first time in 1998 on a bus trip with no ski friends at all and came back with about twenty friends. That was enough for  a 19-year old girl; she was hooked, deeply. Since 2000 I have stayed 2-4 months each year in Chamonix. My best season was 2005 when we stayed in a big house on the main street and rode from New Year till May.  During the years I got to know more and more people and we visited Verbier, La Grave with Finnish dudes and other friends from abroad. I have learned the most important things of life and friendships during those years with ski friends and nature.

I might move to the Alps after graduation or else stay in Scandinavia. It would not be too bad to close your own vet clinic for a few hours on the lunch hour and go up to make some fresh pow turns in the middle of the day, would it…? (laughing) There is still a long way there and many exams to take but I am happy to know that my profession gives me great flexibility and possibilities to move and settle where it feels right.

9. Again, great answer. You were almost poetic! And I have always wondered why it is called “ski bumming” in the first place – cause most of the so called ski bums (I know) must work really hard, either before the season or even during it. Anyway, I remember you once saying that the tents and refuges are not for girls… Have you changed your mind on that – I mean, any big climbing or “expedition” type trips in sight? Alaska, Himalaya or similar?

I said it after staying five days in a tent in heavy spring rain at the Scandinavian Freeriding Championships, held in Riksgränsen in 2001. I had to put icy and wet snowboard boots in my feet every day before hikes and competition runs.  We could have stayed at the hotel, but Junnu (Laine) and Arska (Saarimäki) (editors note: Finnish skiers and great guys by the way!) preferred the tents, it was cheaper, the real Finnish “ski-bumming” way to do it. And Arska still does not have any clue about those Swedish Peak Performance superSKImodels, who dressed him at the bar – after he had taken all his clothes off (like he typically does after “a few” beers). There were five stunningly gorgeous Swedish ski girls dressing him and he just was too drunk to remember it! What a great guy (laughing).

Tents are for girls, definitely, I love hiking and trekking and sleeping in a tent. I can do easy randonnee and hiking trips in the Alps,  maximum 3000-4000 meter peaks. But these “Expedition”-type trips or High Alpine Mountaineering are not the thing for me. I feel the risks on these types of trips are too high and if you bring your hobbies/profession to a certain level (in that kind of stuff), the limit will be somewhere very very close there.  And I want to live long instead. Of course I could be very unlucky with avalanches and crevasses riding the glacier, but I am not too scared to do that. I believe I have skills at some level to ride steep faces and powder fields and that is also what I love the most. High mountains scare me, Chamonix-type of experiences are definitely enough for me. Freeriding is my way to express my feelings, not reaching any dangerous peaks.  I would love to make some easy lines in Alaska with heliskiing, but I would never aim for any 8000 meters peak in Himalaya.

10. Fair enough. I guess for most people your lines would be “very extreme stuff” anyway! In the end,  would you like to thank anyone…friends, family, your sponsor – the mic is yours!

Thanks to Mom and Pops that you are not too scared anymore (or at least you do not show it). Thanks to my sponsors from the last seasons for your support: SkullCandy, Suunto, SnowExtreme, Giro and Specially DaKine and Jari Laakso (for the past 8 years).

Thanks to Jarkko Henttonen again for helping me to my very first big freeriding competition in Verbier Xtreme year 2001. And special thanks to all of my riding friends – with you I have experienced the best days and moments of my life up in the mountains, and with you I have also experienced those several hundreds of good face shots and couloirs with no tracks. Special thanks to Skipe (Kimmo Oivo, The “Grand daddy” of Finnish Freeriding!) too, my Big Bro. And all those guys who took me up in the mountains and taught me to ride and hike, when I was only a 19-year old girl with no experience in these sports at all. Without you all I would not be standing here now and doing this all once again in the upcoming season: riding, friendships and mountains. All the best and safe riding for every individual rider in the s08/09 season! Go up and find the ultimate expression of Mother Nature’s love: powder snow.

PS. Thanks to professional photographer Tero Repo for portraits.

Photographer Petri Kovalainen is da man

Petri Kovalainen is a professional photographer who specializes in shooting sports. He has also done some work with rock/pop artists. Petri is also a ripping tele-skier, which is always pretty cool in my book.

We are proud to co-operate with these guys and the companies Hpd Films and Cohkka. These guys are keepin’ it real!

Enjoy the pictures by Petri Kovalainen.

Dude! You there?

Jarkko has some serious surf influence in his riding style

Looks like it’s gonna be a good day…

Yeah dude!

Even more “yeah dudes!”

Jarkko was also among the first Finns that really got into Chamonix and its lifestyle – before the 1990s the main hangout for Finnish “ski bums” was St. Anton in Austria, a place with nice skiing, deep powder and endless parties, but not that much mountaineering culture in a Chamonix sense of the word.

Meet my man Jarkko Henttonen

I could go on with the riding achievements and lines of Jarkko Henttonen, but I’ll let him tell more about that himself. I just want to share my best riding memories with Jarkko here. Funny, but I wasn’t actually even involved. It was spring 2001 and I was on a road trip from LaGrave to Chamonix, visiting some friends. I went skiing with some of my skier friends while couple of relatively inexperienced snowboarder friends went riding with Jarkko Henttonen. One guy was having a birthday and Jarkko wanted to offer some “guiding” as a present. It was couple of days from the previous storm and there was some leftover pow to be ridden but probably nothing too exiting for a seasoner. Still, after the day when I asked about how the day was, Jarkko answered: “Clearly the best day of the season because the guys and girls were so stoked and having so much fun“. In my opinion that says it all. And yeah, this is the guy who has some nice competition results too, like 2nd place in the infamous Verbier Xtreme competition in 2001.

What up, Jarkko?

1. What’s up? What have you been up to lately? I heard you have climbed quite a lot, tell us a bit about your recent projects.

I´m doing well, thanks for asking. This summer was quite fun. In June I was in France, climbing a bit, and it was good to spend some time higher up. Due to a few injuries I´ve kinda been laying low past couple of years, but now I´m getting back into shape little by little. After that I´ve mostly stayed here in southern Finland, climbing and training and basically just hanging out. In August I joined my friend Johannes Kärkkäinen on his mission to open up a new aid-climbing route on the north face of Stora Blåmannen in northern Norway. It was a really good trip, even if a bit scary at times.

I´ve also been trying to get into skydiving, but haven´t really found too much time for it, so I´ve only managed to make two jumps this summer. Falling from the sky is a funny feeling, and I really hope I´ll get to do more of it, but we´ll see.

As for work I haven´t really done too much. I´ve instructed a few rock climbing courses, I helped out my friends who work for World Rally Championships event in Jyväskylä, I´ve been helping out in Camu, a climbing store here in Helsinki, I´ve been doing some work for Slammer, which is nro 1 Finnish snowboard mag and of course there´s been some work for HDP Films, a production company that me and my friends own,  and so forth, but I don´t have a regular job, which is exactly the way I want it.

This summer I did the alpine course, but even if I had trained a fair bit I was still not in good enough shape, and I also got ill during the course, I got some kind of infection to my windpipe, so I could not finish it. Anyways, I was quite stoked that I was able to do fairly long days without too bad pain in my foot. I mean two and a half years ago I was barely able to walk for a few hundred meters, a year ago I still had really hard times walking for more than 4 hours and 8 hour day rock climbing totally did me in for a few days. This summer I could already walk for quite a few hours, like 8 or even 10, and climbing has actually felt almost good, meaning not that much pain. So, now I´m doing my best, training as much as I can, trying to get into shape so I can continue the education after another two years.

Well, yes… I was a ski bum for quite a while, and still consider myself as such…

I first went to Chamonix in September 1991, I think, and kept going back and forth between Chamonix and Finland for 9 years. Usually I spent about 4 months there, from the beginning of the year till end of April or so. It depended a bit. Some years I went up north, northern Norway already in the beginning of April, though. After those years I sort of got over it in a way. I mean, I always loved Chamonix, but I did not like the way things went on the hill. With all this hype around freeriding there was a lot more people getting into riding off-piste and this had a certain effect on the behavior of people that I did not quite like. People started taking too many risks, I think, with snow. Actually, the first time I remember thinking that the place is getting crowded was already in 95. I was going to do an afternoon run on the Couloir des Cosmiques and when I got there, there was like 10 or 15 dudes in line, waiting for their turn to rap in. While I was walking past the line and dropping in and riding past the rappel rope I was thinking of finding another place with less people.

So, I ended up going to LaGrave for two winters. Now LaGrave has not exactly been a secret anymore for a very long time either, and it is fairly crowded too, especially considering the capacity of the lift, but at least people there followed certain safety rules that I have always respected as well. In 2002 I went back to Chamonix for a season again. After that I have not spent a full season anywhere, but I´ve done a lot of shorter trips. In 2005 I broke my heel and haven´t been able to do much, but now I´m getting back on my feet and hopefully this winter be some sort of comeback to snow for me.

I love snowboarding as much as anything, and it has been really hard not being able to do it. It was super bad, right after my accident, when I was told that it is highly likely that I cannot keep doing the stuff that I´ve done most of my adult life. I´ve definitely had a lot of good days up on the hill, as well as bad ones, but I sort of has this mentality that, well, good or bad, it´s all good. Ha ha!

Best things are all the good friends that I´ve made!

Jarkko competing in Verbier Extreme a few years ago – gnarly, huh?

Right on! There were so many super nice people in Chamonix back then (like probably today too, we just don’t happen to hang out there as much anymore…)

Jarkko Henttonen becomes a big mountain rider

4. You had also some longer expedition type of trips – any best memories type stories or such…single best moments etc.?

I´ve been to Denali, which is also known as Mount McKinley, the highest mountain in north America, twice, and want to go back and will go back. I would have wanted to do more big mountain expeditions but apart from these two, the trips that I planned did not work out for various reasons.

I´d say that the first Denali trip was something that stands out for me in a way, as one of the coolest things I´ve done. I managed to climb to the top and ride down, and back then it was a really big thing for me.

The line I did is called Messner Couloir, after Reinhold Messner, who is one of the greatest climbers of all time. It was first skied down by Sylvan Saudan, who is a super legendary extreme skier, the guy who more or less invented the whole sport. Actually the couloir was called Saudan couloir earlier, but it was re-named. So, the route has some history behind it in a way.

I don´t know how many times it has been skied after monsieur Saudan, but it has not been snowboarded that often. I´m not sure but I think the first person to snowboard it was Stephen Koch, an American big mountain rider. Then there was some japanese dude, who fell down it with his board strapped to his feet, and was hurt pretty bad, but I think he lived. Then it was my turn. It was in 1997. I went there with my buddy Jukka Räsänen, who is a skier, and three other guys, who were just climbing the mountain. Me and Jukka spend 11 days on the mountain and we rode three different runs, one of which was Messner. Jukka did not make it to the summit, but he had a good time laying first tracks on Messner in knee deep pow.

Messner is pretty impressive run, it is about a mile high and consistently about 40 degrees steep with short steeper pitches, I think it´s max about 48 or something, so it is not that steep but a pretty good incline anyways. The top part is this thing that is couple of hundred meters wide and maybe about 1000 meters high, then it narrows down to maybe about 20-30 meters. The narrow part is steepest. After the narrower bit it opens up to this wide open glacial snowfield, which is less steep, around 35 to 40 or so.

I took me something like 12 hours to walk from our camp at 14 000 ft to to the summit, which is about 6000 ft higher. It was quite hard work to get up there, as it was cold and as the air at that altitude is not that thick anymore. I was actually really really tired, and even if I didn´t really think of giving up more than maybe twice, the last couple of hundred yards to the top were super tough, and I was really hoping that it would end.

Ride down was easier of course. It took me like 20 minutes to get to from the summit into the couloir, I had to walk a bit over this flat part, but once I dropped in, it was just pure fun riding down. As the snow was quite good I rode quite fast, I think it took me less than ten minutes to do the whole thing. Higher up, before the narrow part I was taking it a bit easier, but once it opened up so did I, and I rode the bottom section, which is like 400-500 meters in vertical with 7 big turns, just screaming down, hundred k´s an hour.

I slept 18 hours straight after that, and then we went home.

The big thing about the whole deal for me that I was able to ride the line the way I like to ride, which is fast and fluid but in control. It is not that difficult to ride like that if you go up with a lift, but after 12 hours of hard hiking it is not easy anymore. Usually after hard hike it´s more like a turn and a rest, a turn and a rest, but I was able to really charge it hard, and was quite proud of it, as I don´t think too many people have done something like that.

As I said since three years ago I haven´t ridden too much. For a while I was actually contemplating the possibility that I may not be able to ride ever again. I can tell you it was not a fun thought. I´m not gonna go detailed about it, but it was depressing and I sort of had to fight it not to let it take over me.

Now, as of late I´ve been getting better little by little, and last winter I was already doing sort of ok, and think I´m going to be like maybe 75% this winter.

As you said, I am father also, I´ve got a 3,5 years old kid, who does limit my comings and goings a bit of course. But it´s the best limit there is. Having a kid is way better than an sport.

Most of the little riding that I´ve been able to do past couple of years I´ve done in northern Norway. There are super nice mountains there, it´s a lot like Alaska, but there is no people. Of course there´s no people in Alaska, either, but AK is much further. From here it´s quite easy to get to Lyngen or Tamok or any other area up there, all one needs to do is to drive a day and there you are, in the middle of nicest mountains anywhere. Everybody knows about Lyngen, a few about Tamok, and some people have even been in those places, but still there are no rap lines on tops of couloirs there. It´s still intact, empty, untouched, immaculate… And there is a lot, and I mean a whole lot, of room for everybody there. And Lyngen, which is the most famous and probably also the best part, is just a tiny part of the whole area, even if it already is way bigger than all of Mount Blanc massif. You know the whole thing is about as big as the Alps, and 99,99% of all the possible super beautiful extreme lines there are still waiting to be done, and the best thing is that they are in condition most of the time, every winter, and not just once in a decade.

An example of riding/skiing in Tamokdalen, Norway, see video below

Very interesting views. It surely is beautiful in the Northern Norway. And, yes, kids are the most important thing in our life too. Skiing is just a hobby, after all! But back to the actual topic.

So, how does the future look like?

6. Do you have any other plans for the upcoming 2008-2009 season?

This winter I plan on doing a fair bit of riding. I will work for Freeride World Tour. Nicolas Hale-Woods, the organizer of Verbier Xtreme and the whole tour, recruited me, and I´m super stoked on working for him. I get to work in quite a few cool freeride events, visit many resorts that I have not been to before, and hopefully I´ll manage to do a few runs while I´m there, too. Later in spring I plan on going to north again, I´ve got some lines I´d want to do there. And I plan on going back to Denali as well.

I actually started skiing in 1973 already, and only got into snowboarding in 1987, so I´ve skied longer than snowboarded. Of course snowboarding is the king of all snow sports, there is no doubt about that, but skiing is sometimes quite fun, too. When the fat skis first started to come to market I figured I´d give them a try. In 2000 I actually skied more than snowboarded. It took me like almost a half a day to learn how to do it. Too easy. Ha ha. After my accident I haven´t really skied at all, but this winter I intend on getting my skiing legs back, too.

I think it is good that there are all kinds of “new” things coming to market. All these rockers and reverse sidecuts are not really new ideas, they´ve been around for a quite a while, but anyways it´s good that there is now lot of options. Different things work in different conditions. I´d just like to try out a certain kind of super fat and quite short ski, which I think would be a nice toy for tight trees. I like riding in trees more than any other type of terrain, I think treeriding while it is snowing a lot is as good as it gets. Snowboarding in tight trees is challenging enough, but it is, at least for me, much easier than skiing, and I´d want to try to make a ski that would make treeskiing as easy as possible.