An international group of snowboarding champions has just released an amazing video which captures the breathtaking beauty of the mountains of the Westfjords in West Iceland. The video is the first installment in a three part series, Horizon Lines, which documents the adventures of three snowboarders in the mountains of Iceland, Chile and Japan.
Read more: The Westfjords: A limitless supply of space and quiet
A team of snowboarding champions, Jake Price, Nick Kalisz, Forrest Shearer, Bryan Iguchi and Jeremy Jones, joined by the photographer Andrew Miller, as well as the surfer Kohl Christensen, came to Iceland last spring to explore the mountains of Hornstrandir. Accessing the remote nature preserve is only possible by foot or sea, as there are no roads in this remote part of the Westfjords. With the help of a local sailor who operates the sailboat Arktika, ferrying travellers into the fjords of Hornstrandir, the crew discovered that Iceland is the perfect place for snowboarding:
The setup is perfect for foot-powered, high-angle riding—hundreds of mountains laced with steep, clean chutes. Once you’re here, access is as simple as picking a line, parking or anchoring below it, and walking straight up the 300- to 1,500-foot faces.
Most of the breathtaking video is shot in Hornstrandir and other parts of the Westfjords. Taking advantage of the Arctic midnight sun the team finds that Icelandic mountains and the snow of the Westfjords are ideal playgrounds for foolhardy snowboarders:
The mountains may look small, but there is nothing small about the lines we are riding. If these faces were stapled on top of long, tall, rolling approaches, they would be on the “50 classics” list. They are big and serious—giants without legs.
And the sea has its potential as well, as the team discovers:
Like the mountains above, filled with abundance of opportunity for snowboarding, the sea carries a similar playground for the patient surfer willing to put in their time. Every angle of coastline is filled with nooks and crannies that hide from the wind and pick up swell. We see glimpses of it everywhere, but with snowboarding as our main purpose here, we only scratch the surface of wave potential. If you are looking for perfect surf or snow served up on a platter day after day, right out your front door, then perhaps Iceland is not for you. It takes time, persistence, and the will to look around the next corner.
Read more: Video: Exploring the best kept secret in the word of surfing off the frigid south coast of Iceland
An international group of snowboarding champions has just released an amazing video which captures the breathtaking beauty of the mountains of the Westfjords in West Iceland. The video is the first installment in a three part series, Horizon Lines, which documents the adventures of three snowboarders in the mountains of Iceland, Chile and Japan.
Read more: The Westfjords: A limitless supply of space and quiet
A team of snowboarding champions, Jake Price, Nick Kalisz, Forrest Shearer, Bryan Iguchi and Jeremy Jones, joined by the photographer Andrew Miller, as well as the surfer Kohl Christensen, came to Iceland last spring to explore the mountains of Hornstrandir. Accessing the remote nature preserve is only possible by foot or sea, as there are no roads in this remote part of the Westfjords. With the help of a local sailor who operates the sailboat Arktika, ferrying travellers into the fjords of Hornstrandir, the crew discovered that Iceland is the perfect place for snowboarding:
The setup is perfect for foot-powered, high-angle riding—hundreds of mountains laced with steep, clean chutes. Once you’re here, access is as simple as picking a line, parking or anchoring below it, and walking straight up the 300- to 1,500-foot faces.
Most of the breathtaking video is shot in Hornstrandir and other parts of the Westfjords. Taking advantage of the Arctic midnight sun the team finds that Icelandic mountains and the snow of the Westfjords are ideal playgrounds for foolhardy snowboarders:
The mountains may look small, but there is nothing small about the lines we are riding. If these faces were stapled on top of long, tall, rolling approaches, they would be on the “50 classics” list. They are big and serious—giants without legs.
And the sea has its potential as well, as the team discovers:
Like the mountains above, filled with abundance of opportunity for snowboarding, the sea carries a similar playground for the patient surfer willing to put in their time. Every angle of coastline is filled with nooks and crannies that hide from the wind and pick up swell. We see glimpses of it everywhere, but with snowboarding as our main purpose here, we only scratch the surface of wave potential. If you are looking for perfect surf or snow served up on a platter day after day, right out your front door, then perhaps Iceland is not for you. It takes time, persistence, and the will to look around the next corner.
Read more: Video: Exploring the best kept secret in the word of surfing off the frigid south coast of Iceland
