After almost a 20 hour drive starting in Austria, making our way through five countries and a dark, all-consuming fog, the rest of the TTR crew safely made it up to Norway just in time for the warm up and training sessions at the SIX(6)STAR Oakley Arctic Challenge.

Tuesday was the first day of practice. Greeted with some good weather to start things off, riders were liking the transition going head first into the testing phase. Some Big Airs were stomped along with some more technical tricks including some fresh 9s from Risto.

Today, things were toned down a bit due to some intimidating fog that took the visibility down to pretty gnarly levels. For those watching down by the Quarterpipe itself, the only signs of a rider dropping in were the sounds of boards and edges scraping on snow, that is until they came into view booking it straight towards the carefully sculpted transition.

Fredrik Scuderi of Norway seems to be carrying his momentum from his win at the THREE(3)STAR DnB NOR Arctic Open last weekend that qualified him for the SIX(6)STAR Oakley Arctic Challenge. Scuderi was going huge with some more-than-stylish chuck flips and solid airs. Expect some big things from him in the qualis.

© – Rich/TTR

Most of the riders took things easy however going with simple 3s, 5s and BS Airs to get a better feel for he Quarterpipe. Some McTwists where thrown by KP along with some nice methods from Terje and Nico. Hopefully the weather lets up so the riders can bring out the big guns for tomorrow.

After the session, everyone gathered in the animal-fur-laden, wooden teepee for some tasty organic food around a crackling fire. It’s pretty cold up here and everyone was grateful for some hot and scrumptious food in a toasty atmosphere.

© – Rich/TTR

With qualifications coming up, keep in mind that the Arctic Challenge is a crucial point on the tour, as one of only two remaining SIX(6)STAR events where riders can cash in on big prizes but most importantly earn some vital TTR ranking points. The TTR Top 4, Risto Mattila, Kevin Pearce, Peetu Piirionen and Andy Finch are all present and ready to destroy the quarterpipe here in Oslo. All four of these guys are Top Transition riders meaning the Arctic Challenge is going to be a close one. We might even see a new TTR World No. 1!

The Swatch TTR SIX(6)STAR Oakley Arctic Challenge will be featured on www.freecaster.tv and www.ttrworldtour.com for online viewing in case you’re unable to make it up to Norway. Keep checking the video player and the blog for updates as the competition continues.

I slapped myself silly 10 times over , before I realized I was awake and was glaring at what seemed to be the most dreamy quarter pipe setup that anyone could imagine.

Looking over the Oslo township and beautiful harbour the Holmenkollen Arena has an all new inspiring view, it’s called the Oakley Arctic Challenge. 10.2 metres of pure transition perfection. The SIX(6) STAR Swatch TTR event is shaping up to be a highlight on the tour once again.

After 16 days of construction, we caught up with the man in charge Claes Högström as he nears completion of the quarter pipe where we may just see that magic 10m mark broken if not smashed out of the ball park.

When did start shaping quarter pipes?
“Ive been shaping since 1999, starting with the first Arctic Challenge in Trestles, here in Norway..and Ive pretty much been doing this since.”

Claes also shapes the 6star O’neill Evolution Quarter pipe and the 5star Billabong A&S in Innsbruck and when asked “Have you made something that will allow riders to break that 10m mark?” he said:

“According to the calculations that we made, I did a design and we took that design to a simulator .. it says, if you go from the top here and your about Terje’s size and weight and have his technical skills… your going to be able to do about 12.5 metres ….if you go full speed….so I would say that the chance of going 10metres is better this year , because you don’t need as much speed as you have before”

Do you get to ride your own quaterpipes?

I could pretty much drop in right now..because no ones going to stop me, I dont see any fence down there – hahah.

How did you feel when saw terje go 9.8m last year?
“Actually i didnt see it, i was at the hotel , home sleeping”

Understandably from a man that works 16hrs a day for 2weeks straight to make the progression of this sport possible. I do hope he gets paid well.

With the 4 of the Top 5 swatch TTR ranked riders here to battle it out, and what almost seems to be a race to break the 10m mark. I would stayed tuned if i were you… watch it live on www.ttrworldtour.com and check the video and blog updates as the week progresses.

all images (C) Andy TTR

It was really warm out today, highly irregular for the beginning of February in the Austrian Alps, but that didn’t stop the riders from getting in some training on the Quarterpipe the day before the Billabong Air & Style in Innsbruck.

Despite the high winds, riders were still going huge, reaching 7 and 8 m. The question is, will we see any of the riders break Terje Haakonsen’s Quarterpipe record of 9.8 m? Jack Mitrani seems to think so claiming that he’s “trying to go for that 20m mark.” Optimism is always a good thing so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Later in the day TTR caught up with former pro rider Ingemar Backman from Sweden. Back in 1991, Ingemar set a world record Quarterpipe height of 8.5 m that went down as one of the sickest airs in the history of snowboarding. Ingemar recently heard about the Air & Style going down in Innsbruck and decided to come and check things out:

Ingemar Backman showin’ support. (C) TTR photo.

So how do you feel about being back at Air & Style and back in Innsbruck?

Well I haven’t been here since ‘99, the last Air & Style here in Innsbruck, since it started this feels like the place where air & style belongs. It’s where it all started, the whole thing!

And you’ve had some good results in the past Air & Style, is it a special competition for yourself in that regard?

Yeah some of it’s good. Two times I have won, ’94 and ’98. But every time it is a good event, and there are always a lot of good riders.

Regarding the setup and the quarterpipe, it used to be a jump and a quarterpipe, now they need the whole in run for such a big transition. What are your thoughts on bigger transition Quarterpipes?

Well it seems like a good quarterpipe. It takes time to get used it though, but so far since I’ve tried it feels really good, one of the best pipes I’ve seen and tried.

Will we see someone go over 10 m?

It’s possible. It depends on the conditions and the wind. But if conditions are good, I think it’s for sure possible cause the crowd here in Innsbruck, they are great and that can definitely help you go big.

Top: Manuel Pietropoli. Bottom: Kim Rune Hansen. (C) TTR Photo.

We’re super stoked for what already has been a great day of Quarterpipe riding, but rest assured, Saturday night is going to be explosive. Check out the TTR Video Player for some hilarious behind-the-scenes footage as well as the whole event on www.freecaster.tv. Just maybe, we’ll see someone hit that 10m, so hold on to your hats, ‘cause the Billabong Air & Style Quarterpipe Session is going to be off the wall!