Lofoten Islands, Norway

The Lofoten Archipelago extends into the Norwegian Sea on the northwestern face of Norway within the Arctic Circle. It most likely doesn't need to be said, but this is not a snowboarding Mecca. This small detail was of no hindrance as Griffin Seibert, Jerm, Bryan Fox, and Bob Plumb joined Team Manager Knut Eliassen and a host of riders from the Nitro Euro team for a multi-week adventure exploring this unique destination.

The three-week escape in April and May took advantage of the previous winter's remaining snowpack as well as the extended daylight of spring that one encounters in the Arctic Circle. The results were two-fold; first, long days and extended periods of "sunset"lighting made for a majestic canvas and secondly and obvious lack of snowboarding culture meant both a blank slate and a back to basics mentality for the crew. When there are no streets, there are assuredly no street spots; however, anything is fodder for film if you're imagination is agile enough. Boats and docks became jibs and storage tanks turn into quarter pipes as "downtime" in the small fishing villages that dot the coast was actually anything but. Above the coast split board expeditions yielded majestic turns from peaks to sea. There is something magical about riding snowboards within view of the ocean. The sounds of your turns are echoed by the rhythmic crashing of the waves below fully joining you to the total moment of everything that surrounds you. Or perhaps it is the connection between the different states of water, a nod to the processes of our natural world that enable us to experience it in a multitude of ways.

It was here, on the peaks, during one of a myriad moments, that Bob Plumb captured our cover image of Griffin Seibert. Far above the sea, a simple turn, the connection of purpose and intent. A moment of snowboarding at its most authentic, the very first goal for everyone that has ever strapped in; merely making a turn. That goal manifested a million times by riders on small mid-western hills, snow-covered city parks in Europe, high above the sea in one of snowboarding's final frontiers Lofoten, Norway, and now here on the cover of our humble publication as a reminder to you where we all began and where the journey has the potential to take us.

Cold water surfing is exactly that, cold. Your hands go from cold to stinging frozen to numb. Then the cycle repeats itself once you get out of the water.

Bryan Fox

Football fields, fish racks and mountains. Not a bad place to play a little footy!

Dried salty fish is huge in Lofoten. It's an acquired taste.

Lofoten is a do anything type of place so Knut Eliassen decided to go with the hand plant.

One neighbor let us jib his boat on his dock and let me shoot this photo from his back patio. You have to love the Norwegians. In the States this would never happen.

I can't think of many places where you wake up on the beach and hike a couloir next to the camp spot. Nice views with Dominik Wagner.

Intro by Daniel Cochrane

Photos by Bob Plumb