2010: Like many Canadian shredders from the east coast, Annie Boulanger headed west to British Columbia over ten years ago. And it has paid off. Annie’s video segment in 2009’s Neverland was amazing—it pointed in the progressive direction that women’s riding is headed: consequential freestyle/freeride action in the backcountry. Her riding made a statement and showed that through her own self-motivation, Annie is leading the way. For her efforts, she won the recognition and admiration of the entire world of snowboarding when she won Rider Of The Year and Video Part Of The Year by TransWorld Snowboarding Magazine and was voted 2010 Woman Rider Of The Year by Snowboarder Mag. But these accolades aside, Annie has been pushing herself for a decade as a pro rider and has continued to evolve, not because she seeks recognition, but because she is a self-proclaimed “soul-shredder” who, like the rest of us, “loves powder.” She has been filming with Absinthe for four years now, the first two, as the sole female in heavy, all-dude crews. Yes, Annie can hang. Even facing a tough snow season in Whistler in 2010, during the filming of NowHere, Annie was undeterred, she just keeps going until she finds what she’s looking for.