2010: Since he stormed onto the burgeoning halfpipe contest scene of the early 1990s as a young teen, Norway’s Terje Håkonsen has continued to push the entire sport of snowboarding forward. Through his catlike physical abilities, his unsurpassed dominance, and his visionary foresight, he has cemented his place among snowboarding’s true legends as perhaps the most gifted and influential rider of all time. Take just the numbers, through the 90s he racked up three world halfpipe titles, five European pipe titles, three U.S. Open pipe titles and has also won the Legendary Baker Banked Slalom six times. At the height of his domination in halfpipe, Håkonsen boycotted snowboarding’s Olympic debut in Japan in 1998, where he was the clear favorite. This one decision redefined his influence. Staying true to snowboarding was more important than Olympic acceptance and so began his quest as a guardian of pure snowboarding, run by the riders. In 2000, he created the Arctic Challenge, which in turn grew into the TTR World Tour, today’s foremost competition series. In 2007, Terje set a world record for the highest air on a quarterpipe—nearly 10 meters out—which reinforced his position as an unstoppable force and raised a debate about the age at which a pro rider has peaked. Simply put, without Håkonsen, snowboarding just would not be what it is today. Absinthe is always glad to have Terje out in the mountains with our crews.