Two weeks ago a Norwegian friend of mine, Remi, called me up and wondered if wanted to come join in an invitational competition where the goal was to make the best snowkite film possible in 4 days. Also joining was Marianna Voznessenskaja, Claes Lundin, Bjørn Kaupang, Jan Schiegnitz, Oliver Palmers, Erika Lindberg, Remi Meum, Marek Murphy, Marlin Rapp and Sam Medysky.

Riders card – At the premiere of the movies that were made during the week every rider at the big race, Ragnarok could give their vote for the best movie

We were split into 3 teams and got each our videographer to film and edit the whole thing. Pretty awesome concept for a competition not having to stress with short heats and just being able to ride around the mountain plateau all week having fun! Enjoy the video

Rems Invitational - Team #1

Even though my team didn’t win the vote, we had so much fun together and got a lot of new friends from all around the globe.

After the film competition, it was time for the Red Bull Ragnarok; an epic  race where 250 kiters start at the same time, racing to finish a staggering 50 km! As race isn’t really my thing, I took things easy and made sure to bring an orange and chocolate Halfway through I encountered some TV guys on a snowmobile and did some jumps for the cameras before carrying on. Then, I ate some chocolate and took a piss before I headed back towards the finish line up in the beautiful Norwegian mountains. In the end I finished 16th but most importantly; I had a lot of fun! I highly recommend everyone to come next year!

Hectic start – 250 kiters starting at the same time leaves small room (literally) for errors, so a good start was crucial!

This weekend the Norwegian Championship in Snowkiting went down in the remote mountais of Røros, Norway. As some of you might have noticed it’s been the warmest winter in over a hundred years, and vast snowy plains and mountain plateaus all over Norway have been transformed into a mixture of mud and heather in a matter of weeks. Fortunately Røros still had some left, but rotten snow and slush all over the competition area made landing tricks very difficult. If you landed a bit too hard, your board would sink in half a meter sending you face first into the snow.

Wet – As the weather got warmer during the day, the snow started to melt in the competition area. BRRR!!!

First of for the competition was Freestyle Men, Snowboard. After the qualifiers, quarter and semi finals, I ended up riding the finals against my brother Sigurd, Marius Coucheron and Martin Hovdal. All very skilled snowkiters. Unfortunately, the conditions were so lousy during the finals with low wind and way to much water in the competition area, so the judges decided to redo the final heat the next morning in a new spot where there were still some dry snow left. For the riders who at this time all looked like drowned cats this was very welcome news, and we could go back to the cabin, take a warm shower and drink some cold beer (preferably at the same time )  

Andreas Toverud, KGB

The day after the wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped below 0 so everything was looking good for the competition, despite the gloomy looking lake of slush by the landing of the slider. The day started of with the final heat of freestyle men, snowboard. All of us did our best and at the end of the heat, none of us were sure who won. To find out we had to wait until the banquet later that day.

Now the time was up for the women to ride and then freestyle ski men. Exhausted from our heat, my brother and I caught our breath watching while getting ready for the next big thing; race and kite cross on snowboard. New of this year was a much shorter circuit at only 1,5km. This was a change all the riders definitely enjoyed since race previous years had been so exhausting one could  barely walk afterwards. This was a lot more action and fun! After 4 rounds with separate starts it was clear that my brother had the best overall score with 3 victories and one 5th place. I ended up third with two second places, one third and one forth after Marius Coucheron who came second.

Taking a break – After riding the freestyle finals my brother and I took a break watching the other heats

Freeride – In between the heats and competitions there was some time to play around. Even though the sky was cloudy the sun shone through once in a while and gave some truly spectacular lighting

Sigurd Toverud – Shifty raley to blind

Tight start – Crashes common when the whistle blows and everyone is fighting for good starting position. A good start is crucial if you want to win!

When the race finished it was time for kitecross. Definitely the most fun type of racing! The kitecross race circuit was about 300 meters long, there was checkpoints and obstacles along the way and 4 people compete in each heat. I got “sabotaged” by Marius Coucheroun in the semi finals when he smacked his kite into mine before he rode off and my kite laid twisted and impossible to relaunch. My brother won the semi finals and went straight on to win the finals as well, almost half a lap in front of Marius and Martin Hovdal which came 2nd and 3rd.

After a long and exhausting day we had just enough time to shower and get dressed before we had to leave for the banquet and price giving ceremony. I want to direct a big thank you to Trondheim Kiteclub for a great competition!

Price giving – Campagne and medals is mandatory.. And the checks for price money are valid in the bar! Recipe for a good night !

Here is the official ranking for the Norwegian Snowkite Championship 2012

Freestyle, Men, Snowboard:

1. Andreas Toverud

2. Sigurd Toverud

3. Marius Coucheron

Race, Freestyle, Men:

1. Sigurd Toverud

2. Marius Coucheron

3. Andreas Toverud

Kitecross, Freestyle, Men:

1. Sigurd Toverud

2. Marius Coucheron

3. Martin Hovdal

Best Trick: Andreas Toverud

More Norwegian Champions

Freestyle, Snowboard, Women:       Kristin Lippe
Freestyle, Ski, Men:                            Thomas Lone
Race, Snowboard, Women:             Vera Leivsdottir
Race, Ski, Men:                                  Thomas Lone
Race, Ski, Women:                           Camilla Ringvold
Kitecross, Ski, Men:                         Lars.L'Abee-Lund
Kitecross, Ski, Women:                   Kristin Lippe

Here is a video from the first snowboard session of the year in Bodø

The winter season this year came late.. VERY late! I currently live in Bodø, Norway; North of the Polar Circle, and outside my window it's still +5 degrees and raining. Needless to say there hasn't been much snowkiting going on this year. On top of that, I managed to sprain my nkle just a few weeks before Christmas so things wasn't looking too bright for the competition

Regardless, my brother Sigurd, my girlfriend Marte and myself jumped on a plane to France to compete. When we got there Saturday night, the stars were shining from a clear sky and everything was looking perfect for the day after. The competition didn't start until Monday, so we used the Sunday to get some much needed practice to get the tricks from last year to stick. My brother and I also took turns taking pictures and kiting, and we got some pretty cool shots!

Training day – Perfect conditions for training the day before the competition. To bad this was the first day of the season :p

The next day started with single elimination and I managed to get to the quarter finals. Even though the wind was a bit low it was possible to do some cool tricks from the kicker building up speed down the hill. My brother Sigurd did an awesome first heat but got unlucky on a huge s-bend from the kicker with the kite glued to the ground and broke his ankle. Even so, he finished his heat and won but wasn't able to do his next heat.

Amazing scenery – All  around us there was beautiful mountains covered in snow perfect for snowkiting

My quarter finals was against Marek Zack; the guy who beat me last year. I was on my new Hadlow ID 12m and Marek was on his 15m Ozone, and that gave me a disadvantage as the wind was very low. Just after the heat started Marek got unlucky and lost his kite on a flat 3 on the kicker. Immediately I was sure I had won since this was reason for disqualification. But the race master chose to restart since the heat had just started, and this time I weren't so lucky. After 7 minutes of struggling for power to do tricks, Marek drew the longest straw and advanced to the next round. I was very disappointed but luckily there was the double elimination the day after which gave me a fighting chance even though I could end up 9th if I lost my first heat. After he single elimination Remi was first, Chasta was second and Marek was third.

Double elimination – In double elimination the competition starts at the bottom and the lowest ranked rider competes against the person above on the ranking list, and the winner advances.

But the day after things didn't go as planned. Already in the second heat I lost my kite, but due to the incident with Marek the day before
the guy I was riding against, Guyot, agreed to rerun the heat. This time I won and we continued the doubles the day after. Now things were finally starting to go my way! I managed to ride my way all the top winning 7 heats in a row beating both Marek and Chasta:D In the finals I had to win two heats against Remi Meum to steal the first position, but now I was starting to get tired from all the heats. The wind picked and things were looking perfect for the heat! We both managed to land a lot of cool tricks (backmobes, frontmobes, KGBs, flat 3s, 5s ++) and were neck and neck in the first heat but just as the heat was about to end I went for a huge kiteloop s-mobe and landed way to hard. Once away I felt something break and couldn't put any weight on my left foot, which meant it was over for this year. Regardless, I was super happy how things went considering how it started out and it felt great to finally be on the podium. Maybe next year ;)

World Snowkite Masters 2012 – riders picture

Price giving