Name: Snowboarding in the Arctic Circle - Riksgransen Banked Slalom
Uploaded: 2025-12-20T02:40:26.000Z
Duration: 11 min 37 s
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It's the end of May, but I'm still snowboarding.

Adverbs of degree

I've just taken the 17 hour night train from the capital of Sweden, Stockholm, right up here into the Arctic Circle to a little resort called Riks Granson.

Well, the focal point of this trip was to ride the legendary Rick Scranson banked slalom.

But honestly, that was just the excuse to plan this trip.

And I'm releasing this video now, before this winter season kicks off as your psa.

It's not just about chasing perfect snow.

It's about snowboarding with mates, exploring new places and reminding yourself why you fell in love with snowboarding.

And for me, this trip brought the fun back into snowboarding because it isn't just the physical act of sliding sideways down the moun, it's the adventure that comes along with it.

The trains, the trips, the new terrain and all the stories that come along with that.

And taking a sleeper train right up into the Arctic Circle, well, that just seemed to tick all those boxes.

The journey to Richter Cranston by rail takes about 18 hours.

We shared a four person bunk room, no luxury.

But if you think about this, if you had that much space and a full flatbed on an 18 hour flight, you, well, you'd be laughing.

Sampling the local schnapps definitely helped with the sleep.

And when morning dawned, we watched the landscape change.

Forest gave way to tundra and the daylight stretched on and on.

By the time we pulled into the tiny station of Riksgranson, we were waking up to a world still coated in snow, despite it being very much the end of the season.

At most other ski resorts situated well above the Arctic Circle, this resort is one of the northernmost in the world.

The snow covered mountains, the stillness of the frozen lakes, you see in the background the simple resort village.

And it felt completely different to any landscape I'd seen before.

Weather that evening was, well, let's say a little bit challenging.

But when you're this far north at this time of year, you have a secret weapon.

So even when the skies were gray, we still laced up and headed out.

I cobbled together some seriously dubious touring gear and we climbed one of the small hills to the resort just to check out the snow, soak in the remote vibe and get Ready for the banked slalom qualifier the next day.

You have the long power, the long power, the long pole for power, the short one for agility.

Combined with the with the touring blades, the maximum off piece.

The Riksrans and bank slalom is pretty iconic.

It started in 2013 with around 60 snowboarders concept.

No jumps, no rails, no big airs, which if like me, you're getting a bit older, probably sounds right up your street.

It's just you, your board and a banked course with 22 turns to practice the art of pure turning.

Over the years it's grown into a full on end of season party in the Arctic with hundreds of riders competing each year.

The course sits under the main chairlift of the resort.

Spectators get a front row view of every turn, cheering you from above as you ride down.

It's a melting pot of snowboarders of all generations, old legends, young shredders, first timers, families.

And for me, it felt more like a celebration of snowboarding than a cutthroat race.

Unfortunately for me, the conditions for my run weren't ideal.

Visibility was low and you know, I could throw out some more excuses, but

Luckily, the next day the weather improved for the remaining age brackets and the finals, which needless to say, I didn't make.

And the day after and the following days, we were able to get back out there and properly ride the course.

And honestly, a well built bank slalom course is one of the most fun things you can ride.

The berms, the transitions, the rhythm, it's so much more focused than just choosing where to turn as you normally would on a groomed run.

And it forces you to hold your line in this roller coaster like single track course.

These courses require serious work to build and I know they can be pretty rare.

But by signing up to one of these events, you're not only going to have an epic day, but

you're going to be supporting and growing the scene.

Riders of all ages and all abilities welcomed, and that's really how things should be.

Now this trip was also my first outing with this awesome little camera that fits right in my pocket when I'm riding the Insta360X5.

Now I know I teased the Insta360X4 Air in my previous video and I'll link to that in the description below if you haven't seen that.

But these clips were shot with the top end highest quality x5 and I particularly love this follow cam shot of me riding through the berms.

The snow at the side was pretty bumpy and icy and I had my mate Dave skiing through it and to be honest he wasn't having the best time, but

so long as he just keeps that pole held out.

The follow cam shot turns out to be nice and smooth and I simply use the auto tracking feature in the app afterwards to keep me centered in the middle of the frame and throughout the shot.

Now insta360 do sponsor this channel, but

I've been using their cameras for years now and they are honestly just going from strength to strength.

So if you're interested in buying one, make sure you use my code in the description down below.

That will get you some sort of discount or free gift depending on which camera you go for.

And it also gives me a nice little kickback.

At this time of the year in Ricksgransen it is full on spring conditions and by that I mean that things are going to get pretty icy overnight as the sun drops lower in the sky, but

then the next day as it gets higher, becomes more intense and powerful, it's really going to soften things up and you get those thick, porridgey, slushy conditions that can be really fun to ride.

The weather here is quite unpredictable, especially given the close proximity to the sea, meaning storms can quickly roll in and out with little to no warning.

Now this did lead to some full on whiteout days, but

it also meant we got some fresh snow during the trip.

I'm not saying it was powder, but I'll always take a little top up of snow.

One day that was a thin layer on a very icy crust, and

another day we had lots of thick, heavy, wet snow that you really had to plow through.

Take whatever you've got and have fun with it rather than just expecting perfect conditions because you booked and paid for a holiday.

So the resort itself, well it's pretty small.

There's just two chairlifts and a handful of T bars and actually one of the T bars was down during our stay, so a ski doo shuttle called us up in the morning and this was honestly one of the most fun parts of the day for sure and something you're not going to get in many of the ultra polished ski resorts you have around the world.

And then once you're up on the mountain you've got this pretty big area to cover despite there not being that many chairlifts.

And the whole place is a playground of side hits, bumps and berms, and

riders are going to cut shapes into the windlips that form here.

And it was actually almost 30 years ago, back in 1996, that Ingmar Backman got that iconic photo of one of the most timeless methods ever, right here in Rikskransan.

Well, firstly, it really just reminded me of why I started snowboarding in the first place and why I fell in love with this stupid thing we do where we slide down the mountain on a plank of wood.

And yes, on this channel, I normally lean into the more technical side of things.

The how to carve, how to turn, what movements to make.

But we do all of that just so we can better experience the simple joy of snowboarding.

And I think that's something that we mustn't forget.

I've had a really good time digging through this footage and putting this video together for you, and

I hope it gets you fired up for this upcoming season.

And more than that, I hope it really inspires you to go on your own adventures, however big or small.

And if you've got a story, a trip past future, drop it in the comments down below.

And I'd really like to hear where you're going and what you're planning or perhaps what you've already done.

Let's get out there and inspire each other to ride and just enjoy ourselves and have these epic adventures that snowboarding can allow us to achieve.

So thank you for watching and if you like this video, don't forget to, like, subscribe.

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Snowboarding in the Arctic Circle - Riksgransen Banked Slalom

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