Everyone likes getting a good photo, and a true banger can be the one of the highlights of a pro snowboarder’s career. We asked some of our favourite riders to pick out their all-time best picture. Jamie Nicholls has had more than a few top photos over the years, but this is his #1:
“This picture was taken on a Nike Snowboarding trip to Iceland in December 2011 by Cyril Mueller. We were driving around Reykavik, scoping spots when we came across this insane 12-kink rail. We’d heard that Gulli Gudmundsson and the Helgasons had ridden it not so long before we found it.
“I took me a while – we even had to get the lights and generators out – but I was not giving up.”
As soon as I saw it I jumped out of the van and went to take a look. The weather wasn’t great, but I decided to give it a shot anyways. After lots of tries, with the wind blowing me all over, we decided to call it a day and wait for the conditions to improve.
A few days later we came back, and got stuck in once again. This time the weather was on our side – everything was set out perfectly, and I started to give it another shot. A whole school came out to watch me while I was hitting the rail, which gave me a huge confidence boost. When it got dark all the kids went home, leaving just the photographer, filmer, the rest of the gang and me still trying to get to the end of this long ass-rail. I took me a while – we even had to get the lights and generators out – but I was not giving up.
“After about 50 tries I finally made it to the end and was super stoked (which you could imagine after two days of trying)”
After about 50 tries I finally made it to the end and was super stoked (which you could imagine after two days of trying). It was a good way to end the trip before heading home for Christmas, and I was happy to walk away with the shot.
Even now this remains one of the most fun trips I have been on. It was my first rail trip and I learnt a lot; the amount of effort involved in getting a shot like this one is something I’d never imagined before. It was so much fun, and when I look at this shot it reminds me why I got into snowboarding in the first place.”
