Akureyri, Northern Iceland is the next biggest place outside of Reykjavik and was the chosen location for the guys and girls from Nikita to hit up for the FW10/11 outerwear collection photoshoot which took place in March 2010. Hlíðarfjall ski resort was invaded by team shredders Cecilia Larsen (Sweden), Thea Stenshagen (Norway), Ana Rumiha (Croatia), Julia Baumgartner (Austria), Jordie Karlinski (USA) and Colleen Quigley (USA). The talented Mr. Daniel Blom assisted by Jason Horton were both there to capture the action.
Julia Baumgartner
Julia BaumgartnerHighlights were for sure that we had Ingo and Geiri checking everything for us. They even built the in-runs and kickers for and with us! Also a highlight was the good food we had every day. We only had one day of sunny weather in 10 days which was a little pity.
Then another “bad highlight” was Ana’s injury! Fuck!!!
I also had a slam with the snow making machines; it has always a wish of mine to jump over one – nothing really bad happened but my elbow hurt. The week when I got back home it dislocated by cleaning the toilets!!! Zzz… Haha…
Another highlight was that Ana and me flew there when the volcano erupted. So we had to wait for 10 hours in Frankfurt, but we saw Roberto Blanco there!!! Juhuu! He’s a German (bad style) musician! And Promi! Hehe… I filmed him – guess you saw him.
Then there was the highlight, that we all were so good to each other. There was never any competition between us, everybody knew what he can do at the spots we hit up and it was kind of funny that we all did different tricks. Perfect for everybody!!!
Jordie Karlinski
Going on the action shoot trip was such a memorable experience. Just being in Iceland and knowing you’re going to this foreign country to be with friends and ride and shoot is amazing. Especially since the first volcano erupted the night before I flew out too! It’s always fun hanging out with the Nikita crew. Geiri, Daniel and the girls are a lot of fun to be around. Everyone is so funny and when we ride there’s a lot of encouragement and positive attitudes.
It was also awesome meeting new people, Ana Rumiha of course, and Ingo! Poor Ana ended up tearing her knee which was a bummer. She was killing it on all features. Ingo was such a big help with everything from digging to making food for us.
Although the weather was terrible 98% of the time, we all managed to keep smiles on our faces and make the shoot work. We definitely had to put our thinking caps on, but I think it all worked out really well in the end.
I love everything about Iceland. The people, the culture and food and the chocolate!! Can never have enough Icelandic chocolate. I had never been up north to Akureyri before this trip. So I enjoyed driving up there and seeing much more of Iceland than I previously had. As always though, Reykjavik and the Nikita Store are so amazing! I can walk up and down the Reykjavik streets 100 times before getting sick of the city. We had the pleasure of going to Heida’s house to eat dinner and hang out with her and Frosti (Heida’s son). She had a really cool place!
The outerwear every year keeps on getting so much cooler and better. The colors, patterns and styles are so fun for winter. The clothes and sweaters definitely made standing in the wind and snow until 2am some mornings somewhat enjoyable. While we were shooting, one of the most memorable days was the day the sun came out for us to hike up and hit the wall ride. The hike wasn’t easy, but the day was worth it. The snow was incredible and I tried my first bigger cliff. I think everyone was stoked on that day and the ride down to the car. Best powder run of my season for sure! I’m really excited for winter and hoping for a great season.
Ana Rumiha
It was my first Nikita photoshoot and, as it was in Iceland, I was very excited about it. I wasn’t really expecting volcanic eruption right before my flight but avoiding volcanic dust is an Icelandic pilot’s specialty.
After a week spent with the team I was reminded how fast snowboarding makes friends. Fun, good energy, care and friendship we shared connected us right away, although most of us didn’t know each other before. It has been snowing the whole week of the shoot, except one day, when the clouds cleared and I got introduced to Iceland at its best. Perfect powder runs, views of the fjord and happy Icelandic people proud of their land. I would be too.
Fun thing for us ladies was that we got one whole room full of new outerwear and we could change it every day. I was super happy with the collection because the Dimensional Jacket is really long and it fits me perfectly since I’m a bit taller and always have problems with short jackets.
On the first day Geiri took us to the rail we were supposed to shoot that night and I was ready to start working on it but he and our guide Ingo just asked us how we wanted it set up. I thought they were joking. Nobody ever prepared a street rail for me while I was chilling on a couch in a warm room. They did, and they made it so nice I was hitting it till late at night. It was a perfect rail and I obviously wasn’t tired from digging. I wouldn’t mind riding street like that any day.
We went up the mountain where the wall was waiting for us. Again it was all set up so we could just have a session and not worry about getting our hands too rough. Every time I turned my head around another trick was down: rock’n’rolls, laybacks, disasters, handplants. We’d probably stay there for hours if it wasn’t getting dark and had to leave. I was stoked with the wall photos we got but the one I liked the most was Julia’s method over the cliff; she easily climbed and dropped it at the beginning of the day, while I was still tying my boots and hiding chocolate in the pockets. It was a crazy week for me, full of ups and one big down, because I got hurt, but laughter heals everything and while I’m with my Nikita family I’m always laughing.
Thea Stenshagen
My first time in Iceland and most likely not the last. I didn’t know what to believe when I heard about the eruption the same day as I was supposed to depart. Had to wait a few hours extra, but Cecilia (Larsen) and I just bought a deck of cards and a bottle of red wine. So that worked out fine.
Was fun to see the Nikita Store in Reykjavik, super nice, this was also where we spent the first night. Next day we met ‘Super Ingo’ who took us by car up to the north. Saw a lot of Iceland’s amazing landscape and a few Icelandic horses.
We were a bit unlucky with the weather, but we had one sunny day with crazy powder; maybe the best of the season. We got some pictures and had a great time. I love the Nikita crew, and can’t wait for the next trip. The outerwear was great and luckily I got home before the second super big eruption.
