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Photo Editor Nick Hamilton and photographer Jeff Curtes tried to lay some plans to produce a Terje Haakonsen cover somewhere within this volume of mags. The thing is, Haakonsen is the one who holds the cards in this game. During a trip to New Zealand in the summer, Haakon went all in and came home with this cover shot. Jeff Curtes explains how it came about: “Terje spotted this mountain with four distinct chutes—that had been unridden—and wanted to get a drop-off. I immediately reacted, knowing that the shit was about to go down. It was already after 4:00 p.m., and although the light was just getting really incredible, it was a panic in that it was nearing the time that the heli was due home and fuel became a concern.



“The rest is a blur. The temps were freezing and I couldn’t feel my hands. The vertigo was setting in big time. I think it was due to the fact that I never could truly relax because I didn’t trust my seatbelt (and shot the entire session one-handed, keeping a firm grip on the seat with my left hand.) I almost puked. The noise—definitely the hardest part of shooting from a moving heli—makes it impossible to tell if your camera is firing, or if you’re blowing it all. All my problems and obstacles to overcome were insignificant compared to what was happening on the snow—fast and furious. No one telling anyone where to ride or what trick to do—Terje rides and we shoot. It’s that simple. He shredded the mountain in exactly the style that makes him the legend he is—nonstop hot laps on the soon-to-be-named 4 Tracks. He was ripping the epic conditions and jumping into the heli for each bump with a shit-eating grin on his face.”

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