In 1996, one Method changed what was considered possible on a snowboard. Moving forward from that moment, the sky was the limit. Ingemar Backman’s groundbreaking Method went down in a place called Riksgränsen and would prove to be an inspiration to generations of snowboarders.

Riksgränsen is the Scandinavian border between Norway and Sweden. Under a midnight sun, Smith team riders Scott Stevens, Alek Østreng, Austin Smith, Louif Pardis, Elias Elhardt and Len Jorgensen gathered there in May of 2016 to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Ingmar’s legendary Method. Multiple generations of snowboarders pushed the levels of progression with each other, keeping the stoke level high. Alek’s timeless Methods fueled Scott’s inventive Tail Blocks and so on down the line. After leaving Riks, the crew seized the opportunity to chase waves on the Norwegian coast and skate the city of Oslo. Austin, stoked to be in the land of a never setting sun, made a midnight expedition across the Fjord (via a commandeered stand up paddle board) to hike and ride a chute he’d had his eye on. The whole trip was snowboarding distilled. Scott reflected, “It was like being back in ’96.” smithoptics.com