Iceland seems so far away from Canada and in a literal sense it is. But in fact travelling there is quite easy and not that expensive. With direct flights from Toronto, Halifax and Seattle most of Canada can be in the land of fire and ice for around the same price as a flight crossing a few provinces of Canada. With dreams of riding under the Northern lights and alongside volcanoes Craig Beaulieu, Vera Jansen, Matt Belzile, Alterna filmer Byron Kopman and myself boarded Iceland air flights from Seattle to the captial city of Rekjavik.

Upon arrival we met these Cool Americans.

And learned how to tie a tie. It was a pretty amazing start to 10 days in Iceland.

With our new found friends and formal attire we hopped in our Cheap Jeep and headed north to Akureyri where we would base ourselves for the trip.

Along the way we had to gas up a few times since 35 inch tires and a loaded jeep don't get the best gas mileage. Luckily gas was only $2.50 a litre so it was mellow on the pocket book.

Day 1 was a bit of a rude awakening as snow was sparse in the northern fjord we would be shooting in. Good thing we had Gandolf and his apprentice to help us cross rivers and stay positive.

A lot of hiking to snow meant long days but when this is what it looks like at 1 am that doesn't seem to matter.

One day we decided to buck up and get a lift with Arctic Heli. Small world meant that our guide was from Pemberton. Crazy. If you head to Iceland do look them up, the terrain is amazing and they run an amazing operation.

It would of been an Ironman hike to reach this place and it was good to see more snow than dirt for the first time on the trip.

We had a down day to do tourist things and a quick conversation at the gas informed us of a humpback whale feeding in the area.

We had no idea the kind of show we were in store for. For over an hour we watched a pair of whales feed in the bay and just like Seaworld they ended with a full breach.

Along the way Matt Belzile did a FS 3.

And then all 3 riders rode off into the sunset. Check out next years issues for the full feature story and keep an eye for the video segment in Alterna's next film.

The business of action sports just got more extreme today when X Games announced an expansion from three competitions to six starting in 2013. Named Global X, three new cities will be chosen the host the contest via a bidding process similar to the Olympics. Winning cities will be given the right to hold Global X for three years. The existing venues in Aspen, L.A., and Tignes, France will remain.

The open bidding means Canada could potentially see a full scale production of an X Games event for the first time, if any cities apply. In 2003 Whistler was home to the winter portion of a one-off X Games event called X Games Global Championship. The summer portion was held simultaneously in San Antonio, Texas. The new Global X Games bidding site makes a strong case for the benefits of hosting the four day event, as does this video from CNBC International.

The question, of course, is whether a future focused so heavily on competition is really the best for action sports. On one hand, it creates massive exposure for the sport and the athletes, giving them far higher earning power. And why shouldn’t action sports athletes be compensated fairly for what they do?

On the other hand, main stream exposure and the involvement of corporate sponsors run the risk of diluting the punk attitude of action sports that made them so attractive to youth. Action sports have carved a place out by refusing to conform to the norms of other sports and by celebrating individual expression and style above all else. In a spin-to-win environment will this emphasis on style still exist? And as more action sports athletes become household names, will the sports maintain their appeal or will kids move on to the next new thing?

What do you think?

Read the full story on ESPN here: http://sports.espn.go.com/action/news/story?id=6553598

See ESPN's bidding site here: http://www.bidxgames.com/

There’s only one way to find out about the B.C.'s Great Central North and that's to go and see for ourselves. We left Whistler Monday April 2 on an eight hour driving mission straight north to Prince George. I hopped in Mercedes Nicoll’s car, affectionately namend Hi-Ho, with Helen Schettini and we caravanned with Justin V.D.P., Geoff Andruik and Nate Laverty.

We met our host Aidan at Ruins Board Shop before driving for another hour east to Bear Paw Heli Skiing operation. After driving to the middle of nowhere on a dirt road we came to a beautiful log house lit with white lights and candles. The owner Kevin and his wife Amber welcomed us with warm hugs, and wine and pie by the fireplace before sending us to bed.

We woke-up to a breakfast from chef Amber and we were ready to hop into the heli for a powder day that felt more like mid-February goodness then early April. We hit up some little cliffs and pillow lines before helly-ing back to the lodge late in the day.

Helen hyped on heli-ing.

With over 1.2 million acres of the Bear Paw Heli terrain to cover in the McGregor range this place is seriously huge.

We left Bear Paw on Friday after playing with some taxidermy animals in a trailer near where the boys were staying.

We grabbed a quick lunch Nancy O’s in downtown Prince George and stocked up to spend two days at Powder King.

We didn’t know what to expect out of this place, but certainly not what we’ve been shredding the past couple of days.

To be continued when we get cell service and internet again...Dom Valle.

See the full story in volume 20 of Snowboard Canada.

Just over a week ago the Quik Canada team, including Matt Belzile, Chris Rasman, and Alex Beebe wrapped up a trip through interior B.C. Before they left Revelstoke they went bowling with Travis Rice, Nicholas Mueller, I-pod and crew who were in town filming for Art Of Flight. Unfornately, there are no pictures from said bowling because everyone was getting wasted having too much fun throwing strikes.

After leaving Revy the Quik Canada crew headed down to check out Whitewater just outside of Nelson.

After shredding Whitewater, the crew returned to the lovely little town of Ymir, where they were staying, only to have the entire population of children insist they hit their jump. Beebe with a Backflip.

Get the full story on how to do this trip yourself, and see the photos from Phil Tifo in volume 20 of Snowboard Canada magazine out next winter.

Read part one of the blog here: www.snowboardcanada.com/blogs/post/117/6-dudes-1-truck-Quiksilver-BC-pow-tour-Part-1

After three days of powder riding I can officially say that it’s possible for it to be too deep. Over two metres of snow fell over the last few days; we’ve been totally blessed by the Italian snow gods. The first day we had to use the Rudder System to ride as Shayne put it: using your back hand to steer and trying real hard to keep the nose of your board up. Facemasks are mandatory as it’s the only way not to choke on the snow as you make a turn. But it’s impossible not to blind yourself in the steep tree runs. We can’t believe the conditions. Our back legs are just aching and cramping.

Once the snow settled we were actually get places without feeling like we were chest deep in quicksand. On March 5 we topped off the day of riding steep lines near a Jesus statue and jumping sketchy cliffs with a picnic on top of the mountain for Eric Greens 30th birthday. Geoff brought wine and cheese; Eric his favorite left over pizza. Shayne built a fire in the snow and I brought a wine opener like a good Frenchy. It was one of those memorable life experiences that we all soaked in.

The birthday boy.

We finished off riding in the last bit of the sun with a nice crew of Italians that we met that day.

“What? You’re from Canada? But what are you doing here?” And again, “Don’t tell anybody about this place, okay.”

Some of us were a little foggy the next morning, but Miikka, Jonas and Shayne left for the first chair as they are going to hike the highest peak with split-boards and snowshoes before dropping in to some serious Jeremy Jones lines. 

On our second last day we found an abandoned village in the middle of the mountains, so we made our way down there to see if we could do anything exciting. Some of the buildings were from the early 1800’s and some are still in use in the summer months only and closed up for the winter.

With our days in Italy numbered we decided to celebrate the Italian way with lots and lots of good food and company. We all came together for a final supper feeling a little nostalgic and wondering what to eat. A little bit of everything seemed to be in order. Of course to wash it all down we drank Grappa: a digestive liquor that can burn a whole in your stomach. Jonas Hagstrom came out with his guitar to finish the night and ended-up exposing his hidden Swedish rock star. Who knew?

Bye, bye Italy.