while we're talking snow..

While i'm in a snow coloured mood, one of my other favorite snowboarders is Nicolas Mueller. Thats obviously not my picture by the way.

He's often described as a snowboarder's snowboarder. Prodigiously naturally talented, he has a fluid style that many pro's would kill for and the technical freestyle skills to go with it. What really makes him special though is the way that he reads the mountain, putting big technical spins in the middle of lines, creatively using natural features and mixing it with simple tricks like powder butters, working with the natural terrain in a way that no one else seems to be able to do. His snowboarding always looks smooth and spontaneous, making the difficult look easy and making it all look fun, something that is lacking more and more often in the increasingly big budget "sport" that is modern snowboarding.

His snowboarding is true freeriding and provides a direct link back to it's surfing roots. If you have ten minutes to kill, check out some of nico's footage from the latest absinthe movie here. If you are in any doubt that snowboarding came from surfers originally or that riding powder is a HELL of a lot of fun, the first couple of turns make it certain

If you still have more time, have a look at Nico at home in Laax and see the regard his peers hold him in!