Here is Terje Haakonsen’s winning halfpipe run from the 1992 US Open at Stratton VT. This stuff was pretty extreme for the beginning of snowboarding. He even looks extreme-to-the-max with the backwards hat (that falls off on the hip into the pipe) and cyclist sunglasses. It’s amazing to see what snowboarding has become since 1992. Below is Shaun White’s perfect run at the 2012 Winter X-Games (if you haven’t already seen it then you live under a rock).
The most notable improvement from 1992 is probably the pipe itself. the 1992 pipe looks like it was dug by hand and is disproportionately wide. Otherwise, I guess Shaun White’s outfit is kina similar to Terje’s in 1992, so maybe that part of the sport is coming full circle.
It’s pretty fun to compare videos like this in every extreme sport.
