FFS Pod with Krister Kopala
Don’t be fooled by the babyface smile, Krister Kopala is an assassin!
Ok so no he’s not an actual assassin, like shooting people and stuff, but Krister is reshaping the boundaries of what’s possible on a splitboard. He’s constantly pushing himself (both physically and mentally), and his equipment, yet he’s doing it all with a smile on his face, wider than most of the couloirs (often first descents) he’s taking at breakneck speed in his home mountains outside of Tromso.
The Backdrop Crew had the pleasure of spending a couple of days chilling and riding with Krister, at the excellent Arctic Splitboard Festival, a joint venture of Up Guides and Krister.
“I think the community is, maybe not is, but has been afraid of admitting to failure...We have to admit to things we do wrong, as that’s when we learn.”
The first thing you notice about Krister is his size, he’s big, and I mean he’s very tall. If you put an axe in his hand, dressed him in elk skin, and put a horned helmet on his head he’d scare the shit out of anyone. But his welcoming laugh, easy going nature, and genuine interest in what you’re up to soon puts you at ease.
He doesn’t take himself too seriously, and is always joking, but scratch a little deeper and you find a unashamedly vulnerable man. There’s a confidence in his abilities, but he’s humbled by a great respect of the mountains. For every seemingly crazy instagram line he’s posted, there has been multiple cancelled attempts, knowing when to back off is possibly his greatest skill, that’s not to say he hasn’t had close shaves, but they’ve not been simply shrugged off, they’ve been dug into obsessively so as to understand and most importantly to learn from them.
Krister will be at this seasons Arctic Splitfest, just outside of Alta on the 3-6th April inclusive. There will be workshops, kit try-outs, tours with Krister, yoga, films, and great food/company, we had a real blast last season.
