In 2009, at just 19, Halldor Helgason stepped out of the shadows of Iceland and into the limelight of snowboarding.
He literally wasn’t on anyone’s radar until he started winning everything and he earned an X Games invite in his first season as a pro. In the Big Air contest, he landed a double-cork frontside 1080 and a double-cork backside 1260 on the first two hits. This earned him back-to-back perfect scores and the gold medal. He also finished eighth in X Games slopestyle and finished the 2009-10 Winter Dew Tour season in ninth place overall.
Helgason’s skill on the rails, his fluidity and his trick selection are the perfect complement to his ability to go big. He earned the Best Trick award at Winter Dew Tour for his double inverted frontside 1080 at Breckenridge. He was named both Jibber of the Year and Rookie of the Year by Snowboarder Magazine and he also earned the Transworld Snowboarding Rookie of the Year title. He became the first rider ever to win the award from both publications.
