Telma Särkipaju is Entering Her ATV Era

First off, congratulations on winning The Uninvited Invitational! How did it feel to stand on top of the podium at Woodward?
Thank you so much! Honestly, I still can’t believe what happened at The Uninvited 2024. This is seriously a dream come true for me and standing at the top of the podium felt absolutely unreal and very emotional.

The Uninvited Invitational is a one-of-a-kind event. What does The Uninvited mean to you?
It’s hard to describe how much The Uninvited event means to me and for all the girls out there. It is a huge thing for women’s snowboarding, and I honor Jess [Kimura], Nirvana [Ortanez], Sharalee [Hazen]and every single person behind the event. I’m so beyond thankful for all of them for making women’s and non-binary snowboarding the most fun and interesting thing to watch right now.

The event is as much a reunion and meeting place as a contest, bringing together so many women and non-binary riders, photographers, and members of the industry to one place. What has it been like attending the past two years and getting to meet and ride with everyone?
One of the most heartwarming parts of the event is the people in it. It makes it so much more special and motivating seeing all the girls push and support each other to the next level. In the end, snowboarding is also a team sport in a way and I love that

What did you do after the contest? Did you stick around in SLC for a few days or head back home? You had been in North America for a while by then, right?
I went back home to school and enjoy the last couple of weeks of spring riding in Finland.

Speaking of your travels—you rode in Research and Development just before The Uninvited Invitational. How did you get involved in that event? Am I correct in thinking that was your first proper backcountry experience?
Yes, Research and Development was indeed my first time riding proper backcountry and powder. I got invited by Burton, which I couldn’t be more grateful for. It was a great experience!

How was the week riding with all the girls at Whitewater?
Getting to ride with such different type of riders was really inspiring because I feel like I learned a lot. When you ride with people you don’t usually get to ride with, you start to see things and lines differently, which develops you as a rider.

The R&D crew included Hana Beaman, Leanne Pelosi, MFR, and of course Robin Van Gyn, who created the event, and more backcountry veterans. That sort of opportunity, to collaborate with and learn from one another, has been fairly rare in the past. What was that like?
Wow, the badass energy Robin, Hana, Leanne, and Marie have is something to look up to. Big respect for Robin for creating this platform and event that was missing before. Events like this are really important for getting opportunities to get introduced to backcountry riding and for people such as big mountain riders who might be hiding in the shallows to be seen.

How was the contest day after spending the week riding with everyone? (And you won Best Trick, congrats!)
The contest day was interesting and very different from every contest I’ve experienced before. We obviously didn’t get to ride the venue until the contest day and I dropped first, so I pretty much just had to trust my intuition and go for the line I had scoped without expecting anything. Luckily it worked out and it was fun, even though the snow conditions were not what we hoped for. Thank you, had fun throwing down backflips!! :)

Who inspires you and your riding?
There’s so many talented riders who inspire me. Couple that comes to mind immediately are Jill Perkins, Maria Thomsen, Ylfa Runarsdóttir, Henna Ikola, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott, Grace Warner, and Rene Rinnekangas. And of course I look up to the legend, Jess Kimura. <3

What’s your favorite video?
My favorite snowboarding movie is Hot Coco.

Ruka is your home resort, yes? That resort is a hub for talented snowboarders. What makes it special, do you think?
At the moment, Ruka is my home resort. I think the secret for all the talent here is the super-fast laps, well-built park, and the Finnish attitude and mindset for just trying to have as much fun as possible.

How do you feel that coming up and riding in Finland has shaped you as a snowboarder?
Not being able to ride big mountains when growing up I had to learn to ride not always the best parks nor slopes, so I think that made me have a nice board control overall and makes me appreciate the time I spend on the mountains more. Of course, mostly riding rails has made me love rail riding since I started boarding.

Over the past two seasons, you have ridden in Research & Development, The Uninvited Invitational, Laax Open—a wide variety of terrain and contests. What’s your approach to riding such a variety of terrain, from slopestyle to backcountry to rail jams?
I guess I’ve just always wanted to try every aspect of snowboarding and be as versatile a rider as possible. I don’t want to pick just one thing to approach when I can do it all—at least now while I’m still growing and constantly learning.

And of course you filmed for Remarkable last season, getting the ender, too. How was filming in the streets—do you want to do more of that?
I really love filming street and definitely want to do it more in the future. I like how challenging it can be and the creativity in it.

Are all of these different sorts of snowboarding equally enjoyable or do you favor certain things?
I think there’s a time and place for every type of riding but right now I’m most hyped on just lapping rails or filming street.

What is your mindset when filming compared to competing?
There’s for sure similarities in my mindset when filming compared to competing. In both, I’m usually very focused on what I want to achieve.

What has been your favorite place you have snowboarded outside of your home resort?
My favorite place snowboarding outside my home resort is probably Woodward Park City, for now.

Did you get any filming in as well?
I did film a little bit for the new movie with United Chaos but I wish I had more time to film. Stay tuned for that!!

Also, you have a couple of pups, right? What kind of dogs do you have and what are their names?
This is my favorite topic to talk about, my dogs!! So my family has two, white, fluffy Samoyeds. Older one just turned three and he’s named after the ski lift company Doppelmayr. His name is Herr Doppelmayr but we call him Doppel. The younger one, Alpo, turned one in December. He’s named after the snowmaking system, TechnoAlpin.

Finally, what is next for this summer?
My plans for the summer are still a bit open, but I will go jump to the airbag in Banger Park and focus on physical training and getting stronger. I might go boarding in Australia or New Zealand, but right now I will take a tiny break from snowboarding.