Scroll Call: An End of Season Chat With Ylfa Rúnarsdóttir
Meet Ylfa Rúnarsdóttir—the creative spark and fearless presence of Burton’s team.
Hailing from Iceland and based in Sweden, Ylfa’s approach to snowboarding transcends the mountains: it’s a blend of visionary riding, infectious energy, and artistic expression that reflects her one-of-a-kind spirit
You came back this season after being injured last year. How has it felt to be back on your board?
Yeah, I think the body’s holding up really nicely. I’m happy about that. After a big injury, you kind of have to relearn some things — and I definitely had to do that. But I’m strong, I’m not in pain, and that’s wonderful. I’m just really happy to be back.
You’ve been out filming a lot with the rest of the Burton Team this year?
Yeah, the first was to Japan, and it was amazing. The crew was so good — Zeb, Maria, Takeru, and me — and we just tried to get after it. We did hit a bit of a low tide, but we still got some snow and even a bit of sun-baked pow. It turned out all right in the end.
Then I went to Canada for a video project we’ve been working on. And just over a week ago, I was in Norway for a road trip with a crew. The vibes were high, and even though there wasn’t a ton of snow, we got a few days of good weather and made the most of it. Definitely just had fun with what we had.
You’re known for street riding, but lately you’ve been spending more time in the backcountry — what’s that shift been like for you?
Yeah, I think I’m very excited about transitioning more into the mountains. I’ve always thought of myself as just a snowboarder—not specifically a street rider. Street was just the most accessible path, and I love it. But moving into the backcountry has been really fun.
It’s a process—learning to read terrain where your eye is still untrained. Sometimes I can see a vision out there but can’t quite fulfill it yet, just because I haven’t done enough of that kind of riding.
My dream is to get good enough that when surprises happen—which they do—you can still ride it out. Maybe something’s steeper or smaller than you thought, but if you’re experienced enough, you can work with it and keep going even if the vision doesn’t play out exactly like you planned.
Going into the backcountry is definitely more intimidating and challenging. It comes with real risks—working with the elements and knowing what to do if something goes wrong. But it’s a learning process, and the more you’re out there, the more you figure it out.
Backcountry riding presents a whole new set of challenges. Do you have any mentors helping you through that transition?
Definitely. A lot of people have inspired me along the way, but the person who really showed me the ropes early on was Johan Rosén — a good friend of mine from Revelstoke. A few years ago, I spent time riding with him and the Wasted Youth crew, and they were incredible mentors in introducing me to the backcountry.
This year, on our trip to Canada, it was my first time really trying to ride proper lines. I was out there with Tucker and Ben (Ferg), and Ben definitely stepped into more of a mentor role. He knew what he was doing, made confident calls, and kind of took both of us under his wing. It felt good to have someone experienced leading the way, especially when you’re not quite there yet yourself.
What boards have you been riding this season across different terrain?
In the backcountry, I’ve mostly been on the Hometown Hero, but I also got to try the new Counterbalance, which I’ve been riding here in Riks — really stoked on that one.
For park laps, I’ve been riding the Blossom, and for street spots, I go with the Rewind. It’s a bit softer and more playful, which I love. Even though it’s softer, the Rewind still has a ton of pop and response. It might not be the best choice for huge jumps, but for medium-sized ones, it holds up great. It's super fun and really easy to move around on.
Any video projects in the works for the upcoming season?
Yeah! I’ve been filming with Burton for a new video dropping this fall — I did two trips for that. I’ll also have a couple of clips in a project Johan Rosén is working on, which is coming out around the same time.
We had plans to film for the next Scandinavian project this year too, but almost the whole crew got injured. We only managed one trip before things had to be put on hold. It was tough — some of the injuries were really serious, and I was there for two of them. It was definitely a reminder that, as fun as this all is, it’s still real life and it can get heavy.
That said, I’m really excited to pick things back up with that crew next year. They’re some of my closest friends, and filming with them is always special.
One of your standout moments this season was the Alien Invasion event — can you tell us more about that?
Yes! The Alien Invasion is such a fun little thing we’ve started. It’s a grassroots event I host with my friend Naima Antonin at Brighton Resortin Utah, and this was our second year doing it. The whole alien theme actually started as a joke — Naima picked me up at the airport once with a sign that said “Welcome to Earth,” like I was an alien. That stuck, and the theme just kind of took off from there.
Before I tore my Achilles at Peace Park that same year, I had started making a giant alien head piñata — we just thought it’d be fun to try and snowboard into a piñata. I didn’t finish it until after my injury, and it ended up sitting around for a whole year before we finally used it for the first Alien Invasion event.
There’s no big structure or sponsors. It’s super community-driven — people show up with shovels, help build a setup, and just hang out. We fill the piñata with drinks and snacks, ride around, smack it with our boards, and vibe. It’s more about good times and gathering with the crew than anything else.
This year, I was finally able to ride again, and getting to hit the piñata with my snowboard was such a full-circle moment.
