Not to be confused with the art fair of a similar name, The Relentless Freeze Festival is an orgy of the extreme combined with a rumpus of the beats. [I honestly came so close to deleting that description - unfortunately for you, I left it in]

It takes place annually at the coal-fired power station of yesteryear, and comprises of a 2500ft* high scaffold tower, dipping violently down into a jump over a 200ft* gap, and then finishing in a pool of light at ground level in front of 400 million* fans.

Quite a spectacle, I’m sure you’ll agree.

I have attended in different roles over the last few years, sometimes as an event photographer, sometimes (slightly bizarrely) as a looping advert on 25ft video walls, and this time as an athlete photographer for Red Bull.

The stand-out performance for me (and many others) this year was by a young man called Jamie Nicholls, he’s a northern lad from the UK who is both as cheerful and funny as he is stupendously good on a snowboard. He finished 7th overall in the international event, an achievement only enhanced by the fact he’s still only 17.

Often when people see someone young achieving great things, they tend to project their thoughts forward and predict what they may achieve in the future comparing them to other young stars. It was with this in mind that I said to Jamie, ‘It’s just a faze, your peers will soon catch up with you and eventually everyones achievements will even out’

I didn’t really, I didn’t really say much – he’s loving every minute of it and I personally think that’s all that’s important. Good on you Jamie.

Paddy Graham

Jamie Nicholls at The Relentless Freeze Festival

Russ Henshaw in the finals at The Relentless Freeze Festival 2010

Skiers wait for results at Relentless Freeze Festival, London

Jamie Nicholls under the Relentless Freeze Ramp

*estimated