During his first seasons, Håkonsen took part in both the freestyle and alpine branches of snowboarding. Despite the strong wishes of his sponsors that he participate in all forms of competition, Håkonsen opted to focus solely on halfpipe and freeriding during the course of the 1990-1991 season. Part of the reason that he had previously stopped competing in alpine skiing was that he was tired of the strict competitive regime, feeling there was too little play or action. He found the alpine discipline of snowboarding to have similar traits. In protest at the pressure to compete in all forms of competition, he began taking part in alpine events using a freestyle board. The last competition at which he participated in the alpine disciplines was the European championship in 1991. He took fourth place in the parallel slalom on the same board he used to win the halfpipe competition.