What is Freeride Skiing?

Freeride skiing is awesome — there’s nothing like it in the world. Well, I guess freeride snowboarding is pretty close.

Freeride skiing is about freedom and riding, dropping a line and riding it with your natural style.

It’s about ripping up the rule book, discarding resort boundaries and smirking at groomed snow.

Ditch the Rules, Embrace the Wild: The Core of Freeride

Freeride skiing takes the sport back to its roots, natural off-piste terrain, away from the lifts and pistes.

A growing freeride skiing rejuvenation has been taking place over recent years as more people adrenaline rush of riding natural terrain.

Riders of all styles can attack the mountain as they want with few defined boundaries or requirements.

Diverse Terrains, Diverse Styles: Find Your Freeride Flow

Skiers use varying approaches from high speeds to more technical routes or even some freestyle. Steep wide open faces allow riders to explore high-speeds, couloirs and chutes need to be tackled attentively, and cliffs create take off points for freestyle acrobatics.

The concept completely dismisses man-made features relying solely on natural ungroomed terrain.

This means riders need incredible adaptability in technique and style. Remember, you’ll be at the mercy of the mountain, so steep faces, deep snow, variable conditions, trees, rocks and cliffs all stand in your way. There’s backcountry, sidecountry, big mountain, off-piste, and it’s your job to conquer them in the way you see fit!

Freeskiing movements have been evolving since the sport’s early years in response to growing rules, regulations and strict competitions. Many skiers felt restricted by this and wanted to get back to what they really love, just skiing for fun.

Whilst it is generally a non-competitive sport, competitions have sprung up as riders wanted to know who was the best freeride skier. The Freeride World Tour is now a major global event for both skiers and snowboarders.

Uniquely, it only has a short selection of rules encouraging rider interpretation, natural style and fun.

On any given day, any style can win based on overall impression. Freestyle wizards may take victory on one mountain while a technician succeeds in other conditions.

Freeride skiing is about freely interpreting the natural terrain in front of you, descending it the way you most enjoy, and injecting your easy style for that ultimate steeze.