Featured Picture: Antoine Fournier, Courtesy of Nendaz Freeride | Skier: Alex Hackel
The fifth version of the groundbreaking Nendaz Backcountry Invitational was a smashing success. Final week, situations aligned and the biggest climate window in snowboarding was tightened because the competitors was confirmed for this previous Sunday, January twelfth. Final yr’s competitors was greeted with 40 cm of recent snow, setting the bar excessive. However the advantageous of us at Nendaz Freeride don’t miss, and with clear skies and recent snow, it was on.
Not like many occasions in trendy snowboarding, the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational’s course consists of each artifical and pure options, making a freeride-inspired occasion that pulls in freestyle components. The course blends cliffs and rollovers with completely sculpted kickers, all full with tender landings because of the copious quantities of snow within the mountains of Nendaz, Switzerland.
“With the latest snowfalls offering lovely powder, the sunshine and the superb stage of the individuals, the present was assured,” stated Nendaz Freeride within the press launch. “It was an distinctive day, with loopy sporting performances and a really pleasant, festive environment within the end space.”
The day lived as much as the hype in each approach. With 12 confirmed riders within the Males’s Ski subject and 6 confirmed riders within the Ladies’s Ski subject, there was no scarcity of expertise. There was double the variety of girls competing in comparison with final yr, illustrating the staggering progress of the game and overdue consideration lastly being directed.
Mila De Le Rue, sister of legendary French snowboarder Victor De Le Rue, took the cake on the ladies’s facet. She gained each the primary and third runs weaving collectively large airs and clear turns. Trailing by a hair, Freeride World Tour competitor Astrid Cheylus took second place after coming in second on runs one and three, and securing first place on the run two. She landed a sensational double backflip, sending the spectators (and Instagram) right into a frenzy. Third place went to Swiss rider Eva Battolla, who placed on a present in entrance of the house crowd.
Tiemo Rolshoven and Jake Müller placed on a clinic within the Males’s Ski subject, buying and selling blows every run with Müller claiming run one and Rolshoven taking runs two and three. These two dominating runs down the stretch ended up giving Rolshoven the benefit, permitting him to seize the general win as he gears up for the 2025 Freeride World Tour. At simply 19 years outdated, Müller definitely has a promising future forward of him. The Englishman landed the first triple backflip in a freeride competitors on Sunday. Austrian Sebastian Mall claimed third place, simply barely beating out the heavy-hitting expertise of Alex Hackel and Maé Biedermann.
There has by no means been a extra thrilling time in aggressive freeride snowboarding. The Freeride World Tour is placing athletes on a world stage. New occasions like Silver Belt and Pure Choice Ski permit athletes to push their snowboarding outdoors of ordinary strains whereas gaining recognition in a structured system.
And naturally, the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational is bringing in a worldwide expertise pool and cultivating an extremely enjoyable environment whereas they do it. Due to all who helped make this yr’s occasion doable, and cheers to extra inventive and inspirational freeride insanity in 2025.
Photographs: Antoine Fournier and Levy Loye, Courtesy of Nendaz Freeride
