Featured Picture: Courtesy of NST Ski
Ever since Pure Choice introduced its upcoming freeskiing debut again in October, we’ve been patiently awaiting the athlete lineup. In the present day, NST Ski gave us the juicy particulars, releasing males’s and girls’s rosters which might be completely stacked… together with a thriller rider that’s but to be confirmed.
Based by Travis Rice, Pure Choice has been one of many premier occasions in snowboarding for a number of years. Skiers have stood idly by as boarders rode untracked faces, scoring factors for Creativity, Threat, Execution, Problem and Total Impression. The occasion is totally different from others just like the Freeride World Tour or the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational, in {that a} very restricted variety of riders compete on contemporary snow with no artifical options.
The NST Ski Advisory Board contains Chris Benchetler, Kristi Leskinen, Markus Eder, Mike Douglas, Candide Thovex and Michelle Parker. “Merely put, NST Ski brings collectively the world’s greatest skiers on the world’s greatest terrain. Alaska is the equal of the North Shore of Oahu in browsing; it’s the final word, all-natural proving grounds,” stated legendary skilled skier and Occasion Director Mike Douglas.
“It’s going to be spectacular. From the second the primary NST Snowboard occasion was introduced, skiers have wished to be concerned.” Douglas continued. “After 4 years of ready, we’re lastly able to take our shot. In all my years, I’ve by no means felt extra anticipation for a ski occasion.”
With the breadth of expertise within the freeski scene right now, selecting 4 girls and eight males to compete is a next-to-impossible activity. However this listing is nearly as good as anybody may hope for. Whereas there are a number of different skiers we might like to see in Alaska this April, the listing beneath contains a few of the most inventive and proficient freeskiers on the planet.
The ladies’s subject options an distinctive group of athletes that embody Olympic medalists, X Video games champions, Freeride World Tour champions, and a few of the most revered names within the sport. Michelle Parker, a dominant drive in large mountain snowboarding out of Lake Tahoe, CA. Maggie Voisin, an Olympic bronze medalist in slopestyle for the US and seven-time X Video games medalist. Norway’s Hedvig Wessel, Olympic athlete in moguls and the 2024 Freeride World Tour champion. Manon Loschi, a rising freeride star from France, is the youngest lady within the subject and trying to make a mark.
The lads’s lineup is equally spectacular, that includes a mixture of Olympians, Freeride World Tour champions, X Video games champions, and rising stars. Italy’s Markus Eder, star of the Final Run, Olympian, and Freeride World Tour podium climber is among the sport’s most versatile and classy athletes. Colby Stevenson, a standout on the Beijing 2022 Olympics and perennial on slopestyle and large air podiums. Canada’s Kye Petersen, an iconic determine in large mountain snowboarding and a Freeride World Tour winner. Craig Murray from New Zealand, who blends technical expertise and backcountry experience. Sam Kuch with standout movie elements, and backcountry expertise refined out of Nelson, BC. Parker White who began on the east “ice” coast and has developed to a standout western powder hound and movie star.
The Pure Choice Ski occasion will characteristic a few of the most technically difficult and visually beautiful terrain, chosen to permit athletes to completely show each their expertise and creativity in a single run. This marks the primary ski-specific occasion within the Pure Choice sequence, which has gained important acclaim since its inception in snowboarding, due to the visionary work of founder Travis Rice.
NST Ski 2025 Girls’s Ski Roster
Manon Loschi (FRA)
Michelle Parker (USA)
Maggie Voisin (USA)
Hedvig Wessel (NOR)
NST Ski 2025 Males’s Ski Roster
Markus Eder (ITA)
Kai Jones (USA)
Sam Kuch (CAN)
Craig Murray (NZL)
Kye Petersen (CAN)
Colby Stevenson (USA)
Parker White (USA)
Yet one more males’s thriller rider to be introduced within the coming months
The entire thought of Pure Choice is to evaluate freeriding; an extremely tough factor to do for causes that vary from viewing logistics to opinions on scoring. However by way of considerate pondering, the crew has created a method to rank opponents’ runs.
Utilizing exact drone footage to livestream the occasion, judges are in a position to watch the riders and rating them. NST makes use of a head-to-head bracket system that pits one rider in opposition to one other, thus making it simpler to match and distinction matchups.
The riders are scored on:
- Creativity – Specializing in the individuality of a skier’s line alternative and maneuvers.
- Threat – How consequential the methods are and what part of the course they’re executed in.
- Execution – A skier’s type, together with grabs and turns, and the way cleanly they journey out of maneuvers.
- Problem – Is determined by challenges within the run and complexity of methods and rotations, together with taking off or touchdown change.
- Total – That is decided by components of their move, velocity and physique management all through the run.
The occasion might be live-streamed on Pink Bull TV beginning April 16, 2025. With the items now in place, keep tuned to FREESKIER for updates relating to the freeride insanity in Alaska!
