Freeriding is a style of skiing or snowboarding performed on natural, un-groomed terrain, without a set course, goals or rules. It evolved throughout the sport's formative years as a contrary response to the highly regimented style of ski competition prevalent at the time. Snowboarders primarily refer to freeriding as backcountry, sidecountry, or off-piste snowboarding, and sometimes big mountain or extreme riding.
Freeskiing, or new school skiing, is a specific type of alpine skiing, which involves tricks, jumps, and terrain park features, such as rails, boxes, jibs, or other obstacles. This form of skiing resulted from the growth of snowboarding combined with the progression of freestyle skiing. "Newschoolers", or those who specifically ski in this style, as opposed to traditional freestylers, freeriders, big mountain skiers, and racers, are often found in terrain parks, which are designed specifically for tricks.
A modified version of their alpine counterparts, twin-tip skis are designed to enable a skier to take off and land backward while jumping and to ski backwards (switch) down a slope. The name "twin-tip" comes from the dual shape of the ski. While most alpine skis have a defined, curved-up front end as well as a flat rear end, twin-tip skis have a curved-up tip and tail.
Teton Gravity Research (TGR) is an extreme sports media and apparel company based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The company was founded in 1996 by brothers Steve and Todd Jones, as well as friends Dirk Collins, Rick Armstrong, and Corey Gavitt. The group launched the company to create products that came from the perspective of athletes, showcased youth culture, and fostered the growth of high-risk action sports.
Charles Gagnier is a Canadian freeskier, best known for inventing the Octograb in 2006.
The International Freesports Film Festival (iF3) is a film Festival dedicated to screening and rewarding freeskiing and snowboarding movies. Held annually at the end of October in Montreal, iF3 was created in 2007 by Félix Rioux, Doug Bishop and Jean-Francis Durocher. As it premieres the best movies of the past season, iF3 has been referred to as the "Cannes of the ski world!" by ESPN and won Quebec action sports Gala Maestro's event of the year in 2010.
The Midwest Ski Film Festival (MWSFF) is a Film Festival takes place annually in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Held in October, the festival is a showcase for ski films from both independent and professional ski film companies. The festival shows mainly newschool skiing films.
Sean Martin Pettit is a Canadian freeskier born in Ottawa, Ontario. He grew up in Chelsea, Quebec until the age of 7. He now resides in Pemberton, British Columbia.
Chris Davenport is considered one of the world's most accomplished big-mountain skiers and mountaineers. A native of Aspen, Colorado, he has been called "one of North America's top 25 skiers by Skiing Magazine and is a "two-time extreme skiing world champion".
Tom Wallisch is a professional freeskier.
Dane Tudor is an Australian / American freeskier born in Sydney, Australia. He spent his time growing up between Palmer, Alaska and Rossland, British Columbia. Tudor still resides in both British Columbia and Alaska.
John “LJ” Strenio, born on February 8, 1989, in Burlington, Vermont, is a professional freestyle skier who is featured in numerous feature-length films and competes professionally around the world.
Eric Pollard is an American snow freeskier and film editor from Welches, Oregon, who lives in the Hood River region of Oregon. He was a professional skier for Line Skis for over 22 years and now designs skis and snowboards for Season. He has always challenged the status quo by innovating outerwear, accessories, and hard goods for FW Apparel, Anon Optics, Dakine, K2, Causwell, and Hest.
Karl Fostvedt is an American Freeskier from Ketchum, Idaho. He is sponsored by Dakine, K2 Skis, Anon Optics, and CAST Touring. He is known for his urban, backcountry, and big mountain skiing abilities.
Poor Boyz Productions is a North American entertainment company which specializes on Freeskiing, Wind surfing and Standup paddleboarding films. The company was formed in 1994 by Johnny Decesare and is headquartered in Redondo Beach, California. In 2012 Poor Boyz began producing freeskiing videos in association with Red Bull Media House.
Alexis duPont is an American professional big mountain freeskier. She is a Freeskiing World Tour contender and former Junior Olympics competitor, who has been featured in several films such as Warren Miller’s Wintervention and Tracing Skylines. Her mother, freestyle skier Holley duPont, was one of the first women to land a backflip on skis.
Michelle Parker is a pro-skier from Truckee, California, US. She started skiing in her home resort Squaw Valley Ski Resort. At the age of 15, she started dedicating herself to freeskiing. She has subsequently competed in the U.S. Freeskiing open, X-games and Red Bull Cold Rush.
The Faction Collective is a Swiss ski equipment design company headquartered in Verbier, in the Swiss canton of Valais. Founded in Verbier in 2006 by a tight-knit group of freeride skiers, Faction now holds brand offices in Switzerland, United States, United Kingdom, France, Japan, Austria and China.
Winter sports in the United States are popular, both professionally and recreationally. Most sports activity on ice and snow takes place in the northern half of the country, but indoor facilities, simulators and artificial surfaces enable participation in all geographic areas.
Mike Douglas is a Canadian skier and filmmaker from Whistler, Canada.
