IMAGES: Elise Sterck
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. That’s right, it’s FREESKIER Ski Test, baby! Every season, we at FREESKIER gather a gaggle of the best skiers we know to hop on a variety of next year’s planks from myriad of brands. From brand-new constructions to totally unconventional designs and everything in between, we’ve employed our dedicated testers to ride, review and ultimately rate the best planks of the season for you—those who live to ski—to froth over in our annual Buyer’s Guide in the fall.
This season we are back at it again at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort for the 21st annual FREESKIER Ski Test. Notorious for its steep, demanding terrain, legendary snowfall—especially this season—and diehard locals who prioritize skiing over everything else, we couldn’t be in a better place to test the latest and greatest new product from some of the best brands in the biz.
Beyond the epic turns and non-stop faceshots, FREESKIER’s annual Ski Test is about bringing together stand-out humans to celebrate the weird and wonderful act of sliding down snow. Après parties, high fives and good vibes round out the week as we bask in the culture of this incomparable experience. And none of this would be possible without the support from our partners… our resort host Jackson Hole, the experienced testing crew at The Ski Monster, which also happens to be one of the best online and brick-and-mortar gear shops around, Continuum Hotel and Bar for housing our crew right at the base of the mountain all week, the famous Mangy Moose for all things après and live music, and Coors Banquet for fueling the madness once the lifts stop spinning and carry late into the evenings. We also want to thank Zipline Ski, Arcade Belts, Smartwool , Pit Viper, Phoozy and Booster Strap for decking out our testers in the best looking gear on the mountain.
Now, we want to give you a peek behind the scenes at FREESKIER’s annual Ski Test with a photo gallery from the entire week. Stay tuned online for complete coverage and follow us on Facebook and Instagram; check out the hashtag #FREESKIERFEST for more; and be sure to subscribe to the print-version of the magazine to see the complete results from the 21st annual FREESKIER Ski Test land on your doorstep in the fall.
DAY FOUR — March 9th, 2023
IT’S THE FINAL COUNT DOWN! You know the rest. Day 4 marked our LAST day of testing skis here at Jackson Hole, and it couldn’t have come to a close any better. With clear skies over head, our testers saddled up for one more go as we sent out our skinniest skis of the test; 80-90mm under foot. Jackson Hole is certainly known as a wild mountain with incredible freeride and big mountain terrain. However, the corduroy here is not to be slept on. The gorgeous groomers under the Bridger Gondola, Casper Chair and beyond were the perfect strips of snow for our testers to tear down. They laid some serious hip from bell to bell as we made sure that no plank was left un-skied. Check out our Instagram story for the day to see what skis we loved for today’s conditions.
As the clouds rolled in this afternoon, we packed up our basecamp near the iconic Jackson Hole tram station at the base of the mountain. It’s always a bit sad to call the event after such incredible days, but we would be lying if we said our legs weren’t looking forward to the rest. We poured our hearts into reviewing the best skis in the world for you, the passionate and life-loving skiers around the globe, and what exhausting fun it was. Be sure to watch for more content from FREESKIER FEST in the coming weeks, and of course keep an eye out for our annual Buyers Guide next fall, which will include all the hard earned reviews from this week on all the greatest new skis of the year. Thank YOU so much for tuning in this week, and we hope we brought you some stoke along the way!
Hungry for gear talk right now? Check out our First Look digital catalogue.
