Featured Image: Noah Wallace | Skier: Jossi Wells | Words: Jordy Grant-Krenz

The Jossi Wells Invitational is a coveted event in freeskiing. Started back in 2016, the event boasts a unique format that brings together skiers and snowboarders from around the globe and allows them to lap a massive, world-class park in Cardrona, New Zealand. Riders are both contestants and judges, as they vote on the winners at the end of their time together. It’s been known as a creative incubator, pushing what’s possible in the world of snow sports.

There is no doubt that invitationals are a key part of freeski culture. They keep brands, athletes and fans happy in different ways. Without them, the sport would be locked into what traditional contests deem innovative and correct, especially in a day and age heavily populated by F.I.S. sanctioned events.

There are pros and cons to each format however, and part of what has made the JWI so magnetizing over the years is the illusive smoke screen surrounding it. In the past, we haven’t seen much content coming from it because it doesn’t receive the same level of media coverage that bigger organized freeskiing competitions do. So when we heard that Noah Wallace was pointing his camera at attending skiers from the Atomic team, we got excited.

Wallace has been in the wide world of skiing for many years. As a long time professional skier himself, he traveled the globe and had success in slopestyle competition, becoming known for a unique combination of style and technicality. Now in his 30s and living across the pond in Austria, Wallace has found success in another discipline: photography. At the JWI, he found Atomic riders like Ruby Star Andrews, Tristian Feinberg and of course, Jossi Wells, in front of his lens. Wallace shared some of his favorite shots from the 2024 Jossi Wells Invitational with FREESKIER, and we’re proud to showcase them in the gallery below.