Featured Image: Courtesy of Natural Selection
This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. NATURAL SELECTION IS COMING TO THE WORLD OF FREESKIING! We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long, long time, as has any skier who has witnessed the incredible wonder that is the Natural Selection Tour (NST) over the last few years. With skiers like Chris Benchetler, Markus Eder, Michelle Parker and yes, even Candide Thovex promoting the announcement and joining the NST Ski Advisory Council, the excitement has permeated throughout the ski community.
Where will the event be? What is this mysterious NST Ski Advisory Council? Who is competing? And what the hell is Natural Selection, anyway? Let’s dive into all the information we know as of now.
Natural Selection has been one of the greatest recent successes in snow sports. Spearheaded by legendary snowboarder Travis Rice, the event stands as a defiant dark horse amongst a sea of regulated competitions. The closest comparable events would be the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational and the Freeride World Tour. There’s no better or worse in this scenario when comparing structure and scoring, as each of these events has its strengths.
Rice brought Natural Selection to many places around North America over the last few years. To name a few, they’ve hosted competitions in Jackson Hole, British Columbia and Alaska. Picture big mountains layered with snow and intricate features that serve as a rider’s natural playground.
The whole idea of Natural Selection is to judge freeriding; an incredibly difficult thing to do for reasons that range from viewing logistics to opinions on scoring. But through thoughtful thinking, the team has created a way to rank competitors’ runs.
Using precise drone footage to livestream the event, judges are able to watch the riders and score them. NST uses a head-to-head bracket system that pits one rider against another, thus making it easier to compare and contrast matchups.
The riders are scored on:
- Creativity – Focusing on the uniqueness of a skier’s line choice and maneuvers.
- Risk – How consequential the tricks are and what section of the course they are executed in.
- Execution – A skier’s style, including grabs and turns, and how cleanly they ride out of maneuvers.
- Difficulty – Depends on challenges in the run and complexity of tricks and rotations, including taking off or landing switch.
- Overall – This is determined by looking at elements of their flow, speed and body control throughout the run.
There are some terms above that are loosely defined, such as “maneuvers,” but overall this is about as technical a score sheet as you can have for an event such as this. It has been aptly applied to snowboarding in the past, and it’s cool to see the similarities and differences on the ski side.
Natural Selection Ski will be held in Alaska
The event will be held in Alaska with a listed weather window of mid-April 2025. There aren’t currently many other specifics on NST Ski, but the official press release mentioned that more details will be coming in the early stages of winter.
As for competitors, we don’t know who exactly will be partaking in this incredible moment of freeski history. There are many names being thrown around, and one only needs to look at the comments section on Instagram to see that plenty of the best skiers in the world are chomping at the bits to get a spot.
We do know that the NST Ski Advisory Committee is made up of several esteemed legends of our sport, including Chris Benchetler, Colby Stevenson, Michelle Parker, Sammy Carlson and possibly a very irrelevant flying Frenchman who happened to post about the announcement on his Instagram.
“Skiing in these incredible landscapes and finding new ways to approach the mountains is what it’s all about for me. This Tour’s blend of showcasing the natural beauty and challenge of skiing, but on a competition platform will be completely fresh. Looking forward to seeing what everyone brings to Alaska.” — Michelle Parker, NST Ski Advisory Council
Overall, there is still much in the air. Nonetheless, this announcement is an exciting one. There will surely be an ensuing conversation about which of the ever-popular freeride contests is the best, but we find that point irrelevant. The more athletes, filmmakers and photographers get a chance to share freeskiing with the world, the better. Natural Selection Ski is just another way for the joy and passion of this sport to spread, and we can’t wait to see what comes next.
Stay tuned to FREESKIER for further updates on Natural Selection Ski, including competitors, venue location details and more.
