Featured Image: Jordy Grant-Krenz | Skier: Hank Stowers
It’s no stretch to say we’re witnessing the emergence of a new golden era in freeride skiing. There are more well-produced competitions now than ever before. Between the Freeride World Tour, Natural Selection Ski, IFSA and FWQ events, the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational, Scandinavian Big Mountain Championships and more, the talent pool for freeride is deep… and it’s only growing.
But how many of these events allow anyone who thinks they have what it takes to come and challenge the best? The Silver Belt at Sugar Bowl Resort would be one of the few correct answers.
FREESKIER was able to witness this firsthand, as we cheered, photographed and elatedly skied our way through four days at Sugar Bowl this April during the event. It’s a surreal competition, and with 2025 marking just its second year, things are only looking up. Few can speak to this better than skier Hank Stowers, who threw down in The Silver Belt this winter and even took home the FREESKIER People’s Choice Award.
Stowers is convinced that The Silver Belt serves a pivotal role in securing the future of freeskiing. The title of this latest video says it all: “The Unknown Competition Changing Skiing’s Future.” It’s a lofty claim, but not one without good evidence. We’ll let Stowers take it from here.
From YouTube:
Freeride World Tour Champions battle it out with ambitious amateurs in this ski competition! The Sugar Bowl Silver Belt is an open-entry, athlete-judged freeride ski competition that is challenging the conventions of the sport, and allowing progression that hasn’t been seen before.
The goal of this video is to reveal a brand new competition to fans of freeride skiing, and document my journey as I compete to win, shred with the best in the world, and make memories that will last a lifetime.
This will be the first of weekly uploads for the rest of the summer! I’m going full YouTuber, and I can’t wait for you all to come with me on this journey. Subscribe for weekly videos!
