Freeride World Tour 2023 Season Highlights

It's a wrap for the Freeride World Tour 2023, and what a season it's been!

From Kicking Horse to Fieberbrunn, we've got a round-up of the full video highlights and results of all stages and events below.

For those of you not in the know, the Freeride World Tour (FWT) is the iconic worldwide circuit of freeride skiing and snowboarding with the best riders in the world competing on the most legendary alpine faces at the most renowned ski resorts across the world.

Quiz time: Did you notice anything familiar at the FWT?

This year, FATMAP was stoked to be the FWT's official mapping partner, with our maps being used across the board at the events and on the livestream!

Baqueira Beret Pro | 28 January - 2 February

The first stop of the FWT took place in the Pyrenees of Catalonia, in Spain, at Baqueira Beret. Check out the notoriously dicey face, the Tuc de Baciver, on FATMAP - where the event was held.

A freshly sprinkled blanket of snow beautifully set up the event at Baqueira Beret, even if it didn’t reach the same levels of snowpack as 2022. With lots of available features for the competitors to fly off or get caught up on, this is a particularly exciting venue.

However, the freeriders performed brilliantly, as can be seen with the four winners below:

Ski women: Addison Rafford 🇺🇸
Ski men: Max Palm 🇸🇪
Snowboard women: Katie Anderson 🇨🇦
Snowboard men: Michael Mawn 🇺🇸

Watch the full highlights video here

Take a look at Baqueira Beret's snowboard winner, Katie Anderson, doing what she does best below - making the most of the mountains:

Ordino Arcalís | 2 - 9 February

The second stop of the FWT took place in Andorra at Ordino Arcalís, just four days after Spain.

This stop included sun baked snow and lots of pumping adrenaline. The combination of an average snow pack and warm temperatures could have meant a mediocre competition - but it was nothing of the sort. The athletes put on one heck of a show.

See the Pic de l’Albeille face on FATMAP, where the competition took place. It’s known for its steep pitch, shallow snow pack, and enough features of keep you on your toes - or flying off them. It offers a variety of lines for riders and skiers to choose, and that’s exactly what was displayed back in February.

Winners:

Ski women: Justine Dufour-Lapointe 🇨🇦
Ski men: Valentin Rainer 🇦🇹
Snowboard women: Katie Anderson 🇨🇦
Snowboard men: Ludovic Guillot-Diat 🇫🇷

Take a look below at the winner of the men's ski, Valentin Rainer, going down his winning line in Ordino Arcalís:

Kicking Horse Golden, BC | 17 - 22 February

The third stop was at Kicking Horse Golden in British Columbia, Canada - and what an event! The event’s time frame welcomed a blanket of fresh snow and blue skies, which only helped boost the athletes’ moods and rides.

The extended highlights reel (below) is well worth a watch as it shows a ton of “see it to believe it” action. Just take a peek at the Kicking Horse face here to be impressed.

Winners:

Ski women: Megane Betend 🇫🇷
Ski men: Matt Hitzig 🇩🇪
Snowboard women: Michaela Davis-Meehan 🇦🇺
Snowboard men: Liam Rivera 🇲🇽

Watch the highlights of Kicking Horse Golden below and be prepared for your jaw to drop!

Fieberbrunn Pro | 11 - 17 March

A 48-hour weather delay pushed the fourth stop of the 2023 FWT back, but on Thursday 16 March, the blue skies opened up and the event at Fieberbrunn in Austria was given the green light!

A monumental coat of fresh snow on the Wildseeloder face, where the event took place, offered a picture perfect location for the competition. But that’s not to mean there were no challenges, as snow conditions varied around the face.

Winners:

Ski women: Arriana Tricomi 🇮🇹
Ski men: Andrew Pollard 🇺🇸
Snowboard women: Katie Anderson 🇨🇦
Snowboard men: Jonathan Penfield 🇺🇸

Catch all the highlights of Fieberbrunn Pro below - it's worth it!

Yeti Xtreme Verbier | 25 March - 2 April

The 2023 FWT came to a close in Verbier, Switzerland, as its fifth and final stop of the tour was cancelled. Ongoing heavy snowfall and strong wind gusts up to 135 km/h made the conditions extremely hazardous on the Bec des Rosses face, and the venue was deemed unsafe for riding.

After all, safety is always the first priority.