Courmayeur and the Mont Blanc area will host the sole Italian stop of the Swatch Freeride World Tour, the global circuit entirely dedicated to freeriding.
A symbol of unbridled freedom, Freeride has forever changed the world of winter sports, revolutionizing disciplines such as skiing and snowboarding. More than a sport, it is a movement; more than a style, it is a worldwide philosophy that thrives on major international events—collective gatherings celebrating a new way of experiencing the mountains. On January 7, on the Canadian snows of Revelstoke, the grand adventure of the Swatch Freeride World Tour by The North Face—the premier showcase of world freeriding—officially got underway.
Featuring six stops around the globe, the tour will land on January 18, 19, and 20 in Courmayeur, the only resort in Italy honored to host this prestigious event, bringing together the world’s greatest freeride champions in the breathtaking setting of the Courmayeur Mont Blanc Funivie ski area.
Freeriding is no passing fad: it seamlessly blends two fast-growing trends in winter sports and across the Mont Blanc region—the quest for adrenaline and freedom, and the desire for deep connection with nature.
The 2013 Swatch Freeride World Tour is the first unified global edition, bringing together the top riders and champions from past editions of the Freeride World Tour as well as the Freeskiing World Tour and The North Face Masters of Snowboarding. Thus, the two great schools of freeriding—the American and the European—have united under a single world championship tour.
From competition to competition, the judging criteria have also evolved into their current form. Scores are awarded using a system that takes into account snow conditions and face exposure, which play a decisive role in every run. Meanwhile, five criteria depend directly on the rider’s skill and determine the winner: line difficulty, control, fluidity, air and style (jumps), and falls. Such is the difficulty of the sport that even falls are evaluated nuancedly, depending on whether they are strategic moves planned to avoid a hazard or simple execution errors.
Safety is an absolute priority, which is why ski and snowboard manufacturers are constantly researching advanced materials and safety gear designed to meet ever-higher standards.
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