While competing in the FWT Qualifier, Sasada Chisato conveys the appeal of freeride through her photos and writing.
This winter, she is based in Austria and is competing in the "FWT Challenger" stage, which offers the right to compete in the Freeride World Tour (hereinafter referred to as FWT).
From her perspective as an active athlete, we asked her to write about the highlights and ways to enjoy the currently ongoing "Freeride World Tour 2025."
Check this out and you'll have even more fun following the FWT live!
First, let's review the schedule and venue
There are a total of six races this season, making it the season with the most competitions in the past few years
STOP #1: 1/18-23 Baqueira Beret, Spain (held on 1/17)
STOP #2: 1/27-2/1 Val Thorens, France
STOP #3: 2/7-2/13 Kicking Horse, Golden BC, Canada
STOP #4: 2/23-3/1 Georgia
STOP #5: 3/8-3/13 Fieberbrunn
, Austria -------------------
STOP #6 FINAL: 3/22-30 Verbier, Switzerland
All athletes compete in the first five races, and their overall results up to that point determine whether they can advance to the sixth race in the final. The three best results out of the five races are used to determine the results up to the final. This is called the final cut
Only the fighters who make it to the finals will be eligible to compete in the FWT the following season. Fighters who do not make it will be demoted to the Challenger of their region and will compete in the Challenger Series with other Challenger fighters for the right to compete in the FWT again.
Of course, many fighters will simply retire from the FWT scene.
The final season results will be determined by the top four results, including the final, and the points ranking will be decided
What do you find most interesting about freeride?
Which mountain or slope do you like at each venue? What line appealed to you the most? What tricks excited you? What style and style of skier do you like?
It's fun to follow the results and achievements of who wins and loses, but there are many other exciting and captivating aspects to the event.
That's what makes freeride competitions so exciting. I honestly hope that everyone will enjoy the FWT in their own way, with "My Own Freeride Mind."
Highlight 1 | Notable places
New venue! Val Thorens ,
A new venue has been added this season: Val Threns in France.
It has been quite some time since the FWT was held in France. Val Threns is one of the ski resorts located in the Three Valleys (Les 3 vallees). With a total length of 600km, it is one of the largest ski resorts in the world.
The FWT has been held at the same venues and slopes for many years.
In such places, the line variations become limited, and fans who have been watching for many years can become accustomed to the mountains, and to be honest, they can get a little bored. For such fans, a race at a new venue is a must-see.
What kind of slope will it be? What kind of terrain will it be? What lines will the athletes take and how will they tackle the course? This is a venue that will be attracting a lot of attention
High scores galore! The match against Georgia with plenty of terrain
The Georgia event is said to be popular among FWT riders. It is a new venue added last season, and with the amount of snow and the rich terrain, it is a venue where we can see a wide variety of line variations and aggressive riding
Now in his second season, will we see new lines that are different from last season? Will the tricks be more difficult? Last season was an incredible competition, with seven men's skiers scoring in the 90s, and Marcus Goguen in particular winning with an overwhelming score of 98 points. There are high expectations
for this season's Georgia competition.
Verbier, Switzerland, celebrates its 30th anniversary
The freeride contest, called Verbier Extreme, first took place in this area in 1996, and this season marks its 30th anniversary.
But did you know that until 2004, the Verbier Extreme was a snowboarding-only competition? (I only found this out when I was researching it.)
The ski category was added in 2004, and the name Freeride World Tour was adopted in 2008.
Since then, it has been the site of the FWT Final, creating a variety of dramatic events, and is the mecca of European freeride.
Last season, I experienced the FWT Final there for the first time, and was amazed and moved by the sight of not only the entire resort, but all the local people, suddenly transformed into FWT fans.
It makes me wonder what it will be like in its 30th anniversary.
Freeride World Tour /JBERNARD
Last season's competition was memorable, with the men's skiing between Max Hitzig and Marcus battling for the overall victory, and Hedvig achieving her long-awaited final and overall victories in the women's skiing.
What kind of drama will unfold this season? The excitement and enthusiasm at the venue will also be something to watch.
Highlight 2 | New record at the famous cliff
Venues that have hosted FWT for many years have famous cliffs. In freeride, the difficulty of the same trick changes depending on the terrain from which it is taken off. Tricks on these famous cliffs are a sight to behold. Last season in particular, new records were set on these famous cliffs, so I would like to introduce them to you
Fieberbrunn, Austria: Häusl cliff
Speaking of Fieberbrunn, this cliff is the place to be. In fact, it was here last season that our men's skier, Tenran Katsuno, landed the first backflip in history. Furthermore, last year's overall winner, Erin Sauve, also landed the first cliff jump in women's snowboarding history. It was a moment that saw the level of women's snowboarding rise dramatically
Fieberbrunn, Austria: Eagle Cliff
Also in Fieberbrunn is another gigantic cliff band. Its size changes depending on the amount of snow, so it's a cliff that only a select few can attempt. Last season, veteran skier Kristofer Turdell made a double takeoff jump off this cliff
･Verbier, Switzerland: Hollywood Cliff
Finn Bilous, a skier, landed the first ever 360 here. However, since there were several other skiers who landed 360s after him, Finn's record was also a coincidence due to the starting order. Perhaps Katsuno Tenran will land another first backflip here this year?
at around 1:25.
Highlight 3 | Snowboarding focuses on the terrain, line-taking, and sense that are different from skiing
At FWT, attention is inevitably focused on the power of the skiing, but when you consider the characteristics of snowboarding, it is clear that the skiers are also skiing at an incredibly high level
As a skier, I often find myself wondering how someone can fly off such a huge cliff on a snowboard and endure such a rough landing, or how someone can perform tricks from such a takeoff position
And above all, I am repeatedly amazed by the number of airs and tricks that can be performed by making effective use of the terrain, which is far more detailed than that of skiing
Therefore, sometimes there are more airs in a single run in snowboarding than in skiing. Enjoying these differences is how I enjoy the snowboarding category
■FREERIDE WORLD TOUR https://www.freerideworldtour.com/
Part 2 is here
