After watching round three of the Freeride World Tour in Kicking Horse, British Columbia, I was curious to ask some of the female competitors for their views on their performance and also the sport.
I spoke to skiers Justine Dufour-Lapointe and Molly Armanino and snowboarder Katie Anderson
It is only in recent yers that the field of female skiers snd snowboarders has started to grow. This year’s world tour has 10 female skiers and six female snowboarders. The women ski the same slope as the men and at Kicking Horse it was Ozone.
What is freeride skiing or snowboarding?
Freeriding is a snowsport that allows skiers and snowboarders to impress judges with their own style of riding. Whether a rider’s strength is steep terrain, big airs, technical tricks or speed, each style could win if, on that day, the rider gives the best “overall impression”. The judging includes five criteria, the line, air & style, fluidity, control and technique. To evaluate the run, judges use a point system of a 100 increments from 0 to 100.
Freeride skier Justine Dufour-Lapointe
Justine is no stranger to the competitive skiing, although this is her first Freeride World Tour. The 28-year-old from Quebec, Canada, won gold in the moguls event at the 2014 Winter Olympics and a silver medal in moguls at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Her Olympics win gave her the title as the youngest freestyle skiing Olympic champion ever at the age of 19.
She was also crowned world champion in moguls at the 2015 World Championships and won a silver and two other bronze medals in the moguls at the Freestyle World Ski Championships.
She has now switched to freeride skiing.
Justine placed fourth in the Kicking Horse round of the Freeride World Tour 2023. In the previous two rounds, in Spain and Andorra, she finished sixth and first. She has won enough points to go through to the finals of the tour and she will also compete in next year’s world tour.
How has the FWT 2023 been so far?
“It has been an amazing tour. The people are so welcoming and I feel very grateful to be part of the tour.”
How did the Kicking Horse round go for you?
“It was only my third race in the Freeride World Tour and, of course, I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform and to really give it the best shot I could. I feel really proud and I think I gave a really good show with my choice of line.
“It was so much fun to ski in front of Canadian fans and to receive all the energy they gave to me on my last cliff jump.
“I would have loved to have landed it perfectly but it gives me something to learn from.
“I am happy to be going to the final and to be able to compete next season. Looking back now, my result was better than I could have hoped for.”
Was Ozone what you hoped it would be?
“Ozone was the best face we have skied so far in the FWT. The snow condition was amazing. There were some sharks, for sure, but we all knew there would be. It was really sweet to ski powder and it was breathtaking, too.”
Is Kicking Horse a good venue for freeride?
“Kicking Horse is an amazing spot for hosting an event. It’s also great for spectators because you can easily see the competitors on the mountain.”
What do you like about the sport?
“I really like the freedom of expressing yourself on the mountain. There is no right or wrong lines and you can be who you really are out there and ski with passion.”
What are the biggest challenges of the sport?
“In freeride the challenge is to be the most adaptable skier you can be. You need to adapt to the venue, the snow, each jump and each landing. You need to be able to adapt the fastest during your ski run and, for me, that is what I focus on.
“I try to adapt well and to be openminded and accept the challenges as they come – and to accept that I might need to change in my mind.”
What would you say to other females who want to get into freeride?
“Go for it! There is room for each one of us and room to play and I am so proud to be on the journey and to be the first female in Quebec to be doing this. I am very happy to be creating a path for other girls to follow. It is so possible.
The sport has been growing for females. Why do you think this is?
“It’s because freeride is fun, playful and inclusive of both males and females. It’s great the sport allows us to showcase our best skiing.
“I like that women can do the same as men. I have always believed this. We are just at the beginning of confirming this. I’m very proud to be a female freerider skiing the same face as the men.
“I also think there is a great camaraderie in the women’s field – and we are all proud of each other – which is good for the sport.”
Freeride skier: Molly Armanino
It is also the first FWT for Molly, from South Lake Tahoe, California, US. The 29-year-old raced as a younger skier but has no background in freestyle skiing. She says: “After college and working for a few years, at the age of 26, I decided I wanted to learn freeride so I just started competing.”
She quickly gained an impressive reputation in the FWT qualifiers when you won three competitions in 2022 ton gain a place on the tour. She followed this with amazing rookie performances when she placed second in the first two rounds of the FWT 2023 and then, in Kicking Horse, she was ninth. Molly is also now through to the finals of the tour and will compete in the 2024 world tour.
How has the FWT 2023 been so far?
“It has been exciting and I am stoked to make it into finals and the next year’s tour. It’s a big relief and takes away some of the pressure.”
How did the round at kicking Horse go for you?
“It didn’t go too well but I had a lot of fun. I was hoping to ski something different, but got a little off track and ended up skiing something completely different that didn’t really go to plan.”
Was Ozone what you hoped it would be?
“Yes! It was beautiful, although we definitely could have done without all the avalanches.”
[There were a few avalanches during the round but no one was hurt.]
What do you like about the sport of freeride?
“I love the ‘free’ part in freeride. You can make it up as you go and you get to use your creativity to choose lines that speak to you. You can do so much with skiing, between skiing pow with friends, hiking couloirs and exploring mountains. I just love how it’s a mode of travel into winter.”
What are the biggest challenges of the sport?
“Progression was never instilled in me as a kid and I had to learn how to be competitive in freeride with myself. Freeride wasn’t even a sport when I was a kid and I rarely had other female skier friends around me to push myself with. There were just a lot of dudes that I would often not relate to in terms of ‘huge cliffs’, ‘tricks’, etc. At times, I would get down on myself because I couldn’t do some of the things that my peers could do and it would often affect my self-esteem.
“I feel this much less these days, but I still battle with it. I can imagine that this feeling sticks with a lot of younger women in freeride. I think the [already happening] culture shift of female empowerment creates a ski culture that pays more attention to the growth of female freeriders at a young age.”
What would you say to other females who want to get into Freeride?
“Do it! I joined freeride because I wanted to learn how to become a better skier and ski inspiring lines. I feel like freeride is an amazing way to do this.”
The sport has been growing for females. Why do you think this is?
“Women are empowered more and more and society is recognising that women can ski the same lines as men. In return, women are growing up with this confidence from a younger and younger age.”
Freeride snowboarder Katie Anderson
Snowboarder Katie Anderson, from Fernie, British Columbia, Canada, has also performed brilliantly in the FWT. It’s her debut in the tour and she won the first two rounds. She finished at the back of the field at Kicking Horse but she has still won a place in the finals.
Katie’s background as a snowboarder has been in boardercross. She says: “When I compare boardercross to freeride, I would say I don’t get as many injuries now as I did when I competed in boardercross.”
How has the FWT 2023 been so far?
“After the first two podiums I was happy, but I’m still chasing a run that I am really proud of.
“Kicking Horse didn’t go great for me. I got a bit hung up on some rocks and fell so I finished last but that is okay.”
Was Ozone what you hoped it would be?
“I like Ozone and it’s a fun venue. The conditions were tricky but that was expected with the low snow fall this year.”
Credit: JBERNARD
Is Kicking Horse a good venue for freeride?
“It’s a great place for freeride and while Ozone is a little bit short for my liking it’s very picturesque.”
What do you like about the sport?
“My favourite thing about freeride is the community and all of the sweet people that I get to meet from all over the world.”
What are the biggest challenges of the sport?
“The biggest challenge is trying to push my riding when the conditions aren’t great. I tend to just do runs that I know I can land when the conditions aren’t ideal and I would like to be able to challenge myself more.”
What would you say to other females who want to get into Freeride?
“Just go for it. The community is so supportive and each competition you do, you get more comfortable and progress.
“In North America, it can be hard to get into the qualifiers with a lot of events having a small female category, but don’t be discouraged if you are on a waitlist. Also, you should always reach out to the organisers to see if there is any way they can open up the category if there is lots of interest.”
The sport has been growing for females. Why do you think this is?
“There are more ladies out skiing and riding and I think the freeride competitions have a strong community, which is less intimidating than an intense competition, so there are lots of chances to learn from other women and have fun while competing.
“If hope we can continue to have a welcoming and supportive space for females to try out freeride. Europe had a FWQ event just for female skiers and snowboarders and I think something like that in North America would be awesome for building the community and supporting women that might feel intimidated in a different space.
“I think there is so much benefit having categories with males and females, but definitely a women’s only event could help get more women to feel invited into the sport.”
You can also see the Kicking Horse runs of the top three women:
• To find out more about the tour and the next stages, see: Freeride World Tour.