Freeskiing
All you need to know about the first-ever Red Bull Unrailistic skiing event
With a packed line-up and a Slopestyle course designed by Jesper Tjäder, the first Red Bull Unrailistic skiing event happens in Sweden on April 26-27. Here’s all the info.
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Some of the best Slopestyle skiers in the world are coming to the Swedish ski resort of Åre to compete at the first-ever Red Bull Unrailistic competition.
With a never-before-seen course that includes some of Jesper Tjäder’s most innovative features, the course will be thrilling to skiers and spectators alike. Most of the features are in the form of rails, and they’re bound to take the riders out of their comfort zone and push them and the sport to new limits.
Get the full lowdown on the event below.
Tjäder nailing the world's first rail loop back in 2016
© Sverre Hjornevik
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What is Red Bull Unrailistic?
An invite-only Slopestyle competition, Red Bull Unrailistic is a unique event full of features that have never before been seen at a contest. The course is inspired by some of Jesper Tjäder’s most famous ski edits and innovative feature creations. It’s futuristic, extremely technical and, as it’s almost exclusively rails, it has a completely different focus compared to most courses where jumps are the main attraction.
The competition is a two-part format that sees the athletes start off with a Best Trick contest on the 26th of April, where they will attempt to put down the most impressive trick on a select set of features. It will be a timed session where the riders can take as many attempts as they like. The points scored during Best Trick will carry over to the following day when the competitors will put down full runs on the Unrailistic Course.
During finals, the athletes will get two runs each, with the highest scoring run counting towards the overall. The man and woman with the highest combined score from the two days will take the win and be crowned the firstUnrailistic Champion.
Tjäder doing his thing on the double kink rail from Unrailistic 2
© Adam Klingeteg/Red Bull Content Pool
Don't be fooled by Tjäder making it looks easy. This rail is super tech
© Adam Klingeteg/Red Bull Content Pool
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Where does the Unrailistic name come from?
The name comes from one of Jesper Tjäder’s most famous ski edits, Unrailistic, which, when it dropped back in 2015, created a totally fresh and innovative take on rail skiing. With never-before-seen features and innovative trick combinations, it went viral and blew minds across the ski community. Four years later, Tjäder dropped Unrailistic 2, an edit that somehow was even more technical and progressive than the first.
The two edits mentioned above, as well as Tjäder’s notorious Loop rail, the Japanese Game Show and his Guinness World Record for longest rail grind on skis, have all taken park skiing out of its comfort zone and into the future.
3 min
Unrailistic 2.0
This year freeski ace Jesper Tjäder is back with new trick ideas and creative, never-before-seen features.
Since its release, the name Unrailistic has become synonymous with progression and innovation in skiing. Red Bull Unrailistic is a way to share Tjäder’s creativity with the world by inviting some of the best skiers to come shred his most famous features and let spectators line the course while they do so.
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What’s so special about the course?
The Red Bull Unrailistic course is designed by Jesper Tjäder himself and includes some of his most famous and iconic features as well as a couple of brand-new ones. It has original features from the Unrailistic edits, including the Trampoline, the Tripple-S rail and 8-kink rail. The Spider rail from the Japanese Game Show and a take on the world record ski grind rail from last year will also make an appearance.
No simple or easy rails in sight on this course
© Emrik Jansson/Red Bull Content Pool
With most of them having never been featured in a contest before, most of the athletes will be tackling them for the very first time and will need to quickly get their heads around the quirky and technical rails.
On top of that, it wouldn’t be a Tjäder-kind-of-course without a couple of new features. One of the more impressive ones is a big hip with a rainbow rail on top. It will see the skiers flying high above the ground when grinding along the rail.
Check out the course map below. Remember that the course is susceptible to last-minute changes and modifications.
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Who are the skiers to watch?
The crème de la crème of freeskiers will be attending the event, including names like USA’s Alex Hall, a 2022 Winter Games Slopestyle gold medalist, Canada’s Max Moffatt, who’s an X-Games silver medalist who put down a standout run during Red Bull Playstreets 2023 and local hero Henrik Harlaut will also be there.
Hot off a win at Red Bull Playstreets and a gold medal at a Slopestyle World Cup event earlier this season, let’s not forget about the host himself, Jesper Tjäder.
Is Mathilde Gremaud as comfortable on rails as she is in the air?
© Lorenz Richard/Red Bull Content Pool
The women’s field is also packed with talent. Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud is the current Slopestyle world champion and one of the most prominent freeskiers in the world. Young gun Kirsty Muir is taking on the elite at only 17 years old and placed second in the World Cup earlier this year. Of course, there is also local heroine and World Cup winner Jenny-Lee Burmansson who’s got rail skiing down to a T.
But remember that normal standings kind of go straight out the window at this competition as it takes the riders away from jumps and onto technical rails. It requires a completely different skill set and focus than what they are used to.
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How is the competition scored?
The skiers are scored by a panel of experts. The male and female skier with the highest combined score from Best Trick and the Main Event wins.
- Best Trick: The riders perform tricks on a select set of features. Highest score counts. The man and woman with the highest score win the Best Trick competition. All skiers carry over their highest score to the following day as it counts towards the overall result.
- Main Event: The riders get two runs each down the Unrailistic course, where they will have to attempt as many features and tricks as possible in order to score high. The highest scoring run out of the two counts towards the overall. The man and woman with the highest combined score take the win.
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Can I watch it live?
The event will take place at Nationalarenan in Åre and is open to the public. No tickets are needed - you can just show up and enjoy the show. But if you can't make it over to Sweden in person, then you can also watch Best Trick here on April 26 and the main event here on April 27 (Swedish-language commentary).
The Spider Rail from the Game Show edit is a pretty special sight
© Adam Klingeteg
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What’s the schedule?
A more detailed schedule will come closer to the event. Check the event page for the latest updates.
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