Wintersports
Skiing
Freestyle vs freeride skiing: What’s the difference?
Learn about the differences between freestyle and freeride skiing, as well as the skills and equipment you need for each, and how to decide which is right for you.
Bobby Brown is an international freeskiing sensation and one of the sport’s pioneers.
When he was 18, Bobby became the first skier to win back-to-back gold medals at a single Winter X Games by throwing down an incredible performance in Slopestyle and two never-before-seen tricks in Big Air.
Bobby Brown performing at the Red Bull Performance camp on September 2021
© Dom Daher / Red Bull Content Pool
"My roots are always in competition though, and so I wanted to try and create some type of blend where you can merge those creative lines from the film world with the technical aspect of skiing," Brown said, regarding his event, Red Bull Cascade. "I think someone who can rip all over the resort and throw in some freestyle elements is what we’re looking for versus pure technical maneuvers."
Freestyle skiers and freeride skiers have this in common: both are trying to push the limits of what a human can do on skis.
In this article we will go over the differences between freestyle and freeride skiing, as well as the skills and equipment you need for each, and how to decide which is right for you.
01
What is freestyle skiing?
The point of freestyle, or freeskiing, is to showcase the creativity of the skier, while also highlighting their physical prowess to nail tricks. By definition freestyle means skiing with the intention to perform tricks and/or catch big air on jumps or ramps.
Noé Roth performs in Saas Fee, Switzerland on October 2021
© Christian Egelmair / Red Bull Content Pool
“The aim was to go down the mountain in the most spectacular way possible” said one of the original legends of the sport, Fuzzy Garhammer, about the early days of freeskiing, back when there were essentially no rules. Now, freestyle skiing competitions are heavily regulated to ensure safety.
Since the sport began in the 1970s, five main types of freestyle skiing have emerged:
- Aerial skiing: Aerial skiing involves going off of a ramp and doing flips and twists in mid-air, before landing on a slope several feet below. The jumps are judged on form, takeoff, landing and its degree of difficulty.
- Mogul skiing: Mogul skiing features skiers going on a run down a series of bumps (or moguls). These bumps can be made naturally by other skiers making sharp turns during their mogul runs or artificially made by the event organizers. Skiers must turn at these bumps with both speed and precision. Mogul courses also feature two jumps that can be used for aerial tricks. The skiers are judged based on the quality of their turns, the speed of their run and their two jumps.
- Ski cross: Ski cross is a timed-racing event between skiers through a set track. While this may seem like a form of alpine skiing, ski cross is different in that several skiers are racing simultaneously, and the terrain features several big-air jumps and sharp turns.
- Half-pipe: This style features skiers doing a series of tricks as they progress down a halfpipe. Skiers use their momentum to propel themselves up and off the sides of the halfpipe to catch big air and perform sensational aerial tricks. The run is judged based on the quality of the tricks and caliber of the landings.
- Slopestyle: A relatively new type of freestyle skiing, slopestyle is a form in which skiers go down a course with a variety of terrain park features like ramps, rails and stairs. This discipline is heavily-influenced by competitions in skateboarding and BMX.The runs are judged on amplitude, difficulty, execution, variety, progression, flow and its overall style.
Mac Forehand performs at the Laax Open in Laax, Switzerland on January 2023
© Lorenz Richard / Red Bull Content Pool
Skills required for freestyle skiing
Above all else, freestyle skiing requires a mastery of the fundamentals of skiing. But these athletes are not just great skiers, they are also acrobats, executing 180s, 360s and occasionally, 2160s. That’s 6 full rotations in the air.
Freestyle skiing requires you to be flexible, physically and mentally. Creativity and fearlessness are essential traits here as well.
Freestyle recommended equipment
Freestyle equipment needs to be light yet durable. This ensures that the skier can maintain their speed and mobility while wearing gear that can withstand the high-speed wear-and-tear of freestyle action.
Most freestyle skiers use twin-tip skis. These are designed to be ridden both forwards and backwards, as both the nose and the tail are shaped the same. This is crucial because sometimes you may not be forward-facing after landing a trick, so you need to ensure that the handling is evenly-stable going both ways. They combine these skis with close-fitting heavy plastic boots with stiff soles to maintain control.
As for their poles, freestylers are encouraged to buy shorter and lighter ski poles so they can move through the air faster and not have to worry about the poles getting caught up on features like rails or the halfpipe.
02
What is freeride skiing?
In freeride skiing, riders go over natural, unmonitored terrain without a set goal or trail to follow. Freeriding is for skiers who have a thirst for adventure and enjoy exploring new areas.
Angel Collinson skis in Petersburg, Alaska, USA
© Nic Alegre / Red Bull Content Pool
There are several types of freeride skiing. These are separated by location:
- Big mountain: This type of freeriding occurs, as you expected, down a big mountain. It is separate from alpine skiing because alpine skiing occurs on groomed terrain.
- Backcountry: Backcountry skiing is done in an area that is largely uncharted. This can be done in any type of terrain: from mountainous to flat.
- Powder: Powder skiing is skiing done on ungroomed terrain in powder snow. Powder snow can be deceptively deep, sometimes rising to waist-height and even higher.
Skills required for freeride skiing
In addition to being able to ski various terrains confidently, avalanche training is essential for freeride skiers. “When an avalanche happens it goes without saying that the emotions are so intense that your common sense goes out the window, and even more so in a group. It is called panic and it is really important to control it and avoid it as much as possible,” said Xavier De Le Rue, a freeride snowboarder. “Prepare yourself for this kind of situation because it is a part of freeriding.”
Angel Collinson skis in Petersburg, Alaska, USA, in April 2017
© Nic Alegre / Red Bull Content Pool
Some other skills you will need are:
- Ski touring
- Strong navigation skills
- Ability to choose and ski a line
- Backcountry first aid
Freeriding recommended equipment
Freeriding equipment needs to be both functional for the environment and durable. You don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere and have one of your ski poles break! As such, freeride ski poles are longer and more sturdy to power through all types of snow from the hard, icy snow to the waist-high, soft powder snow.
Freeride skis are wider, longer and heavier than your average ski. They are designed to handle all kinds of terrain, ski fast, hit jumps and land large airs. They are great for softer, fresher snow. They are not great for terrain parks or groomed runs.
In addition to the skis, poles, goggles, helmet, and gloves, you’re going to want to pack avalanche safety gear including:
- Beacon
- Shovel
- Probe
- Airbag
- Medical kit
03
Comparison of freestyle and freeride skiing
Now that you have the basics on both freestyle and freeride skiing, let’s dive more into how these two types of skiing are different. To summarize the differences between freestyle and freeride skiing:
Freestyle is all about the creativity of the skiers. The goal is to see how well you can use the environment available to pull off the best tricks and catch the biggest air. Freestyle skiing is also a lot more robust in terms of competition than freeride skiing. Freestyle skiing events are present in the X Games, Winter Olympics and the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships.
Bobby Brown at the Red Bull Performance Camp in Saas Fee Switzerland
© Dom Daher / Red Bull Content Pool
Freeriding is about exploration and adventure. Freeriding involves going off the beaten path and skiing through new terrain. In terms of compeittion, freeride skiing is a lot less established. You have Red Bull’s Natural Selection Tour and the Freeride World Tour, but there’s little else outside of that in terms of top-level competition.
Preparation for freestyle and freeride skiing
Training is imperative to both freestyle and freeride skiing. Freestyle skiers often train with the tricks they want to do in mind: leg strength helps improve big air takeoff and landings; core strength helps with mid-air body control; balance helps the skier remain stable when moving at high speeds or grinding on rails. Freeride skiers train for endurance, balance, strength and focus.
Weather forecasts are essential to help you determine how much snow is going to be on the ground, what type of snow it will be, and what time the sun will set. Weather is a major factor in your personal safety, especially when you’re so far away from help.
Conclusion
If you enjoy catching air, doing tricks and showcasing your own style, then freestyle is for you.
If you prefer exploring the open slopes with little to no regulation and doing your own thing, then freeriding is your best option.
Above all else, make sure that you have a solid grasp on the basics of skiing before you try any one of these forms. These styles of skiing are dangerous even for the pros; taking on freestyling or freeriding when you haven’t mastered the fundamentals could pose serious risks to you or others.
