Scroll down to the bottom of this page for additional program and scholarship information.
The Freeride program is tailored for skiers and snowboarders aged 11 to 18 (as of December 31st) who aim to enhance their big mountain riding skills. This program focuses on training for and competing in freeride competitions sanctioned by the International Freeskiers Association (IFSA). Prospective athletes should be able to safely and confidently navigate most of the terrain on Lone Mountain before joining.
Freeride Options
Participants can choose from one, two (midweek or weekend), or four training days per week, based on their personal interests and goals. Athletes in the weekend program have the option to train with the Slopestyle Team on Sundays.
Team members will develop a wide range of skills, including:
Foundational ski techniques
Air awareness
Risk vs. reward tactics
Terrain feature assessment
Avalanche safety
Airborne trick progressions
The Freeride Program is structured around the IFSA judging criteria: line, control, technique, fluidity, style, and energy.
Slopestyle Option
New for 2024-25! Big Sky Resort offers some of the best terrain parks in the country, and we are excited to introduce a Sundays-only Slopestyle program. This program is dedicated to enhancing slopestyle-specific skills. Athletes will focus on:
Safely and efficiently building their airborne trick progressions
Developing rail feature skills
The program emphasizes FIS judging categories: amplitude, trick difficulty, execution, variation, style, and combination.
Christmas Camp
The Christmas Camp is included with all program options.
First-Year Participants
First-year participants must obtain approval from the Freeride head coach after completing their initial training sessions with the team. This ensures that each athlete will have a positive experience and meets the necessary skill requirements.
Essential Equipment
For details on essential gear, please refer to the Freeride Equipment Requirements section under the FAQs.
Freeride World Tour Qualifier athletes interested in coaching support should contact Wallace Casper
All participants in the Freeride program are expected to participate in at least two (2) competitions during the season. Freeride athletes who do not wish to compete are encouraged to consider the Big Sky Resort Rippers program.
As BSSEF has become active year-round, we’ve been compelled to push the Early Season pricing deadline earlier in the year for planning and cash flow purposes. However, we recognize that taking advantage of Early Season pricing might cause a cash crunch for some families. So, we offer installment payment options on a limited basis.
Here’s how installment plans work:
Choose the Partial.ly Payment Plan option at check out.
Select your down payment amount.
Select your payment frequency.
Your scheduled payments will be calculated based on the final due date of February 15, 2024.
Select your payment method (credit card, debit card, or bank account ACH).
There are a number of resources related to Alpine and Freeride competitions:
Start with the events calendar. We do our best to keep information on the event pages up-to-date, relevant, and complete.
The definitive source of information for Northern Division Alpine races is the Northern Division website. The race calendar there includes links to race announcements and results.
The IFSA website includes information regarding Junior Freeskiing competitions.
During the course of a competition, coaches will send updates and communicate with parents and athletes via the TeamReach mobile app.
With appropriate clothing, kids can ski and train in below zero weather. Sometimes, however, the start of training will be delayed in order to allow the temperature to rise a bit. In all cases, coaches will bring kids into the lodge for warm-ups as necessary. As always, check the TeamReach app for the latest updates regarding training.
The team typically eats lunch between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. Timing can be a bit flexible, depending on conditions and the day’s training agenda. Coaches accompany the athletes, but athletes are responsible for getting their own lunches. Athletes will have lunch in the BSSEF Team Room.
We feel your pain. We’re helped immensely by our sponsors, and we do our best to keep our overhead low in order to keep program prices in check. Nevertheless, program fees, equipment, and travel conspire to make skiing and ski racing expensive.
To make it less so, take advantage of early season program pricing and multi-program purchase discounts. Installment payment plans may be available on certain transactions.
