Steeps, powder fields, amazing tree runs. The following resorts have them all, and are the pinnacle of freeriding destinations.
Freeriders who know just what snowboarding is all about will be very impressed with Verbier. The ONeil Xtreme competition is held here on the North face of the Bec des Rosses which sh
Freeride paradise
A solid terrain park
Pistes in all shapes and sizes
Some testing lifts but English tuition
Criminally expensive
Where to begin… For anyone comfortable on hard blues and up, Revelstoke is going to be your new favourite resort. We say hard blues because, although the resort is 52.5% beginner/intermediate (7% and 45.5% respectively), a lot of the runs are scooped up by two cat roads taking you back...
Freeriders are best suited to St Anton as it's the perfect playground, with a little of everything: steeps, powder, trees and big drop offs. Riders who know what they're doing should worm their way up to Kapall where they'll find loads of great freeriding terrain, with good natural hits. Alternatively,...
Awesome off-piste but don't hang around
Good if small park but plenty of natural hits
Wide, long and some very testing slopes
Only small areas are really easy for beginners
THE resort for on slope apres ski
It can be experienced on a budget
Freeriders are in command here, with much of the terrain best suited to riders who know how to handle a board and prefer off-piste. Extreme Limits is a gnarly, un-pisted heaven for extreme lovers wanting big hits and steeps. Check out Headwall and North Face for some serious double black...
Some of the best extremes in the USA
New park & superpipe for 2010
Boasts 'Colorado's Best Corduroy'
Balme This area is less well known for great freeriding as other areas in Chamonix, and as such some of the less obvious areas will survive being tracked out for longer. From the first chairlift you take once you get up to the area, you’ll spot plenty of nice easy...
Tree runs & amazing off-piste
Great natural
Spread out & ungroomed slopes
Dedicated beginner areas
Plenty going on and not tacky
Pricey but possible on a budget
Freeriders should love it on Jackson's slopes, with a host of marked out trails and acres of backcountry terrain to explore in areas such as the Green River Bowl or Cody Bowl. Backcountry guides are on hand to help you, and you can sign up for half day, full, or...
Tree runs & epic off-piste
Park & halfpipe, good natural
some good long trails
Freeriders will wet themselves when they see the off-piste opportunities, which are mega and best checked out with the services of a guide. It is possible to find fresh tracks a week or two after snowfall.The 2 freeride routes down to Teufi and Mülli from Jakobshorn are pretty cool, but...
Trees and excellent off-piste
Good pipes and parks
Huge and varied run selection
Freeriders will soon work out that this is a resort for them. The terrain on both mountains lends itself perfectly for both piste and backcountry riding. You'll find a number of steep black trails on Fred's Mountain, but most of them are quite short. You'll find plenty of open steep...
A good pitch with challenging terrain
2 small parks & decent natural features
Some good groomers too
The resort is sheer powder heaven when it dumps, which is often with its Pacific Northwest climate. Natural hits spring up all over both mountains which both have amazing tree runs, marked and unmarked. On Whistler, try Peak to Creek via the Peak Chair and Bagel or West Bowl. Even...
Trees and amazing off-piste
World leader in parks & pipes
Huge array of good runs
Plenty for the beginner
Legendary bars and nightlife
Expensive facilities
Freeriders will love Kicking Horse; it's one of a few BC resorts with wide-open Alpine powder faces. You can drop into Bowl Over and Crystal Bowl directly from the top of the Gondola and Stairway chair but on powder days these faces get schralped in seconds so ride down the...
Gnarly chutes, huge off-piste and trees.
A small park but lots of natural hits
Limited options for newbs
For some nice and mellow Freeriding head up chair 2 up around Ptarmigan's Roost. Chair 8 is the spot in the Zip Basin with the top being all skate park style with little wind lips and double ups, then dip into the trees you'll find a little warming hut and...
Trees, steep chutes, and back country
A terrain Park
Well laid out
When the snow is on, this is the place to freeride! Set in a series of active volcanoes, the peaks of Chillan have a unique typography with rolling gullies, sharp pinnacles, and exposed, jagged ridgelines. The rideable terrain here changes swiftly, fro
Amazing backcountry and slackcountry
A fairly limited park
Good intermediate trails
Great terrain to learn on
It doesn’t seem to matter if it’s the weekend when it’s busy, or during the week when things are quieter, whatever resort you go to you need to be on that first lift if you want pure untracked freshies. Because of the standard of the riders at Mt Baker, by lunchtime everything...
some tree runs & epic off-piste
a small park, but its all about nature
Not really what its about
No bars on the lifts!
No frills and no high prices
Freeriders have the lot here, the 4 Vallees is massive and known throughout the world as one of the best freeride areas on the planet. The annual Nendaz FWT competition is one of the biggest on the calendar and freeride pros such as Florian Bouver Fournier have made this their...
Big off piste
Natural rules
Have it fast
Spralling area
Cheaper than Verbier
Freeriders in search of off-piste and fresh powder, need to hook up with a guide and set off to areas around the Plaine Morte Glacier, where you can make your way to nearby Anzere. The route goes through some tunnels, which makes it well worth the effort. The area known...
So much terrain to choose from
Good pistes
The best riding for advanced freeriders - tons and meters of deep snow and no sights of civilization around. It's always better to hire a guide, because if you ride down some Russian volcano 12000 km away from home towards a helicopter that's going to meet you at 10:30 and...
Amazing experience
Just natural
none
Freeriders have plenty of great terrain to explore, with tree runs down to the village, or extreme terrain with bowls and cliffs which you can reach by dropping in to your right on the Berneuse. You should also check out the official off-piste runs that give you the feeling of...
Trees, Bowls, Cliffs the lot
Parks & Halfpipe
Very quiet slopes
FREERIDERS, have for a number of years been aware of what is on offer here, whether up on Flims or over on the Laax slopes. For a nice long freeride trail that’s not over testing, try out the Segnes trail which is a red run that shoots down from the...
Trees & some good off-piste
2 terrain parks & 2 halfpipes
Great condition & variety
True powder hounds know not to head to Niseko United without backcountry gear, or at least a shovel, beacon and probe (& knowledge on how to use them!). Some steeps sections can be found but compared to other resorts such as world-renowned C
Good backcountry and lots of pow
Selection of terrain parks
Lots of options
There are 38km of official freeride routes, and off-piste is where Zermatt really excels as a destination. The Stockhorn or over at the Schwarzsee areas are good. There’s lots of bowls, couloirs and steep off-piste and if you’ve got any cash left then heli-boarding is an option. There are heli...
Some trees and good off-piste
All year terrain parks and good natural
Lots of cat tracks