Treble Cone, NZ Hosts First Backcountry Invitational Competition

Featured Image: Neil Kerr | Skier: Lach Powell

The Backcountry Invitational has picked up and gone global in recent months, taking the show on the road to Argentina and, most recently, New Zealand. Started in Nendaz, Switzerland, the event has grown in popularity as it blossomed alongside the Nendaz Freeride club.

The 2025 Nendaz Backcountry Invitational set the bar high, but the latest events have exceeded expectations. While the Nendaz event has historically held one of the sport's longest weather windows, sometimes nearing 30 days, the recent Treble Cone comp was pulled off in quick order. Though planned well in advance, the course was built in just three days with a star-studded roster of male and female skiers.

Though many of the riders were from the South Island, there were many international rippers to be found. We saw a few Americans representing the red, white, and blue, as Tyler Curle foreran the course after charging down chalk and rock at The Remarkables North Face Frontier 2*, with Britta Winans, Ross Tester and Toby Rafford holding it down during the comp.

Finn Bilous skiing Treble Cone — *Finn Bilous lines up a textbook cork 7 blunt | **Photo:** Will Barron*

Treble Cone New Zealand — *Harriet Lucas lays one out on her way to a second-place finish |* **Photo**: Will Barron

The format and course of The Backcountry Invitational are each unique, with riders getting three runs to dial in their best work on the course consisting of a sprawling array of natural and man-made features. Athletes vote to send their peers to the podium, adding another level of differentiation from traditional contests.

"Held on Crags into Shooter [trail runs], a local favourite at Treble Cone, it was a freeride competition with a twist," read the official press release. "The All Good Productions team and Cardrona Terrain Parks crew spent three days building huge take-offs, installing rails and shaping the terrain to create an incredible playground that allowed the athletes to show off their skills." Course builders were assisted by a much-needed storm in the days before.

It was a sight to behold, with multiple kickers, a backcountry rail, natural gullies and a few cliff offerings littered throughout the course. This mish-mash of freestyle and freeride is hard to beat. Purists on either side will argue that events like these fit neither category, and we completely agree in the best possible way. It creates something new for the modern freeskier to be as expressive as possible on skis.

To preserve the prime conditions, athletes were only treated to a visual inspection of the course. Similar to a Freeride World Tour event, they had to map out their lines before ever setting foot on the venue. Of course, this didn't inhibit the riding the slightest.

The women's field was led by young gun Lulu Laird. The 18-year-old Aussie was fired up on the community-centered event, saying, "I have never been part of something that is athlete-voted and it completely changed competitions for me in the future." The podium was rounded out by Great Britain's Harriet Lucas in second place and NZ freeride legend, Jess Hotter, in third.

The Kiwis swept the men's podium from top to bottom. Whoever said home-field advantage isn't real? To no one's surprise, Treble Cone's own Finn Bilous claimed the top spot. "It’s been a bit of a dream of mine to put a comp run through [Crags to Shooter], so it was super cool to get after it with all the crew," he said. "Events like this that cater to a wide range of different skiing styles [that] are quite unique, and it's something I would like to see more of in the future.”

Second place went to X Games Slopestyle gold medalist and reigning Big Air World Champion Luca Harrington, proving he's becoming one of the most versatile skiers on earth. Fynn Powell took third place as he preps for his 2026 Freeride World Tour debut.

It would appear that this is just a warm-up for The Backcountry Invitational, as the crew clearly has its sights set on a global competition format. We're fired up to see what's to come, and massive congrats to all who put on this stellar event.