Palisades Tahoe's Journey to Supporting the Next Generation of Freeriders

All Images: Courtesy of Palisades Tahoe and Chris Segal / Skier: Ryan Lapp

Professional freeride skiers keep popping out of Palisades Tahoe, and it’s no coincidence. Zeb Schreiber and Ryan Lapp are two athletes who have promising futures ahead of them. The seventeen-year-olds grew up on the Palisades’ Freeride program, shaped by the Sierra Nevada mountains and the tight-knit community that holds it together. While the duo has no problem hyping each other up to send it off, the rowdy terrain that has defined Palisades for decades. There is another reason these two seventeen-year-olds have reached the level they are at today.

During the 2026 season, a new freeride team was introduced to the Tahoe freeride scene: Pursuit. The team is a high-performance development program designed to support up-and-coming athletes on their journeys to becoming pros. One of the primary goals of this program is for Palisades’ professional athletes to serve as mentors for the Pursuit Team. Young athletes have the opportunity to build relationships and learn from icons such as Michelle Parker, JT Holmes, Connery Lundin, Cody Townsend, Jeremy Jones, and others. Taking bits of wisdom from longtime inspirations goes a long way for a hungry young skier.

The Pursuit Team is made up of local freeride skiers and riders who have already proven themselves at the highest level, performing at competitions such as the Freeride Junior World Championships, the Freeride World Tour & Kings & Queens of Corbet’s. The roster is stacked with talent and a drive for progression, and they are looking to keep that momentum going.

This crew also gets more than just mentorship; there is a monetary component, too. Pursuit Team Athletes currently in the Palisades Tahoe Teams program get their seasonal fees waived or comped. In addition, Palisades Tahoe made a $10k donation to the Palisades Tahoe Community Foundation. Each of the 9 Pursuit Team Athletes has the opportunity to apply for a $ 1,000 grant to be used toward anything that helps them achieve their goals of becoming professional free-ride athletes. The grant can be used for competition fees, travel, filming opportunities, training, or anything else that helps them advance their careers.

Zeb Schreiber and Ryan Lapp Journey to Success

Zeb, who was born and raised on Tahoe’s west shore, joined the Palisades Freeride team at age nine. Earlier this year, he placed 3rd at the Junior Freeride World Championship in Austria, proving to be one of the top up-and-coming skiers in the world right now.

Ryan moved to Tahoe full-time from the Bay Area five years ago, and has since bloomed into the innovative, technical skier he is. In 2022, he lost his brother Scotty in a tragic ski accident.. Instead of stepping away, he admirably dove deeper into skiing.

“It really pushed me into the sport and connected me to the community in a big way,” Ryan said.

Both Zeb and Ryan owe their success in skiing to the unique atmosphere at Palisades Tahoe, their teammates & coaches, and each other. The group dynamic offers a bit of healthy peer pressure, “Every time I’m scared, I just have to go because if Zeb does it, I do it” Ryan said.

While chatting about their first-year experience on the Pursuit Team, they both expressed gratitude for the mentorship and media exposure the team has provided.

“It was pretty unique growing up seeing all the pros skiing here every day,” Zeb said, who has since built friendships with many of them. Connery, Jeremy Jones, Johnny Mosely, and Elyse Saugstad are a few who have significantly impacted his skiing. “It’s really cool to learn from these legends and have that passing down of knowledge through the generations,” Zeb said.

“Connery’s become like a big brother to me. He’s always down to ski and it’s pretty cool,” Ryan said. He mentions how mentors like Connery and Michelle Parker are consistently there to help with sponsorship letters, pitch decks, and just navigating the industry. “They’re there for us, they want to see us succeed,” he says.

There’s a mutually beneficial relationship with the Pursuit Team and Palisades. Palisades gets to film a promo with young talent, and athletes like Zeb and Ryan get their names out there through that promo. “Being recognized publicly by a mountain I’ve skied at my whole life is a pretty awesome thing,”Ryan said.

“It's all learning opportunities,” Zeb said. “It’s just another building block they’re giving us to grow our reputations and careers as skiers.”

The pursuit-to-pro pipeline is strong, and we’re excited to see where this program goes in the future.