The Swatch Nines Wraps Innagrual Session in Japan

Featured Image: Jonas Gasser | Skier: Gen Sasaki

The Swatch Nines are a spectacle every year. Time after time, the build is as entertaining as the skiing, with the park shapers crafting insane courses complete with kickers, rail features, a trampoline or two (because why not), quarter pipes, transfer gaps and more. This year, The Nines headed for Japan, and it was as sick as you'd imagine.

Located at Niseko Tokyu Grand HIRAFU Resort, the 2026 Swatch Nines build was set with Mount Yotei in the background. It was a change from previous years, with the Nines 2024 and 2025 taking place in Schilthorn, Switzerland. In total, the park took 15 days, 16 shapers, and over 95,000 cubic meters (3.3 million cubic feet) of snow to complete. But if you're inviting the world's best skiers and snowboarders out, there's no room for cutting corners.

Swatch Nines 2026 — *Stunning view from the top section of the 2026 Swatch Nines course |* **Photo**: Jannis Oing

Riders began arriving just before April 7, with a week-long weather window slotted. April can be a fickle time in Japan, but Niseko's stellar winter provided ample snow for the park. Temperatures remained constant, though cloud cover continued to be an issue throughout the event.

But grey skies didn't stop anyone. After all, many skiers came from around the globe just to get their taste of the course. Invited riders included Alex Hackel, Dylan Deschamps, Skye Clarke, Gen Sasaki, Birk Ruud, Luca Harrington, Jay Rawe, Elena Gaskell, Swatch's finest Jesper Tjäder, Sämi Ortlieb and more.

There were ample highlights from the week, but here are a few FREESKIER favorites:

To the surprise of nobody, Tjäder had an affinity for the volcano feature with a trampoline planted up top, and the Swede was able to lace a switch backflip to switch backflip at sunset.
Jay Rawe landed a never-been-done flair out of a quarterpipe on a sit ski. That's two years in a row that Rawe has stomped NBD tricks at the Nines!
Known for his backcountry exploits, Gen Sasaki proved he's one of the most versatile skiers in the world by putting down huge tricks in the park, including an insane triple backflip.
Elena Gaskell showed up with a textbook 1080 mute on the 45-foot main jump.

The Nines has no traditional competition structure, but awards were still given out to those who threw down! Women's Ski Best Trick went to Gaskell for her 1080 mute, while Men's Ski Best Trick was awarded to Sasaki for his triple backflip heard round the world. Keep an eye out for a longer video recap of the 2026 Swatch Nines dropping soon.

From blunt grabs to backies, check out the full photo gallery from the 2026 Swatch Nines in Japan below.