Nendaz Backcountry Invitational 2023
4 Vallées, Switzerland
SKI MEN
FINAL RANKING
Markus Eder - ITA 🇮🇹
Ralph Welponer - ITA 🇮🇹
Maxime Chabloz - CHF 🇨🇭
Martin Bender - CHF 🇨🇭
Sven Rauber - CHF 🇨🇭
Alex Neurohr - CHF 🇨🇭
Léo Slemett - FRA 🇫🇷
Mikkel Brandt - DNK 🇩🇰
Malo Jobin - CHF 🇨🇭
Fabio Studer - AUT 🇦🇹
SKI WOMEN
FINAL RANKING
Lea Bouard - FRA 🇫🇷
Astrid Cheylus - FRA 🇫🇷
Zuzanna Witych - POL 🇵🇱
Anne-Sophie De Peters - CHF 🇨🇭
Eva Battolla - CHF 🇨🇭
SNOW MEN
FINAL RANKING
Liam Rivera - MEX 🇲🇽
Carlos Gerber - CPV 🇨🇻
Hugo Serra - FRA 🇫🇷
Timm Schröder - DEU 🇩🇪
Eliot Dänzer - CHE 🇨🇭
SNOW WOMEN
FINAL RANKING
Léa Klaue - CHF 🇨🇭
Coline Benninger - CHF 🇨🇭
Tiphanie Perrotin - FRA 🇫🇷
Nuria Castan Baron - ESP 🇪🇸
Zoe Macgeorge - CHF 🇨🇭
Nendaz Backcountry Invitational 2023. Photo by
Below Zero, Above Expectations
Third edition. January 21st, 2023. It started the day below -20°C — and turned into one of the best backcountry freestyle throwdowns skiing had seen in years.
Consistent snowfall and wind transfers set the face up perfectly. And once the first rider dropped, the cold stopped mattering. Full send and constant stoke from the first drop to the finish-area party.
Nendaz Backcountry Invitational 2023. Photo by
The first-ever double cork 1080
The moment that went down in history: Ralph Welponer stomped a perfect double cork 1080 on his first run — the first dub 10 ever landed in a freeride competition. Then he backed it up with a proper backcountry line, a huge nosebutter 3 off the start cliff and a full-throttle charge through the natural features to the bottom. Arguably the skier of the day.
Nendaz Backcountry Invitational 2023. Photo by
Eder took the men's
It came down to the superstars of freeride. Maxime Chabloz threw down a smorgasbord of 7s, double 10s, and even a triple backflip. But it was Markus Eder who found his way to the top — and it's simply a pleasure to watch him ski. Doubles, slow stylish rotations, capped grabs, and a nosebutter cork 7 thrown in for good measure. Unstoppable.
Welponer took second on the back of that historic run, and Maxime Chabloz rounded out the men's podium in third.
Nendaz Backcountry Invitational 2023. Photo by
Léa Bouard led the women
Léa Bouard took the win — and did it in one of the gnarliest moments of the whole comp, backflipping the start cliff first try. Astrid Cheylus ran her close all day, stomping 3s and backflips top to bottom, landing second. Poland's Zuzanna Witych completed the women's podium in third with three clean runs of her own.
Nendaz Backcountry Invitational 2023. Photo by
More than the tricks
But this event was never really about who landed what. A crowd of local kids watched wide-eyed all day, grabbing selfies with the riders in the finish area — one of them walked away with Markus Eder's broken pole like a trophy. By the time the podium ceremony rolled around, the finish area had turned into a dubstep rave in the snow. Those same kids were throwing their first backflips on the small jumps once the comp wrapped.
That's the whole point. Show what backcountry freestyle can be, and let the next generation catch the bug.
Shaping the perfect day with us
