the backcountry invitational
Nendaz Backcountry Invitational 2025. Photo: Levy Loye
More than a competition
The perfect powder day with your homies — taken to the next level.
We run on a 30-day weather window. We don't chase the calendar — we chase the perfect day. Untouched powder lines, natural drops, hand-shaped features, blue skies. When everything aligns, we go.
No judges. No panels. No politics. Three rounds, and at the end of the day the riders vote for the best run. Simple as that.
Nendaz Backcountry Invitational 2026. Photo: Levy Loye
Born in the Alps.
Now going global.
The Backcountry Invitational started in 2021 as a local event in Nendaz, Switzerland — organised by the Nendaz Freeride Association, a team with over 20 years of experience building world-class freeride events in the Swiss Alps. What began as a group of friends finding their own perfect day when the mountains closed, quickly became something the freeski world hadn't seen before.
Nendaz Backcountry Invitational 2025. Photo: Levy Loye
Not your typical contest
Most events run on a rigid framework. Fixed dates, official panels, olympic-style judging. Ours is different.
We're about community and collective spirit. Shared passion. Fun, show, vibes and celebration. A daydream for any rider who's ever built a jump in untouched terrain and send it with their friends.
Crew Nendaz Backcountry Invitational 2022. Photo: Florian Bouvet Fournier
built by riders,
for riders
The Backcountry Invitational was created by people who spent years competing on the Freeride World Tour — and who wanted to build something different. Not about chasing points, but about having fun, pushing each other, and sharing the perfect day with the crew. That same spirit shapes every edition today, with our Athlete Board, made up of some of the best riders in the world, advising on the rules, the invites, and the destinations, among other things.
This isn't a corporate event dressed up as a grassroots one. It was built from the inside out.