World Ski & Snowboard Festival Recap

Following three crowd-pleasing multimedia events (72 Hour Filmmaker Showdown, Pro Photographer Showdown, and Intersection) last week, the World Ski & Snowboard Festival (WSSF) concluded over the weekend in Whistler, B.C. with a slew of competitions, live music and parties. 

Mili Hofmann at The Grind. Photo by Oisin McHugh

It began on a rather dreary Thursday evening with ski and snowboard qualifiers for The Grind Series, a rail jam put on by the good people at Canada Snowboard. After years without a major snowboarding or skiing contest in Whistler Village, Skier’s Plaza at the base of Whistler Blackcomb was transformed into a high-energy, urban-inspired battleground for skiers and snowboarders alike.

Etienne Geoffroy-Gagnon. Photo by Oisin McHugh

This event marked two major firsts: it was the inaugural year for The Grind at WSSF, and the first time the tour included skiing. With $50,000 in cash prizing on the line and an all-time setup built in collaboration with Arena Snowparks, the riders went all in—matching the energy of a crowd that packed the village and brought the place roaring back to life. The atmosphere felt like a throwback to the golden years, as Whistler showed up in a big way. From passionate locals and visiting fans to an elite roster of Canadian and international talent, the village was buzzing with anticipation and energy throughout the week.

Avery Krumme. Photo by Ben Girardi

During qualifiers, skiers and snowboarders took to the top three features of the course, vying for one of eight open spots in the men's and women's finals. Heavy rain during the day softened the course and added an extra layer of difficulty, but athletes adapted quickly, throwing down standout runs and earning their way into the main event to square off against the start-studded lineup of pre-qualified athletes. 

Mat Dufresne. Photo by Ben Girardi

Friday morning saw the sun show its face for the first time in nearly a week, and it couldn’t have appeared at a more perfect time, since the steepest ski race in the world was at the top of the schedule for the day. The Saudan Couloir Race Extreme presented by Helly Hansen sees skiers and snowboarders tackle a race gate-littered, double-black diamond chute and face named after the legendary ski mountaineer Sylvain Saudan, before descending to the bottom of Jersey Cream Chair for a total of 3,300 metres of leg-burning vertical. 

Saudan Couloir Race Extreme. Photo by Oisin McHugh

A total of 111 athletes signed up for this punishing but exciting endeavor, and once it was all said and done, Asher Jordan and Marie-Pier Prefontaine satisfied their need for speed and took top honours in the men's and women's pro categories, while a litany of others earned bragging rights by winning their respective amateur divisions.

Photo by Oisin McHugh

WSSF then shifted gears back to The Grind for men’s and women’s ski finals under bluebird skies on Saturday afternoon into the evening. As live music from The Gaff and Fort Knox Five echoed through the village during training, 16 men and 16 women dropped into the full course in a jam-format showdown. Finals then featured a four-person head-to-head bracket, giving riders the chance to go big under pressure—and they did just that.

Luke Smart. Photo by Ben Girardi

Whistler’s very own Luke Smart—son of Momentum Camps owners John and Julia Smart—earned the biggest victory of his career by taking the top spot in front of a hometown crowd, unleashing some of his heaviest tricks in the later rounds to edge out style king Mat Dufresne, who happily settled for second, while two-time Olympian Evan McEachran brought his signature finesse and experience to round out the podium in third along with winning Best Street Trick. A more than honourable mention also goes out to Mark “Mork” Hendrickson, who scored the award for Best Tech Trick.

Caoimhe Heavey. Photo by Ben Girardi

In the women’s category, Caoimhe Heavey emerged victorious with strong, confident runs that set her apart from the competition, while Freestyle Nationals champion Zoe Greze-Kozuki kept the heat on with silver and Best Street Trick, and the ever-consistent Marion Balsamo locked down bronze and Best Tech Trick.

Photo by Aga Iwanicka

On Saturday, while A Whole Lotta Led, Moka Only, and Swollen Members played to a packed plaza during training, the top snowboarders from across the country threw down in a heated jam session and knockout-style finals. The action-packed event saw one of Whistler’s favourite homegrown snowboarders Truth Smith emerge victorious in the men’s division, with Dane Menzies and Colton Eckert in second and third (and shout-out to Caleb Chomlack and Bryan Bowler for scoring Best Street Trick and Best Tech Trick, respectively), while on the women’s side of things, Jackie Carlson made her way out of retirement mode straight to the top of the podium (along with winning Best Street Trick), where she was joined by Juliette Pelchat in second and Adel Talyspayeva in third, who also won Best Tech Trick.

Truth Smith. Photo by Ben Girardi

Following a slew of jam-packed and wild parties on Saturday night, which saw award-winning DJs playing at all of Gibbons Whistler’s nightclubs, another sunny spring day was on the docket for the final day of WSSF, which was appropriately wrapped up by a time-honoured spring skiing tradition: Slush Cup. 

Photo by Oisin McHugh

The good times took place right outside of Glacier Creek Lodge at the base of the Jersey Cream and Glacier Express Chairs, and saw hundreds upon hundreds of people post up to raucously cheer on the laughter-filled carnage as costume-wearing skiers and snowboarders attempted to make it to the end of an impressively long pond skim.

Photo by Oisin McHugh

And with that, another World Ski & Snowboard Festival is officially in the books, and one could rightfully say that it was one for the ages. Huge thanks to everyone at Gibbons Whistler for their hard work and tireless efforts in putting the event on, along with Whistler Blackcomb, Tourism Whistler and the Resort Municipality of Whistler, who WSSF gratefully acknowledges the financial support of through the Resort Municipality Initiative. The festival would also not be possible without the generous contributions of Arc'teryx, Rockstar Energy Drink, Ketel One, DUER, Skullcandy, Ruroc Helmets, Burton, YETI, Forecast Ski Magazine, King Snow Magazine, Helly Hansen, Corona, Encore Whistler, and Flashback Whistler Photo Booth. And last but certainly not least, a big thank you goes out to the beautiful Fairmont Chateau Whistler and its wonderful staff for hosting the Forecast & King Snow crew during WSSF.

For more information on the World Ski & Snowboard Festival, visit wssf.com.