On Monday, January 13, eight athletes from the Truckee-Tahoe area competed in the 2025 Yeti Junior Freeride World Championships in Kappl, Austria. The event was held on the Quellspitze face, which boasts an elevation of approximately 8,825 feet, at 10:00 a.m. Central European Time (1:00 a.m. PST).
The competition consisted of four categories that went in order as follows: snowboard men, snowboard women, ski women, and ski men. In total, 64 athletes aged 15-18 from 16 countries battled it out for the four titles.
Truckee High School (THS) seniors Indy Boyer and Henry Schrichte competed in skiing and junior Cass Jones was in the men’s snowboard circuit. THS 2024 alum Jack Dolan also qualified for the championship, representing Western Colorado University Freeride for men’s skiing.
Four other Palisades Tahoe teens also conquered the Quellspitze face on Monday,. Julia Bouligny was the only Tahoe athlete in the female snowboarding category. She picked a more conservative, yet technical line and earned a score of 55.33, clinching sixth place out of nine. 18-year-old Tyler Thomson snowboarded for the men and placed the highest of all of the local talent. He won silver in his category with a 78.00 score.
16-year-old Zebedee “Zeb” Schreiber did not land a 360 on his descent, causing him to receive no score (NS) for his run on the ski men circuit. The final Palisades athlete was male skier Austin Pickett from Olympic Valley Freeride who also took a fall which caused both of his skis to come off. Pickett is listed in the rankings as disqualified (DSQ) for unknown reasons, possibly related to his crash. More information about and interviews with all of the Palisades Tahoe Freeride athletes can be found here.
Boyer and Schrichte both received no score (NS) for falls on their runs so they were not considered to be champions. Jones secured fifth place for the snowboard men, receiving a 67.67. Dolan got a 53.00 for his run, putting him in 18th in his category.
Freeride World Tour (FWT) events are scored by three or more judges across five categories on the 0 to 100 scale: line, control, technique, fluidity, and finally air and style. However, “freeride” is very subjective so the judges’ overall impression is valued above all else.
The 2025 champions are as follows:
- Snowboard Men: Kea Chretien (France) secured his 3rd consecutive title this year, scoring the highest of all the competitors with 91.00.
- Snowboard Women: Amélie Martin (France) scored a 73.00 and proved herself as one of the younger riders in the competition at 16.
- Ski Women: Hannah Baldwin (Snowbird/Alta, USA) executed a backflip in her run, earning her a round 90.00.
- Ski Men: Noah Peizerat (France) wowed the judges by stomping multiple 360s throughout his line. He received a 90.67.
Watch the full competition, winning runs, and other FWT content on their YouTube channel. Looking to watch a specific run? Timestamps for each athlete are available on the replay of the live broadcast.
It is an immense accomplishment to have eight young people from the local freeride scene competing on a global scale across all four categories. Congratulations to all of the skiers and riders who qualified for the championships, representing the Tahoe-Truckee area all the way across the globe in Kappl.