Alex Bellemare
Profile and significance
Alex Bellemare is a Canadian freeski slopestyle specialist from Saint-Boniface, Québec, who helped define the 2010s contest era with a blend of clean execution and rail precision. He earned X Games Aspen bronze in 2015 in men’s ski slopestyle and represented Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Across the FIS circuit he picked up multiple World Cup podiums, including a win at the PyeongChang test event and a podium in the Pyrenees. Those results, plus a steady stack of well-received video parts and game appearances in SLVSH, make Bellemare a recognized name for skiers tracking the evolution of modern park skiing.
What sets him apart is not a single viral trick but a complete, reproducible approach: consistent speed through jump lines, early set on doubles, and rail transfers that read clearly from the judges’ booth and from the fence line. That reliability under pressure earned him starts at the sport’s biggest venues and kept him relevant as courses became larger and more technical.
Competitive arc and key venues
Bellemare’s international breakthrough arrived early with a World Cup podium at Mammoth in 2012, then he finished fourth at Aspen in 2013 before sealing his first X Games medal—slopestyle bronze at Aspen 2015—on Buttermilk’s stage. He rode momentum into the Olympic cycle by winning the PyeongChang test event at Phoenix Snow Park in February 2016 and added another World Cup podium in January 2017 at Font-Romeu. He qualified to the PyeongChang 2018 Games, where he competed in slopestyle.
These waypoints map the core of his contest identity: Buttermilk (Aspen) for X Games-level pressure and polished jump lines; Phoenix Snow Park for its buffed, high-speed Olympic layout; and the French Pyrenees’ Font-Romeu slopestyle with its rail-to-jump rhythm sections. North America’s springtime circuits at Mammoth Mountain and Colorado parks gave him long blocks of reps to lock runs before finals day. He also showed up in head-to-head formats like the SLVSH Cup at Andorra’s Grandvalira, a setting that rewards trick literacy and style clarity more than spin volume.
How they ski: what to watch for
On jumps, watch how Bellemare initiates the axis early and then lets the skis do the rotation. He favors readable doubles to both directions with held grabs—often blunt or tail—that keep the silhouette tidy and help judges separate difficulty from style. His landings are characteristically stacked: hips and shoulders in line, knees absorbing, and immediate edge engagement into the next feature without speed checks.
On rails his economy of movement stands out. He approaches with a flat base and minimal upper-body drift, locks presses cleanly, and chooses surface swaps and pretzel exits that prove edge control rather than padding the run with unnecessary spins. That approach translates well when wind or temps shift; because the base speed and timing are disciplined, he can adapt trick selection without scrambling.
Resilience, filming, and influence
Bellemare’s timeline isn’t just a podium list; it includes real setbacks and rebounds. He dealt with a knee injury that derailed his Sochi 2014 ambitions, then rebuilt to secure his X Games medal and an Olympic berth four years later. Away from bibs he balanced contests with filming—appearing in Level 1’s “After Dark,” dropping personal projects like “ECHO,” and stacking Quebec-flavored urban shots with friends. The Andorra SLVSH Cup appearances and support roles in community-driven events—like street-style sessions around Québec—add to his reputation as an athlete who brings contest polish to creative settings.
That blend matters in 2020s freeskiing, where athletes straddle World Cups, invitations, and independent film projects. Younger riders studying run construction can lift details from his finals-day playbook, while urban-curious skiers will notice how his rail habits (approach angles, speed choice, and grab timing on close-outs) carry directly into street features.
Geography that built the toolkit
Raised near Shawinigan, Bellemare grew up lapping Vallée du Parc, a compact Mauricie hill where repetition and park laps build mechanics fast. From there, trips to Colorado and California expanded the jump vocabulary, while the Pyrenees circuit refined the “rails into jumps” rhythm now standard in slopestyle. Key arenas in his story include Aspen for X Games pressure, Mammoth for spring progression blocks, Andorra’s Grandvalira for game-style formats, South Korea’s Phoenix Snow Park for Olympic-grade speed, and the French Font-Romeu Pyrénées 2000 venue for European slopestyle flow.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
Bellemare is associated with Armada on skis—a natural fit given the brand’s park lineage and Quebec ties. For readers, the takeaway isn’t “buy what he rides,” but rather to think like he does about setup: mount point that balances swing weight with landing stability; slightly detuned tips and tails with sharper underfoot sections for locking presses; and a flex that pops without punishing landings. If you’re chasing his rail economy, prioritize boot board feel and consistent bevels before you worry about adding another 180 to your exit.
Eyewear choices have included Pit Viper’s high-coverage shields, useful on flat-light contest days when speed management is everything. He has long been connected to Québec core retail like Axis and D-Structure—shops that helped the province’s park scene mature. For progressing skiers, those relationships underscore a broader point: the right shop can be a performance partner, not just a place to buy gear, especially when you need fast edge tunes between qualis and finals.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Fans value Bellemare for a style you can spot mid-line: deliberate takeoffs, held grabs, and landings that roll cleanly into the next feature. Coaches and aspiring competitors value the reproducibility of his runs; he builds finals sets that survive wind shifts and start-gate nerves. Park locals relate to the path—small Québec laps to world stages—proving that repetition and detail work can carry you to X Games and the Olympics. And his presence in films and SLVSH games shows that contest polish and creative skiing aren’t mutually exclusive.
In an era when slopestyle keeps raising the ceiling, Bellemare’s career is a reminder to build the walls: speed control, line choice, edge fluency. That foundation is why his medal in Aspen and test-event win in Korea don’t feel like one-offs—they’re expressions of a method. If you’re evaluating modern freeski technique, watch him for how difficulty, amplitude, and readability can all coexist without looking forced.
Quick reference (places)
- Vallée du Parc — home hill vibe and repetition culture (verified skipowd.tv page)
- Buttermilk (Aspen) — X Games slopestyle venue
- Phoenix Snow Park (PyeongChang) — Olympic test event site
- Font-Romeu Pyrénées 2000 — Pyrenees World Cup slopestyle stop
- Grandvalira — Andorra’s SLVSH Cup playground
Principal sponsors
- Armada — skis
- Pit Viper — eyewear/goggles
- Axis Boutique — Québec retail partner
- D-Structure — Québec retail/scene support
