Daniel Bacher - Skipowd.tv

Profile and significance

Daniel Bacher is a freeski park specialist from Innsbruck, Austria, who broke through internationally with a bronze medal in Ski Big Air at X Games Aspen 2024. Born in 2004 and raised in the Stubai Valley, he came up through Austria’s national program and the TU Innsbruck club system, earning two junior world silver medals in 2021 before stepping onto the senior stage. He represented Austria at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and added a World Cup podium with second place at Big Air Chur in October 2023. Bacher’s signature is playful power—tail-butter initiations, precise grabs, and an instinct for using course features in original ways that read clearly on camera and to judges alike.

Competitive arc and key venues

Bacher’s early résumé includes the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2020, followed by a breakout 2021 Junior Worlds where he took silver in both slopestyle and big air. The next step was the senior circuit: he qualified for Beijing 2022 (17th in slopestyle, 21st in big air) and kept momentum with consistent World Cup starts. His first World Cup podium arrived at the season opener in Switzerland—second place at the music-and-sport festival Big Air Chur in October 2023, a showcase of his switch tail-butter double cork mechanics. In January 2024 he earned X Games bronze at Aspen’s big air, a result that validated his approach at the sport’s most-watched stage. He returned to Aspen in 2025 for Knuckle Huck, placing fifth in a field stacked with style leaders. Between contest peaks, he logs training volume around Innsbruck—fast park laps at Nordkette Skyline Park above the city, the well-shaped Golden Roofpark at Axamer Lizum, and pre-season jump mileage on the Stubai Glacier.

How they ski: what to watch for

Bacher’s competition runs are built around control and creativity rather than maximum spin volume. He’s best known for tail-butter and tail-tap initiations that change the look and timing of familiar tricks—most notably a switch left tail-butter double cork 1440 with safety grab that became a calling card. Watch for compact approaches, deliberate takeoff marks, and clean axis control in the air; he keeps the body quiet and lets the ski flex and timing do the heavy lifting. On rails and side features he favors smooth speed and full-feature usage over “huck and hope.” The overall effect is readable and replayable: tricks that judges can score confidently and fans can analyze frame by frame.

Resilience, filming, and influence

Like many park specialists transitioning to senior finals, Bacher has absorbed the usual setbacks—variable weather windows, high-pressure qualification formats, and the learning curve of big-venue scaffolding jumps. The response has been steady refinement. Between World Cup starts and X Games appearances, he contributes to film- and brand-driven edits (including creative sessions with the Capeesh crew), reinforcing a style-first identity that resonates with park skiers outside the FIS bubble. For the broader freeski audience, his rise underscores that technical nuance—tail butters, clean grabs, measured spin choices—can win podiums without sacrificing personality.

Geography that built the toolkit

Bacher’s toolkit is very much a product of Innsbruck’s neighborhood of training grounds. Quick-hit after-school laps at Nordkette Skyline Park build edge feel and rail timing within sight of the city. The Golden Roofpark at Axamer Lizum provides a deeper feature set to string together lines at speed. Early-season big-air timing happens on the glacier—Stubai is a European hub where national teams test jump shapes months before winter fully arrives. Add travel to Colorado for Aspen and you’ve got a map that balances volume, variety, and the exact big-jump feelings required for World Cup pressure.

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

Bacher rides for Armada and is part of the Monster Energy roster. He also collaborates with Flaxta on a limited “Continuous – Daniel Bacher Edition” goggle. For skiers looking to learn from his setup rather than copy it outright: keep rail edges tuned with a light detune at contact points to reduce bites; choose a mount point that preserves switch stability while leaving enough tail for butters; and prioritize a consistent boot–binding feel so cork axes and tail-initiated spins stay predictable as you scale up jump size. His contest runs highlight how a familiar trick can look brand-new when initiation, grab, and exit timing are dialed—an approach that depends as much on repeatable equipment feel as on raw talent.

Why fans and progressing skiers care

Bacher is a useful reference for riders who want to compete without defaulting to maximum rotation. He shows that judges reward clarity: clean initiation (often buttered), a locked-in grab, and an axis that stays readable from takeoff to landing. Fans get memorable visuals—tail-tap creativity, sturdy landings, a style that’s easy to spot in a crowded field. Up-and-coming park skiers get a blueprint: build volume on medium features, practice buttered entries until they’re second nature, and let trick variety—not just spin count—carry your runs. The results speak loudly enough: Olympic experience at 17, a World Cup podium in Chur, and X Games hardware in Aspen, all while keeping a distinctive look that translates to film parts and brand edits.

Quick reference (places)

Principal sponsors

Armada — skis
Monster Energy — athlete support
Flaxta — goggles (Daniel Bacher Edition)