Jennica Folkesson
Profile and significance
Jennica “Jenn” Folkesson is a Swedish street and backcountry freeski athlete who has quietly become one of the most interesting new names in women’s urban skiing. Listed as SWE in international start lists, she has found her natural home in western Switzerland, riding, filming and studying there while building a profile that blends creative street segments with full-on backcountry jump lines. As part of the all-girls Swiss crew Cute Café, she stars in their debut movie “Shy Latte” and their second film “What do you mean?”, both of which have been picked up by core freeski outlets and festival lineups. At the same time, she has proven that her style translates to bigger terrain, taking a podium at the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational alongside heavyweights like Arianna Tricomi and Lou Barin.
What sets Folkesson apart is how naturally she moves between different corners of freeski culture. One moment she is shovelling in a Swiss car park with Cute Café, hitting handrails and ledges with friends; the next she is dropping into a backcountry booter line for the invite-only Nendaz Backcountry Invitational, or making a guest appearance in Laurent De Martin’s experimental film “Inefficient Joy.” Away from the snow she studies art and design at ECAL in Lausanne and works with ceramics and installation, bringing a visual-arts eye to how she approaches skiing, spots and filming. For fans following the FLINTA* wave of street and freeride projects, she is already a key name to remember.
Competitive arc and key venues
Although most of Folkesson’s impact comes from films and projects, she has also stepped into selective, high-level events that blur the line between competition and session. A standout result came at the 2024 Nendaz Backcountry Invitational in Switzerland, part of the Nendaz Freeride festival, where she finished third in the women’s field behind Arianna Tricomi and Lou Barin. The format—backcountry-style jumps and natural features shot under contest conditions—was tailor-made for riders who can handle big airs without losing style, and her score in the 70s underlined that she belongs in that conversation.
Before that, she was one of 24 invited riders at the first Greeny Ynvitational video contest in Laax, where teams of skiers were given several days to film and edit a short piece within the Flims-Laax-Falera area. The event put creativity ahead of rigid judging criteria, rewarding teams that could find unexpected lines, features and narratives in and around the resort. Being on the invite list for such a project is a subtle but important marker: organisers saw her not just as someone who can stand on a rail or a jump, but as a rider who brings ideas and a distinctive presence to the screen.
Beyond named contests, her “competitive” environment is largely the informal but intense world of street trips and crew-based filming. Cute Café’s projects take her to various Swiss towns, smaller resorts and hidden zones where the pressure comes from the camera and the crew rather than from judges. Add in appearances in “Inefficient Joy” and screenings at festivals such as Champery and High Five, and you get a skier whose arc is measured as much in premiere schedules and film credits as in ranking lists.
How they ski: what to watch for
Folkesson’s skiing is rooted in street and creative terrain, with a style that emphasises calm body language and confident commitment. In Cute Café’s “Shy Latte” and “What do you mean?”, you often see her approach a feature with very little visible tension: knees flexed, hips centred, shoulders relaxed. Once she is on the rail or ledge, she stays stacked over her feet rather than fighting for balance mid-slide, which makes even technically demanding features look approachable and fun. Spins on and off, small transfers and creative nose or tail touches appear throughout her lines, but they are delivered with an understated ease that suits the homie-film vibe of the crew.
That same composure carries over to backcountry jump lines. At the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational, recap reports highlight how she attacked a windlip booter with enough speed to go deep into the landing, underscoring both her confidence and her willingness to push. It is a reminder that she is not simply a low-speed urban technician; she is comfortable going fast, popping off natural-feeling takeoffs and managing bigger airtime. When you watch her in a freeride or backcountry setting, pay attention to how she uses the terrain: reading rolls and windlips as opportunities for smooth threes and controlled grabs rather than hunting for the single biggest cliff.
Across both environments, a key detail is her sense of line. Whether she is in a city park, a residential stair set or a backcountry bowl, she tends to link features in a way that feels intuitive rather than forced. A down rail might lead directly into a banked turn, then a side hit or wallride; a pair of natural features might become a quick double hit rather than isolated tricks. For progressing skiers watching her edits, this is where the real learning lies: strong basics, consistent speed and a willingness to see two or three tricks ahead when choosing a line.
Resilience, filming, and influence
Like many modern freeskiers, Folkesson’s influence runs through films and collectives more than through traditional rankings. As a core member of Cute Café, she is part of a crew that openly prioritises friendship, joy and creative expression over star-making. Their second film, “What do you mean?”, is framed as a collection of “good times from last winter”—street sessions around Switzerland with a touch of Swedish flavour—yet the skiing is serious: proper handrails, gap-to-rails, rock jibs and roof drops that would fit comfortably in more conventional pro-level street movies. Her presence on screen, often captured by friends behind the camera, helps normalise the idea that women-led crews can set the tone in street skiing rather than just appear as guests in larger productions.
Her influence extends beyond Cute Café’s projects. In “Inefficient Joy,” an experimental film by Laurent De Martin, she appears alongside other riders as part of a wider meditation on why people pour so much energy into skiing. It is a film that blends art-house sensibility with freeride imagery, and having her name listed among the cast connects her to a broader conversation about skiing as a creative practice, not just a sport. She has also been associated with Simply. Recreation Club, the Swiss ski brand founded by De Martin, appearing in event recaps as a “young gun” riding their skis—a partnership that further anchors her in the core of Valais freeski culture.
Off the snow, her studies at ECAL and projects like the “CHACUNE” installation show that she approaches creativity from multiple angles. Working with clay, objects and tactile storytelling, she explores themes of transmission and connection that echo the way skiing knowledge and culture move from one generation to the next. For younger riders, especially women navigating both creative and athletic paths, seeing someone combine art school, ceramics and serious skiing into one life can be as inspiring as any single trick.
Geography that built the toolkit
Geography plays a big role in how Folkesson skis. On the competitive side, the Valais region of Switzerland gives her access to a dense cluster of terrain: the backcountry zones around Nendaz, the parks and street options of the Val de Bagnes and the broader network of resorts that feed into events like the Greeny Ynvitational in Laax. The Nendaz Backcountry Invitational tasks riders with using natural jumps, windlips and ridgelines rather than pre-built park features, pushing them to read the terrain quickly and commit to lines that would not look out of place in a film segment.
On the urban side, Swiss towns and smaller resorts provide a seemingly endless supply of spots: schoolyard rails, retaining walls, park benches and park features that take on new life once the crew shows up with shovels. Cute Café’s films are full of these locations, sometimes stacked in obscure corners of western Switzerland, sometimes paired with trips to Sweden to tap into colder temperatures and different architecture. Each new location forces her to adapt—to different snow conditions, run-ins, landing zones and speeds—which in turn sharpens her ability to visualise lines wherever she goes.
Lausanne and the surrounding Lake Geneva region add yet another layer. Studying at ECAL puts her in a city environment where skate, art and design cultures intersect, providing constant visual inspiration and a different sort of “line choice” as she moves through urban space. The result is a skier who thinks about spots, compositions and textures not just in terms of what is skiable, but in terms of what will look and feel interesting on screen.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
Folkesson’s most visible equipment relationship is with Simply. skis, the Swiss brand created by Laurent De Martin and Sampo Vallotton. Simply’s Recreation model is designed as an all-mountain, backcountry-friendly ski with a distinctive fishtail, built in Valais with a focus on durability and versatile performance. For a rider splitting time between street rails, in-resort features and backcountry jumps, that kind of platform makes sense: playful enough for creative riding, but substantial enough to handle higher speeds and variable snow.
Her outerwear and other hardgoods are less formally documented, which fits the DIY, crew-based nature of Cute Café. What stands out instead is how she uses whatever setup she has to maximum effect: tuning edges to survive urban rails, choosing a stance that works both forward and switch, and maintaining enough support in her boots to handle big compressions without losing the relaxed style that defines her skiing. For progressing skiers, the takeaway is that gear should support your vision of how you want to ski—street, park, backcountry or some mix of all three—rather than dictating it. A versatile, trustworthy ski, boots that actually fit and clothing you are happy to fall and shovel in will do more for progression than chasing every new product release.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Fans care about Jennica Folkesson because she represents a modern, multidimensional version of freeskiing. She is a Swedish rider rooted in Swiss culture, equally at home on a handrail with Cute Café, a backcountry booter at Nendaz or an experimental film set with “Inefficient Joy.” Her skiing is stylish, committed and fun to watch, but it is her broader approach—balancing art school, ceramics, crew projects and selective high-profile events—that really marks her as part of the next wave shaping what ski culture looks like.
For progressing skiers, especially women drawn to street and creative freeride, her path offers a concrete and relatable blueprint. You can base your skiing around a small crew and a group chat, show up at video contests like the Greeny Ynvitational, accept invitations to backcountry sessions, and let your films circulate through platforms and festivals instead of chasing a traditional contest ladder. Watching how Folkesson chooses lines, manages risk on urban and natural features, and brings an artist’s eye to her projects can help riders think not just about new tricks, but about the kinds of stories they want their skiing to tell. In that sense, she is more than a strong name on a results sheet; she is part of a growing movement that treats freeskiing as both sport and collaborative artwork.
