Jill Frey
Profile and significance
Jill Frey is a German freeride skier and backcountry specialist whose path into the mountains is anything but conventional. Born in Frankfurt, she first competed seriously in equestrian sport before shifting her focus to skiing in her mid-teens, trading show arenas for high alpine faces. Today she represents Germany on the Freeride World Tour Qualifier circuit and is based in the mountain hub of Innsbruck, where she splits her time between competition, filming projects and work as a sports model. That mix of elite riding, visual storytelling and commercial work has made her a recognizable figure in the emerging generation of European freeride athletes.
Rather than coming from alpine racing or park freeski programs, Frey’s background gives her a different lens on risk, balance and flow in steep terrain. She has logged strong results in junior and adult freeride events, including wins at Open Faces junior contests in Austria and a standout victory in the women’s ski field at the 2025 Freeride World Tour Qualifier in Bonneval sur Arc. At the same time she appears in campaigns for brands like Scott Sports and Zara, and features in the documentary project “Riding Patagonia” from production company REC3. Taken together, her career sits at the intersection of competitive freeride, adventure storytelling and outdoor fashion rather than purely in the race for world titles.
Competitive arc and key venues
Frey’s name began appearing in results lists through the Freeride Junior Tour in the late 2010s. A key milestone was her win at the 2-star junior event during the Open Faces contests in the Alpbachtal region, where she topped the women’s ski field on a demanding face above the “Wiedersberger Horn.” That result, combined with other consistent junior performances in Austria, helped her into the Freeride Junior World Championships in Kappl-Paznaun, a proving ground that gathers the strongest teenage freeriders from Europe and beyond. These starts gave her early experience with the pressure of judged one-run formats and the logistics of competing on steep, technical freeride venues.
As she moved into the adult ranks, Frey stepped fully into the Freeride World Tour pathway. She now competes as a Ski Women rider on the Challenger and Qualifier circuits linked to the Freeride World Tour, building points at events across the Alps. Her win in the ski women’s field at the Freeride World Tour Qualifier in Bonneval sur Arc was particularly significant: the venue is a four-star face known for rock bands, tricky snow and serious exposure, and the event gathers many of the strongest Qualifier riders in Europe. She has also appeared on start lists at Open Faces stops in locations such as Alpbachtal and Silvretta Montafon, and in Challenger-level contests where tickets to the main Tour are decided. Her current ranking places her among the deeper field of strong European freeriders who are pushing for a breakthrough season rather than already established stars.
How they ski: what to watch for
Frey’s skiing is built around line choice and control rather than showy, high-risk trick counts. Viewers studying her runs will notice that she favors fluid, continuous lines that link features logically from top to bottom, staying centered over her skis even when snow quality changes mid-face. She tends to work with natural rollers, wind lips and rock drops instead of forcing big air off awkward terrain, which suits the judging criteria in freeride: strong line choice, good fluidity, committed airs and clean landings. Rather than chasing the kind of single massive big air that defines some men’s runs, she often layers several medium-sized airs with smooth transitions and stable exits.
Technical stance and timing are also part of her signature. Coming from equestrian sport, she speaks about balance and feel in similar terms to riding horses: staying calm over an unpredictable partner and adapting instinctively when something changes underfoot. On snow, that translates into quiet upper body movements, quick edge adjustments and an ability to keep speed in check without over-braking. While her world is freeride rather than park freeski slopestyle, you can still spot influences from modern freestyle skiing in her grabs and the way she shapes airs, bringing a refined, almost big air style to natural takeoffs instead of sculpted jumps or urban street skiing features.
Resilience, filming, and influence
Frey’s trajectory has not been linear. She has dealt with injuries that paused her competition schedule and forced long stretches of rehab and rebuilding. That theme of resilience sits at the heart of “Riding Patagonia,” a documentary project that follows her and fellow skier Léa Bouard as they use horses to access remote lines in the Patagonian backcountry around Ushuaia. The film frames freeride not just as a contest circuit but as a way to reconnect with childhood passions and the emotional discipline learned from working with animals. For fans, it offers a more intimate look at how she thinks about risk, fear and motivation far from finish corrals and live scoring.
Off the competition and film circuit, Frey contributes to the culture around skiing in quieter, community-focused ways. She has been involved in youth and snowcamp environments, helping guide younger skiers toward safe off-piste habits, and she appears among the signatories of an open letter urging international ski leadership to take stronger climate action. That advocacy underscores the simple reality her generation of freeriders faces: the venues they depend on are directly affected by warming winters. Through social media clips, brand projects and interviews, she tends to present freeride skiing as something that should remain fun and inclusive rather than purely elite.
Geography that built the toolkit
Frey’s story is also geographical. Growing up around Frankfurt meant long drives to the mountains rather than doorstep access, so early trips to the Alps were concentrated and purposeful. As her commitment to skiing deepened, she relocated to Innsbruck, the Tyrolean city ringed by major ski areas and classic backcountry lines. From there she regularly rides venues linked to the Open Faces series and the Freeride World Tour Challenger circuit: steep bowls above Kappl-Paznaun, the varied faces of Silvretta Montafon, the high alpine bowls near Obertauern and the more hidden freeride zones spread across Tyrol and Vorarlberg.
Her 2025 victory in Bonneval sur Arc brought her into the French Alps’ Haute Maurienne Vanoise region, a place famous for deep snowpacks and a freeride identity built around long, committing lines. Looking ahead, “Riding Patagonia” expands her map even further south, into the maritime snow and rugged peaks around Ushuaia in Argentina. Watching her career is a reminder that modern freeride skiing is often a patchwork of micro-climates and cultures: German cities, Austrian valley towns, French high-mountain villages and far-flung Southern Hemisphere ranges all contribute different snow textures and line choices to her toolkit.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
Although the exact skis and boots on Frey’s feet change between competitions, film shoots and photo campaigns, a few constants stand out. She is prominently featured as a backcountry skier in the product storytelling for the React goggle from Scott Sports, emphasizing wide field of vision, easy lens changes and helmet compatibility. Those details are not trivial in freeride, where fast decisions in variable visibility can make the difference between a confident line and a conservative one. For skiers learning from her example, prioritizing protective equipment that works reliably in stormy, cold conditions is more important than copying a particular pro model ski.
Frey’s appearance as a talent in the Zara Ski Collection 24/25 campaign, shot on the glacier slopes of Sölden, also reflects her interest in the aesthetics of how skiers present themselves. For progressing riders, there is a useful lesson here: the best outerwear for freeride is gear that allows you to move naturally, stay warm and dry while hiking or standing in start gates, and still feel like yourself on camera or in photos. Frey’s professional life across contests, commercial shoots and documentary projects illustrates how good equipment, from avalanche gear to clothing and goggles, underpins both performance and storytelling.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Fans gravitate toward Jill Frey because she represents a pathway that feels attainable yet inspiring. She is not an Olympic medalist or a multi-time Freeride World Tour champion; instead she is a committed Qualifier and Challenger athlete who has carved out a distinct identity through smart line choices, thoughtful projects and a clear sense of what she wants from the mountains. For young riders, especially women who do not come from racing or slopestyle academies, her shift from equestrian sport to freeride shows that a late, passion-driven entry into skiing can still lead to significant results, film roles and respected standing in the community.
Watching her runs, film segments and brand work offers concrete takeaways. Viewers can study how she reads terrain, where she chooses to introduce speed and where she shuts it down, and how she balances ambition with control on complex faces. At the same time, her involvement with climate advocacy and storytelling projects like “Riding Patagonia” broaden the frame beyond podiums. In that sense, Jill Frey matters not only for what she does in a single contest run, but for how she embodies a modern vision of freeride: rooted in love for the mountains, open to collaboration across media and brands, and aware that the future of big-mountain skiing depends on both technical progression and environmental responsibility.
