McRae Williams
Profile and significance
McRae Williams is one of the most accomplished slopestyle freeskiers to come out of the United States, a rider whose mix of contest hardware and enduring style gives him a permanent place in modern park and big-air history. Born and raised in Park City, Utah, he grew up with a world-class terrain park in his backyard at Park City Mountain, turning childhood laps into a professional career that has spanned X Games gold, a FIS World Championship title and the overall World Cup slopestyle crystal globe. For a long stretch in the mid-2010s, if there was a major slopestyle final, there was a good chance Williams was in the start gate and pushing the level.
His résumé is as heavy as his reputation suggests. Williams took ski slopestyle gold at the 2013 X Games stop in Tignes, France, stamped his authority on the discipline by winning the 2017 FIS World Championships slopestyle title in Sierra Nevada, Spain, and backed that up with the overall FIS slopestyle crystal globe the same season. Multiple X Games medals, numerous World Cup podiums and a place on the U.S. Olympic team for PyeongChang 2018 solidified his status as one of the premier slopestyle skiers of his era. Beyond results, he is widely respected for a rail game that shaped what “technical but stylish” looks like, and for a late-career shift into backcountry filming that shows a rider still evolving long after the big trophies were won.
Competitive arc and key venues
Williams’ competitive arc follows the growth of slopestyle itself. As a teenager in Park City, he was already a standout in local and national park events, learning to link clean rail tricks with big, controlled spins over jumps. By the time the international slopestyle circuit was taking shape, he had the full package: technical rail lines, both-way doubles, strong grabs and a calm demeanor under pressure. The breakthrough moment came at X Games Tignes 2013, where he out-skied a stacked field to claim gold, signaling that a new American threat had fully arrived on the global stage.
The years that followed were defined by consistency at the highest level. On the FIS World Cup, Williams racked up podiums and near-misses before putting everything together in the 2016-17 season. A clutch performance at the World Championships in Sierra Nevada brought him slopestyle gold, and a string of strong World Cup finishes earned him the overall crystal globe for the discipline. Those achievements, combined with X Games medals in Aspen, made him a clear selection for the U.S. Olympic slopestyle team at PyeongChang 2018. He finished 15th there, short of his medal ambitions, but the fact that he entered the Games as world champion and World Cup overall winner underlined just how dominant he had been in the lead-up.
Certain venues recur throughout his story. Park City’s parks provided his early proving ground, while the slopestyle course at Buttermilk in Aspen became one of his main stages through multiple X Games appearances. The creative jump and rail setups at Grandvalira in Andorra, home of the Total Fight freeski event, saw him repeatedly on top, and the long, sun-soaked course in Sierra Nevada was the backdrop for his world title. Together, these venues highlight how comfortable he is adapting to different snow conditions, course builders and judging panels while still skiing with his own fingerprint.
How they ski: what to watch for
McRae Williams is widely regarded as one of the cleanest rail skiers of his generation. On course, the first thing to watch is how he approaches the rail section with speed and commitment, yet never looks rushed. Switch lipslides to difficult transfers, multiple direction changes, back swaps and 450s on and off are all part of his normal toolkit, but they are executed with such precision that they often look simpler than they are. He takes pride in locking onto rails, holding presses and landing exactly where he intends, which is one reason judges repeatedly rewarded his top runs.
On jumps, his style is equally composed. Williams is known for well-grabbed double and triple corks, often spun both directions, with grabs held long enough for viewers to actually see what’s happening. His switch takeoffs stand out: he rides into the lip calmly, sets the spin powerfully but smoothly, and spots his landings early, frequently riding away with speed and minimal spray. There is very little upper-body flailing in his skiing; instead, he relies on strong edging, a stable core and quiet hands. For fans and progressing skiers, his runs are a masterclass in how high-end difficulty can be delivered in a way that still looks effortless.
Resilience, filming, and influence
Like many slopestyle specialists, Williams has battled injuries, pressure and the mental grind that comes with spending years on the road chasing perfect runs. Between crashes in training and the constant push to stay ahead of the progression curve, it would have been easy to burn out. Instead, he managed to stay near the top of the sport for multiple seasons, then chose to pivot on his own terms. After retiring from World Cup and X Games competition around 2019, he shifted his primary focus toward filming, adventure and a more self-directed style of skiing.
That transition is captured in projects with Teton Gravity Research and in personal edits that show him bringing his park precision into natural terrain. In these segments, viewers see Williams applying his rail skills to natural features, pillow lines and backcountry jumps, trading the strict structure of contests for the creative freedom of the mountains. His journey from “pure contest guy” to an increasingly backcountry-oriented skier has influenced younger athletes who see multiple possible paths for their own careers: you can chase medals, and later, you can redefine yourself without leaving the sport behind.
Geography that built the toolkit
Park City and the Wasatch Range are central to understanding how McRae Williams skis. Growing up in a town centered on Park City Mountain and nearby resorts meant that world-class terrain parks were a normal part of his environment. Perfectly shaped rails, multi-feature jump lines and a strong community of park skiers allowed him to drill fundamentals from a young age. At the same time, the surrounding Wasatch backcountry gave him early exposure to hiking, sledding and riding off-piste, laying groundwork for the freeride chapter of his career.
His competitive travel added new layers. Regular trips to Aspen, the French Alps, the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada of southern Spain forced him to adapt to different snow qualities and light conditions, from cold Colorado chalk to springtime slush and high-altitude sun. Summers spent at Mt. Hood, where he ran takeover sessions at camps on the Palmer Snowfield, sharpened his coaching instincts and kept his trick list dialed year-round. All of this geography built a toolkit that extends beyond tricks: reading speed on different snow, understanding how visibility affects depth perception on rails and learning how to conserve energy during long event weeks.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
Williams’ long career has been supported by a stable of high-end partners. In recent seasons he has aligned with Völkl for skis, Marker for bindings and Dalbello for boots, while representing Norwegian outdoor brand Norrøna on the apparel side. For viewers, the important point is not the logos themselves, but what they say about his priorities: powerful, precise equipment that holds up to big impacts, aggressive edging and long days of park or backcountry filming.
From a practical perspective, his setup highlights a few useful lessons for progressing skiers. First, modern park and slopestyle skis need to balance stability with maneuverability; Williams favors skis stiff enough to land large spins without folding, yet lively enough to pivot quickly through rail features. Second, binding choice and mounting position are key: a secure, well-maintained binding allows commitment to switch takeoffs and heavy landings with confidence. Finally, outerwear and layering from technical brands like Norrøna matter especially when filming in the backcountry, where staying dry and warm is essential for safety and performance. Watching his footage, it is clear that gear is never the limiting factor, allowing his creativity and decision-making to take center stage.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Fans care about McRae Williams because he represents the complete slopestyle skier: champion, technician and innovator whose riding remains relevant even as the sport evolves. His contest career delivered some of the cleanest, most watchable runs of the 2010s, the kind that still circulate in “best of” compilations and are replayed for inspiration before park sessions. For many, his World Championship and crystal globe season stand as a benchmark of what it looks like to dominate a discipline through consistency rather than a single lucky day.
For progressing skiers, his trajectory offers clear takeaways. He built a deep rail foundation, learned to spin in both directions with strong grabs, and treated style as non-negotiable even when difficulty escalated. Later, he showed that a career doesn’t end when the bib comes off; it can evolve into new forms of skiing that prioritize exploration and storytelling. Whether you’re a park skier chasing your first 270 on, a coach looking for technical examples to show athletes, or a backcountry rider curious about how contest skiers adapt to natural terrain, McRae Williams provides a rich case study in long-term progression. His legacy is not just in medals and titles, but in the countless riders who have learned to value clean execution and thoughtful line design by watching him work.
