Paul de Groot
Hometown: Amsterdam, Netherlands | Active: 2014-present | Known for: Dutch freeride titles in 2014 and 2015, Hidden Faces films with Loïc Isliker, Above Arolla | Disciplines: freeride, steep skiing, ski touring
Stars hung over the Pigne d'Arolla as Paul de Groot climbed in darkness with a heavy pack during the 2024 Above Arolla project. He and Loïc Isliker had chosen a tent instead of a mountain hut and spent a freezing night waiting before the ascent. Under the night sky, the weight of their equipment accompanied each step toward the summit. The scene became part of a film linking their descent with fifty years of steep skiing on the mountain, placing the physical approach and the north face itself at the center of the story.
Austria at sixteen: instructor training
De Groot was put on skis at age three by his parents. At sixteen he completed the Anwärter ski-instructor course in Austria, followed by the Landes level. He later attempted the Staatlicher qualification, passing the difficult elements but failing the demonstration of the snowplow. One week later he entered his first freeride contest and found the competitive community that redirected his skiing toward ungroomed terrain, couloirs and remote mountain lines.
Tignes 2014–2015: two Dutch titles
The first Dutch Freeride Week ran in Tignes from January 27 to 31, 2014. Its qualification used a relatively accessible slope, while bad weather moved the final from Thursday to Friday so it could be held in sunshine. De Groot became Dutch champion in men's skiing. In January 2015 he retained the title in good conditions, finishing ahead of Alex Hooftman and Koen Bakkers.
His other qualifying victory from that period came at the 2015 Poederbaas Freeride Festival in Goldeck, Austria. Ninety-three riders started Friday's qualifier before ten finalists contested the main final on Saturday. De Groot won the men's ski category. The result added a Benelux freeride title to the two Dutch championships he had already collected in Tignes.
St. Anton 2018: beyond competition skiing
De Groot stopped competition skiing in 2018 and based a winter in St. Anton am Arlberg, inviting photographers and filmmakers to work with him. On one cloudy day above the Schindlerlift, visibility remained usable inside narrow, steep couloirs and wind had preserved pockets of powder. The shift placed line selection, off-piste terrain and ski media ahead of contest schedules, while his travel work continued alongside skiing.
Hidden Faces 2021–2024: four ski films
In 2021, TEETH, A short Film about Skiing the Dents du Midi followed de Groot and Loïc Isliker into two classic couloirs on the Dents du Midi in Switzerland. Both skied and filmed the project; de Groot was producer and cinematographer. The 13-minute film turned a long-held objective into a self-shot steep-skiing production and was programmed for the Freeride Film Festival in Amsterdam.
POGO - The Hidden Faces of Romania arrived in 2023 after de Groot and Isliker travelled to Romania to meet local skier Paul Popescu. De Groot was producer, skier and additional cinematographer on the 13-minute documentary. In 2024 the film received the Zsolt Torok Trophy for Best Short Climbing Movie at the Alpin Film Festival, where de Groot and Isliker were credited as directors.
Above Arolla - 50 Years of Steep Skiing on the Pigne d'Arolla followed in 2024. De Groot co-directed and produced the film with Isliker, while both handled cinematography. The north face is bordered by hanging glaciers and is only rarely skiable through its central section. Their preparation included avalanche assessment and weather reports before the climb, details developed in Helly Hansen's Pigne d'Arolla feature.
The remaining film in this selection is 2022's La Forteresse, produced as HIDDEN FACES | Paul de Groot. De Groot skied and operated camera alongside Loïc Isliker around Champéry and the Dents du Midi; the Freeride Filmfestival archive records the 15-minute production and its Couloir La Forteresse setting.
Kappl 2024–2026: judging and safety
By 2024 de Groot was Head Judge of the Dutch and Belgian Freeride Championships in Kappl, leading a panel of three ski and three snowboard judges after holding a regular jury place for five years. In 2026 he was still spending several months each winter in the Alps and working on freeride projects with Isliker. His work also included Catskiing trips and a Pieperfest session focused on preparation, decision-making and mountain risk.
On September 21, 2026, Catskiing became the 500th participant in Dutch travel guarantee fund VZR Garant. The registration placed de Groot's mountain-trip business inside the fund's insolvency-protection framework for package travel, providing the latest dated professional activity in his ski-related career.
Main competition results
- 2014/15 — Poederbaas Freeride Festival, Goldeck — Freeride skiing — 1st
- 2014/15 — Dutch Freeride Championships, Tignes — Freeride skiing — 1st
- 2013/14 — Dutch Freeride Championships, Tignes — Freeride skiing — 1st
Selection of his strongest results. Not a complete competition record.
Selected filmography
- 2024 — Above Arolla - 50 Years of Steep Skiing on the Pigne d'Arolla — Hidden Faces — Producer, skier
- 2023 — POGO - The Hidden Faces of Romania — Hidden Faces — Producer, skier
- 2022 — La Forteresse — Hidden Faces | Paul de Groot — Cinematographer, skier
- 2021 — TEETH, A short Film about Skiing the Dents du Midi — Hidden Faces — Producer, skier
Selection of his main film projects. Not a complete filmography.
