Ridge Dirksmeier - Freestyle Skier USA

Ridge Dirksmeier grew up in the Sun Valley ski community, where park laps and halfpipe competition eventually opened into a much broader approach to the mountain. His early years were spent inside the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation system, but by the middle of the 2020s his public profile had shifted toward backcountry film projects, natural terrain and events that reward creativity rather than repeated contest lines.

Sun Valley roots shape early skiing

Dirksmeier came through the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation’s Park + Pipe programme. As a young rider he won Intermountain Division age-group halfpipe titles and became one of SVSEF’s standout freeski athletes. FIS lists him as an American skier born in 2003 and affiliated with Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. His early competitive record covered halfpipe, slopestyle and big air rather than a single discipline.

Copper Mountain 2019: Nor-Am builds base

His strongest FIS season came around 2019. At the U.S. National Championships in Copper Mountain, Dirksmeier finished ninth in halfpipe, 18th in slopestyle and 31st in big air. Later that year he placed ninth and 12th in two Nor-Am halfpipe contests at Copper. Those results established a formal park-and-pipe background before his competitive FIS record ended and his skiing moved toward freeride and filming.

BRAP SKI 2: backcountry changes direction

In 2022, Dirksmeier appeared in BRAP SKI 2, the backcountry film directed by Karl Fostvedt and Axel Peterson. The cast included Daron Rahlves, Lucas Wachs, Thayne Rich, McKenna Peterson, Hedvig Wessel, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa and Willy Griffith. The film’s mix of pillows, road gaps and Alaskan-style terrain marked a clear departure from the judged halfpipe and slopestyle environments of Dirksmeier’s junior years.

OS Crew 2024: Magnetic adds street skiing

Dirksmeier also appeared in Magnetic, OS Crew’s 2024 urban film. The project featured Aden Moore, Ian Russell, Audrey Friess, Zac Scheuerman, Josh Karcher, Mason Kennedy, Juice Kennedy and others. That credit added street skiing to a film record already stretching into backcountry terrain, showing that his post-competition skiing did not narrow into a single freeride format.

Corbet’s 2025: freeride profile grows

Dirksmeier entered the 2025 Kings & Queens of Corbet’s as a rookie after replacing Karl Fostvedt. During the event he attempted a double front flip from the top of Corbet’s Couloir. He later finished second in the men’s People’s Choice vote behind Tristen Lilly. Teton Gravity Research confirmed that fan-voted result. In 2026, POWDER introduced him as a Sun Valley local returning from six months in New Zealand before travelling to Japan to begin filming another ski project.

Selected filmography

2024 — Magnetic — OS Crew — Short segment
2022 — BRAP SKI 2 — Native Earth Productions — Short segment

Selection of his main documented projects. Not a complete filmography.