Tristen Lilly
Profile and significance
Tristen Lilly is an emerging big-mountain freeski talent whose name exploded into wider view after a mind-bending run at the 2025 Kings & Queens of Corbet’s at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Raised in Bethel, Maine and shaped by long days lapping Sunday River, he represents a new generation of freeriders who arrive on iconic venues with a background that mixes race turns, park skills and playful all-mountain skiing. Now based in Salt Lake City, Utah and skiing nearly every day at Alta Ski Area and Snowbird, he’s built a reputation for sending large features with a slopestyle and big air trick vocabulary while still reading the mountain like a classic freerider. His third place in the men’s ski category at Kings & Queens, combined with a wildly creative “spin” into Corbet’s Couloir that went viral worldwide, has made him one of the most talked-about new names in freeski.
Competitive arc and key venues
Lilly’s competitive story starts in New England, where he grew up just down the road from Sunday River and spent most winter days skiing after school. A race background gave him edge control and comfort at speed on firm snow, but like many modern freeskiers he gravitated toward airs, side hits and rail features as soon as he could. After graduating from Telstar High School, he moved west to Utah, putting himself in the heart of Little Cottonwood Canyon and skiing Alta and Snowbird so often that their terrain became an extension of his imagination. From there he dabbled in freeride qualifiers and filmed short cuts, steadily building the experience needed to step into bigger arenas. That work paid off when he earned a place on the Freeride World Tour Challenger circuit and, in parallel, an invite to Kings & Queens of Corbet’s. On competition day in Wyoming, he launched into Corbet’s with a line that blended freestyle rotation and big-mountain consequence, landing third among skiers on the official podium while also winning over the audience through a separate People’s Choice voting. For a young rider, that combination of peer respect and fan hype is a strong sign that his trajectory is still pointed upward.
How they ski: what to watch for
Watching Tristen Lilly ski, the first thing that stands out is his comfort in the fall line. He tends to enter features with more speed than most, relying on clean body alignment and strong legs to control impact rather than constantly checking or scrubbing. His racing roots show up in the way his skis stay connected to the snow between airs, but his trick selection comes straight out of modern freeski culture: big backflips, floated 360s, and off-axis spins that would fit at a slopestyle or big air contest, adapted to natural takeoffs and complex landings. One of his signatures is how he uses small terrain ripples to set up larger motions, often rolling into a feature with a subtle butter or press before fully committing to the air. When you study his runs from Corbet’s or his Alta and Snowbird edits, look at how early he spots landings, how square his shoulders stay over his skis, and how smoothly he links a huge move back into regular turns. For progressing skiers, his footage is a great reference on bringing park-style creativity onto big-mountain faces without losing basic technique.
Resilience, filming, and influence
The Kings & Queens performance that put Lilly on the global radar was not just about one trick; it was about how he handled the entire run and the pressure surrounding it. Dropping into one of North America’s most famous couloirs with a complex spin, dealing with the chaos of landing, and still fighting to keep the line on track shows a level of resilience that resonates with other riders. In interviews after the event he spoke about the support he felt from friends in Utah and back home in Maine, underlining how much community matters in freeski culture. Away from that single contest, he has quietly built a catalog of edits, including short films from Alta and Snowbird and travel clips from places like Nevados de Chillán in Chile. These pieces show the same personality you see in competition: a “professional fun haver” who mixes serious terrain with a light touch and constant stoke. His recent all-mountain SLVSH battle at Alta against Ross Tester further showcased his creativity under the camera, this time in a game-format where each trick demands precision on command. All of this makes him increasingly influential among young freeriders looking for examples of athletes who can both compete and simply enjoy skiing hard with friends.
Geography that built the toolkit
Lilly’s skiing makes sense when you look closely at the places that shaped him. Bethel and Sunday River gave him thousands of laps on firm East Coast snow, learning to carve on icy mornings and send local cliff lines with limited landings. Trails like the steep, sustained pitches the resort is known for forced him to develop strong legs and precise balance long before he started appearing in major freeride lineups. Moving to Utah opened a completely different chapter: Alta and Snowbird offer deep storms, tight chutes and long fall-line bowls, demanding awareness of sluff, variable snow and exposure. Skiing those areas almost daily for years evolved his style into something uniquely adaptable, comfortable spiraling off a windlip one day and threading a technical chute the next. Occasional trips to the Southern Hemisphere, including sessions at Nevados de Chillán in the Chilean Andes, added volcanic terrain and long, flowing faces to his internal map. Put together, this geographical mix is why he can look just as at home dropping into Corbet’s Couloir in Wyoming as he does cruising side hits on a random weekday in Little Cottonwood.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
On the gear side, Tristen Lilly’s setup reflects the demands of modern freeride rather than a quest for ultra-lightweight kit. As a team rider for K2 Skis, he relies on freeride-oriented shapes that can charge fast, stay stable off large drops and still feel playful enough to slash wind lips or spin off natural features. His outerwear partner, Mountain Hardwear, outfits him in technical shells and insulation built for long storm cycles, bootpacks and the mix of wind and deep snow that define life in Little Cottonwood Canyon. One of the most visible elements of his kit is his choice of bamboo poles from Grass Sticks, whose durability and feel complement the hard-charging, big-air style that made his Kings & Queens run so memorable. While his avalanche tools and protective pieces are less public, the venues he skis demand a full safety mindset: beacon, shovel, probe, and appropriate packs are standard. For everyday skiers watching him, the takeaway is not to copy every brand, but to think about building a system that matches their ambitions—solid freeride skis, supportive boots and outerwear that keeps you warm and dry enough to focus on line choice and technique.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Fans gravitate toward Tristen Lilly because he feels both aspirational and relatable. He is not yet an Olympic medalist or a multi-time World Cup champion; instead, he is a rider who grew up on a regional hill, worked his way through local scenes and now stands on one of the most intimidating start gates in freeride, delivering runs that push the progression of big-mountain tricks. For skiers from smaller resorts, his path from Sunday River to Salt Lake City shows that a strong foundation on “ice coast” hardpack can absolutely translate to major freeride venues. For those interested in slopestyle, big air or even urban and street skiing, his lines demonstrate how that trick-based language can be adapted to natural terrain without losing respect for exposure and snowpack. When you watch his footage, you see more than just a viral moment—you see a skier who treats fun, creativity and calculated risk as equal priorities. That balance is exactly why he has become a name to watch for anyone who cares about where freeskiing is headed next.
