BTS | ABM & TOM | SKIING PILLOWS

Canada's first men's slopestyle Olympic medalist Alex Beaulieu-Marchand, known in the contest world as ABM, is the first Canadian man to win an Olympic medal in ski slopestyle, capturing bronze at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Born on March 3, 1994 in Quebec City, he started skiing at age two under the influence of his grandfather and discovered slopestyle at twelve after a friend introduced him to terrain parks. From those early laps, he built a contest career that eventually took him to two Olympic Games, multiple X Games podiums, and a world championship medal — a résumé shaped as much by repeated injury comebacks as by raw talent.... Read more on the Athlete page

Profile and significance Austrian freeskier Tom Ritsch is one of those riders who has quietly become mandatory viewing for anyone who loves modern freeski, especially the blend of slopestyle, big air and playful backcountry. Born in 1993 and raised in the village of Niedernsill in the Salzburg region of Austria, he grew up at the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn glacier, a setting that practically guaranteed a life on snow. He started out in traditional alpine racing before following his older brothers into freeskiing, trading gates for park jumps and sidecountry lines.... Read more on the Athlete page

Overview and significance British Columbia is one of skiing’s global reference points. From the maritime Coast Mountains to the colder, drier Interior ranges, the province delivers a rare combination of scale, storm frequency, varied snow climates and an events calendar that shapes the sport. Whistler Blackcomb anchors the Coast with North America’s largest lift-served footprint and an enduring freestyle legacy, while the “Powder Highway” corridors through Revelstoke, Golden, Nelson and Rossland add deep, tree-lined terrain and big-mountain faces that film crews and strong locals lap all winter.... Read more on the Location page

Brand overview and significance Dalbello is an Italian ski boot specialist founded in 1974 by Alessandro and Giovanna Dal Bello in the town of Asolo, in the Veneto foothills of the Dolomites. From the start, the company focused on one thing only – ski boots – and still produces its boots in its own factory in Italy. That tight focus and local manufacturing are a big part of why Dalbello has become a reference name for all-mountain, freeride and freestyle skiers who care about fit and flex as much as pure stiffness numbers.... Read more on the Sponsor page

Brand overview and significance Marker is one of skiing’s defining binding makers, founded in 1952 by Bavarian engineer Hannes Marker and built around a single idea: reliable, predictable release that lets skiers push harder with confidence. From the first safety-release concepts to modern freeride and touring solutions, Marker has been at the center of how power is transmitted to the ski—and how that power lets go when it should. The brand’s heritage is German alpine engineering; its imprint is global, visible on World Cup courses, the Freeride World Tour, and in everyday resort lines across the world.... Read more on the Sponsor page

Brand overview and significance Völkl is one of skiing’s defining names: a Bavarian manufacturer that has been building skis in Straubing, Germany, since the early 1920s and today stands as the country’s last large-scale ski factory. What started as a family workshop making wagons, boats and sleds evolved into a dedicated ski operation, with early models sold under the name “Vöstra,” a contraction of Völkl and Straubing. A century later, the company is still designing and pressing skis in the same town, now as part of the Elevate Outdoor Collective alongside Marker and Dalbello, but with a distinctly German engineering identity and a “Made in Germany” stamp that still means something to many riders.... Read more on the Sponsor page