Hans Wiener || IILLUM

08:01 min • 25/10/2024

Our good friend Hans Wiener in his 23/24 video "Illum" From Hans: “Skiing illuminates my life. My friends help light the way. The crew is everything. Respect and courage on the drop. Let your heart guide you. Peep the game."

Backcountry

Athletes

Hans Wiener

Profile and significance

Hans Wiener is an American freeski athlete based in Park City whose career is built around the modern overlap zone between freeride competition and backcountry freestyle. He appears in the official Freeride World Tour Qualifier rider database as a Ski Men competitor, and his strongest public results sit inside that big-mountain pipeline rather than traditional FIS park-and-pipe rankings. What makes Wiener relevant to a freeski audience is the way he moves through formats: judged freeride lines on natural faces, freeride contests that reward creativity, and film-style projects that blend park laps with raw terrain.

His story also stands out because it is anchored in a long runway. As a young teenager, local reporting described him winning the Sports Illustrated for Kids Next X Snow Search finals at Killington Resort, an all-around youth contest that combined multiple disciplines. That early “do everything” foundation still shows up in his adult skiing: he doesn’t feel like a pure specialist. Instead, he fits the growing category of skiers who bring slopestyle and big air instincts into big-mountain settings, turning freeride lines into something closer to backcountry freestyle.

Competitive arc and key venues

Wiener’s competitive arc has two clear chapters: early freestyle roots and later freeride focus. The youth milestone at Killington Resort matters because it wasn’t a single-event fluke; the reporting around that win emphasized that the format rewarded well-rounded skiing across terrain types. In other words, he came up in an environment where versatility was the point, not a bonus. For a progressing skier reading his story today, it explains why his later output can feel comfortable in both park features and steep, technical freeride terrain.

In the freeride world, his most verifiable recent competitive highlight is a top-four finish at the 2024 Grand Targhee IFSA Qualifier, which is listed on the Freeride World Tour qualifier event results. The venue, Grand Targhee Resort, is the kind of stage that forces decisions: cliff bands, variable snow, and the need to link a clean line that looks intentional instead of improvised. Placing fourth there signals a skier who can score not only on courage, but on control and line choice—two traits that translate directly into film-worthy skiing.

Wiener’s contest résumé also includes participation in formats that sit outside the classic “one skier, one run” template. At Solitude Mountain Resort, he was part of the winning roster at Red Bull Cascade 2025, a team-based event built around top-to-bottom creativity and energy rather than a single standardized course. That win is useful context because it highlights what his skiing is built for: linking features, reading terrain quickly, and delivering a complete descent that feels like a real freeski line rather than a training-lane run.

Alongside competition, Wiener’s visibility is boosted by film-forward projects. In 2026, coverage of his project “Beggar’s End” framed it as a thank-you to the people and community that keep a skier moving forward, and it was described as a mix of park laps and backcountry terrain across Park City, Wyoming, and Mammoth Mountain. That kind of project matters because it gives fans a way to understand what he is beyond results: a skier who values the culture of the sport and can translate that into watchable, coherent skiing on very different kinds of snow.

How they ski: what to watch for

Hans Wiener’s skiing reads like a park-trained athlete who chose to take those instincts into freeride terrain. In freeride qualifiers, the scoring isn’t just about being steep; it’s about how the run is built. Watch how he links sections: the way he exits a technical zone, carries speed to the next feature, and keeps his body position quiet enough that the skiing looks composed even when the line is complex. That is the freeski version of “execution,” and it’s often what separates a high-score run from a scary run.

He also fits the backcountry freestyle lane more than the old-school freeride lane. Instead of treating cliffs as pure survival drops, the goal looks closer to big air logic: pop, shape, and stomp, then keep moving. In coverage from Grand Targhee, he has been featured putting a corked rotation into a freeride line, which is a good shorthand for what he brings to the table. It’s not urban/street skiing in the literal sense, but the influence is there in the precision: the same discipline that makes slopestyle runs work—timing, takeoff accuracy, and controlled landings—becomes the framework for how he attacks natural features.

Red Bull’s own athlete roster for Cascade lists his favorite trick as a switch 9 dub Japan. Whether you ever see that exact trick in a given season, it points to something important about his freeski identity: comfort skiing switch and a willingness to mix style with rotation. For viewers, that means the “tell” is often in the approach. If the skier looks confident in the setup and committed early, the trick is usually a product of rhythm rather than last-second muscle.

Resilience, filming, and influence

Wiener’s influence is less about one famous medal and more about the modern freeski blueprint: compete, film, and keep the sport fun enough to stay in it. Freeride qualifiers are a grind—travel, snowpack variability, and the reality that one mistake can erase an otherwise strong season. A top-four at a venue like Grand Targhee Resort suggests not only talent, but the ability to manage that variability and still deliver a complete run when it counts.

His filming projects underline another kind of resilience: keeping creative output alive even when you’re not on a podium circuit. “Beggar’s End” was presented as a community-centered project, which is a very freeski way of framing success. It’s not just “look at this trick,” it’s “look at the people and places that make the skiing possible.” That perspective resonates with fans because freeski is a culture sport as much as a competition sport, and athletes who can communicate that tend to have staying power.

Winning a collaborative team event at Solitude Mountain Resort also hints at why he fits modern freeski so well. The sport is moving toward formats that reward creativity, line choice, and energy, not only technical difficulty on a fixed feature list. Wiener’s public results and projects suggest he thrives when skiing is evaluated as a full descent—something that looks like the runs skiers actually dream about, not just what fits neatly into a contest template.

Geography that built the toolkit

Park City is a natural home base for a skier who blends park fluency with big-mountain instincts. The broader region is known for producing skiers who can move between resort features and steep, technical terrain in the same season, and Wiener’s results and projects reflect that kind of mixed toolkit. Being associated with Park City also places him close to a web of training and event venues that have shaped the modern U.S. freeski scene.

Two other locations help define his public skiing map. Grand Targhee Resort represents the freeride side: natural terrain where line choice and decision-making are as important as the tricks themselves. Mammoth Mountain represents the park-to-backcountry blend described in his film work, a place where big resort features and freeride terrain can coexist in one trip. And Solitude Mountain Resort represents the newer freeski competition direction—creative, top-to-bottom, and hard to reduce to a single trick list.

Even his youth breakthrough at Killington Resort matters geographically because it shows how early he was exposed to broad-format skiing. That kind of early travel and multi-discipline competition tends to build adaptability, and adaptability is exactly what freeride qualifiers demand when conditions and venues change from stop to stop.

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

Wiener is described in 2026 coverage as an athlete working with Armada Skis, and that pairing makes practical sense for his lane: a skier who wants a platform that can handle park laps, switch skiing, and backcountry freestyle hits in the same season. His story also shows how early support can begin. Reporting on his 2006 youth win noted sponsorship from Dynastar and Hestra while he was still a teenager, which is a reminder that the pathway often starts with local belief before it becomes national visibility.

For progressing skiers, the actionable takeaway is not to chase a logo, but to understand the demands of his skiing. Freeride qualifiers and backcountry freestyle reward stability at speed, a predictable landing platform, and enough maneuverability to stay composed in technical terrain. If you want to ski the way he’s scoring and filming, you need a setup you trust when you’re moving fast through variable snow, not only a setup that feels great on one perfect groomer lap.

Gloves and small equipment choices matter more than many people admit in big-mountain freeski. When you’re filming or competing in cold, high-consequence terrain, dexterity and warmth are performance factors, not comfort extras. The broader lesson from his early and later partnerships is simple: build a kit that removes friction—gear that keeps you confident enough to commit, because commitment is what turns a line into a run worth watching.

Why fans and progressing skiers care

Hans Wiener is worth following because he represents a modern freeski identity that’s increasingly important: the skier who can compete in freeride qualifiers, thrive in creative team events, and still deliver film projects that feel authentic. A fourth-place finish at the 2024 Grand Targhee qualifier and a win at Red Bull Cascade 2025 show that his skiing holds up in judged environments, while “Beggar’s End” shows he can translate that skiing into a story that isn’t just about results.

For fans, he’s a reminder that freeski greatness isn’t only Olympic finals and X Games podiums, even though those stages matter and define many careers. Freeski is also the art of building a complete descent—mixing slopestyle instincts, big air commitment, and freeride decision-making into one line. For progressing skiers, his blueprint is clear: master switch comfort, keep your skiing clean between features, and treat terrain like a canvas. When that approach works, the skiing looks calm, and calm is exactly what makes high-level freeski so compelling to watch.

Brand overview and significance

Armada is widely recognized as skiing’s pioneering athlete-founded brand. Launched in 2002 by a crew of influential freeskiers and creatives, it set out to build equipment around how modern skiers actually ride—park, powder, streets, and big, natural terrain—rather than filtering innovation through traditional race heritage. The brand’s identity has remained anchored in rider input and film culture, with a product line that mirrors the creative, playful approach that reshaped freeskiing in the 2000s and beyond. In March 2017, Amer Sports acquired Armada, bringing the label into the same winter portfolio as other major ski manufacturers while preserving its athlete-led philosophy and distinct design language.

Armada operates from the Wasatch and the Alps, with day-to-day brand life connected to Park City Mountain in Utah and a European hub near Innsbruck. That cross-Atlantic footprint helps shape a catalog that feels at home in North American freeride zones and on the varied snowpacks and park scenes of the Tyrol. Culturally, Armada remains closely tied to athlete films, creative web series, and team projects—touchstones that communicate the skis’ intended feel as much as spec sheets do.

Product lines and key technologies

Armada’s lineup is organized by intent, not marketing buzzwords. The ARV/ARW family represents the brand’s all-mountain freestyle DNA; Declivity and Reliance (directional all-mountain) serve resort skiers who want confidence at speed and on edge; Locator targets fast-and-light touring; and signature freeride shapes such as the Whitewalker translate film-segment creativity to deep snow and mixed terrain. Within those families, Armada refines behavior with a set of in-house technologies that have become calling cards.

Two construction ideas stand out. First, rocker/camber profiles like AR Freestyle Rocker and EST Freeride Rocker blend long, forgiving rockered zones with positive camber underfoot to preserve edge hold. Second, base and sidewall details tune how the ski releases and smears: Smear Tech adds subtle 3D beveling in the tips and tails for drift, pivot, and catch-free butters, while AR75/AR100 sidewalls and tailored cores (including lightweight Caruba in touring models) balance mass reduction with damping and strength. Together these choices explain why Armada skis often feel both lively and composed—easy to pivot yet trustworthy when speed comes up or the snow gets choppy.

Ride feel: who it’s for (terrains & use-cases)

If you like your all-mountain laps to include side-hits, switch landings, and a bit of exploration off the groomer, Armada’s ARV/ARW models are designed for you. They’re energetic, smearable, and predictable in variable resort snow, with enough camber to carve cleanly back to the lift. Resort chargers who prioritize directional stability and precise edge feel will gravitate toward Declivity and Reliance: more metal and more length options yield a calmer ride on hardpack, while still keeping the Armada “surf” in soft conditions. For backcountry skiers who want to keep the uphill efficient without giving up fun on the way down, the Locator series blends low weight with real-snow suspension. And on storm days and film-project lines, signature freeride shapes like Whitewalker are aimed at powder, pillows, and wind-affected steeps where you want loose, pivotable tips, supportive platforms, and confident landings.

Team presence, competitions, and reputation

Armada’s reputation rides on the shoulders of its athletes as much as its skis. Over the years, names like Henrik Harlaut, Phil Casabon, and Sammy Carlson have defined the brand’s look and feel—style-first skiing that still handles real-mountain speed and impact. That visibility spans major events like the X Games and high-profile film releases, reinforcing Armada’s role as a tastemaker for park, street, and backcountry-freestyle aesthetics. The roster’s breadth—from urban icons to big-mountain specialists—helps keep the catalog honest: new designs trace back to specific needs revealed in segments, contests, and long-day resort laps.

Geography and hubs (heritage, testing, venues)

Armada’s U.S. presence is tied to the Wasatch—easy access to long season mileage, park laps, and storm cycles near Park City Mountain and the Cottonwood canyons. In the Alps, the scene around Innsbruck gives the team fast access to varied venues like Axamer Lizum and the Golden Roof Park, useful for repeatable park testing and quick condition changes. Historic filming staples like Mammoth Mountain continue to influence sizing, rocker lines, and the playful-but-capable feel that many skiers now expect from all-mountain freestyle shapes.

Construction, durability, and sustainability

Armada pairs wood cores and fiberglass/carbon laminates with sidewall constructions that vary by intent. All-mountain freestyle models use thicker edges and reinforcement underfoot to handle rails and landing zones; directional models lean into torsional stiffness and damping for edge fidelity; touring models deploy Caruba cores, strategic rubber/titanal binding mats, and lighter edges to keep mass down without making the ride nervous. On the softgoods side, the brand publishes “Honest Social Responsibility” notes outlining material choices in apparel and gear. For hardgoods, a two-year warranty applies to skis and most equipment, a standard that signals baseline confidence in materials and build. While any ski can be damaged by rails, rocks, or improper mounts, Armada’s construction playbook is tuned for the mix of freestyle creativity and resort mileage its audience demands.

How to choose within the lineup

Start with where and how you ski most. If your days blend carving with side-hits, trees, and the occasional lap through the park, look to the all-mountain freestyle family with waist widths in the upper-80s to mid-90s for a balanced daily driver. If you spend more time at speed on firm snow, directional all-mountain models with metal reinforcement and slightly longer radii will feel calmer and more confidence-inspiring on edge. If you tour, match Locator widths to your snowpack and objectives: narrower for long approaches and mixed conditions; wider for soft-snow zones and mid-winter storm cycles. Powder-first skiers who still like to trick and slash should consider signature freeride shapes with loose, rockered tips/tails and sturdy platforms underfoot. Size for your intent: freestyle-oriented riders often pick slightly shorter for maneuverability; directional and touring skiers typically size to nose/forehead or longer for stability and float.

Why riders care

Armada matters because it helped define what “modern” skiing feels like—and continues to translate that feel into products that make sense for real resort laps, backcountry tours, and deep days. The brand still reads like a dialogue between athletes and engineers: skis that pivot and smear when you want, yet bite and track when you need; graphics and shapes that look the part in a park edit but stand up to chunder at 3 p.m. Whether you arrive through contest clips, a team movie, or a storm cycle backcountry mission, the through-line is the same: creative expression backed by functional engineering. That combination keeps the label relevant to skiers who value both style and substance, from first chair corduroy to last-light pillow stacks—and it’s why Armada has a lasting footprint across freeski culture as well as everyday resort skiing.

Brand overview and significance

SLVSH (pronounced “slash”) is a ski-culture brand and media outlet founded around a simple but powerful idea: bring the playground game of “HORSE” into the park and freeski scene by matching tricks between rivals and letting the video tell the story. The brand was co-founded by notable freeskiers Matt Walker and Joss Christensen as a way to inject creative freedom and fun into a culture increasingly dominated by judged contests. SLVSH has grown into an internationally recognized format and community hub, with apparel, video series, and global event tie-ins. For skiers who care about park laps, jib battles, street features and rider-vs-rider formats, SLVSH offers a unique, peer-driven alternative to traditional competition.

Product lines and key technologies

SLVSH is not a ski manufacturer; its core “product” is content and community. Under the SLVSH banner you’ll find the game format (head-to-head trick matching), video episodes, event series (such as SLVSH Cups) held at terrain parks and resorts, and a streetwear line including hoodies, hats and accessories. The apparel is often co-branded and available globally (e.g., via abstractmall storefronts). On the media-side, the brand uses filming and editing techniques suited to the park environment—tight follow-cams, rapid cuts, and multi-angle battles—to emphasise trick detail, reaction, and rhythm. The key “technology” is the format itself: no judges, just call a trick, the opponent lands (or doesn’t), someone gets a letter, first to spell SLVSH loses. This simplicity underpins the brand’s appeal.

Ride feel: who it’s for (terrains & use-cases)

SLVSH speaks directly to park, urban, and freestyle-oriented skiers who ride rails, boxes, jumps and street features and who value creativity, fun, and peer challenges. If you’re in the terrain park, enjoying jib setups, chasing friends on the rail line, or filming match-ups with your crew, SLVSH fits. The ride feel is loose, expressive and informal—less about maximal speed or big-mountain consequences, more about style, line choice, trick creativity and session banter. It’s ideal for skiers who view park laps as culture rather than contest rounds, and who like a format they can play with friends, record, and share.

Team presence, competitions, and reputation

SLVSH has cultivated credibility via its athlete-led foundation and the adoption of its format by parks and resorts worldwide. Games and match-ups featuring high-profile skiers such as Joss Christensen, as well as grassroots entries, have helped the brand stay relevant. Its video series on YouTube show head-to-head match-offs at terrain parks from North America to Europe (e.g., SLVSH Cup Grandvalira). The reputation is of a brand that keeps skiing fun, accessible and peer-to-peer oriented—contrasting with high-stakes judged contests. While it may not carry the prestige of an Olympic or World Cup circuit, for the park scene it holds a meaningful place.

Geography and hubs (heritage, testing, venues)

SLVSH has roots in the modern park and freestyle community rather than a single geographic resort heritage. Its match-format videos and events have taken place at venues such as Penken Park (Austria) and the SLVSH Cup at Grandvalira (Andorra). The global reach includes U.S. park locations (such as Park City, Utah). Because the format is portable and doesn’t require infrastructure beyond a terrain park, the brand’s geography spans many popular freestyle hubs. It channels the spirit of open-session, game-driven skiing across continents.

Construction, durability, and sustainability

In the media and culture context, SLVSH’s durability is shown in its staying power—over a decade of match-games, videos, community visits and product drops. The game format remains relevant to emerging skiers and seasoned stylers alike. Sustainability-wise, the brand emphasises participation and simplicity. Because the barrier to entry is low (rent features, film a game), the format scales without large production overheads. On the apparel side, there is limited public data on material sustainability; the focus remains cultural rather than manufacturing. For the skier-viewer, the lasting value is the format and community more than a tangible gear asset.

How to choose within the lineup

If you’re a skier wanting to get involved: start by watching SLVSH videos to see how the format plays out in parks you know. Then arrange games with your crew—pick a feature, call tricks, record. Aim to replicate the style and pace you’ve seen so that your own edits look crisp and fun. If you’re a park or resort looking to partner: host an official SLVSH Cup or branded match session, film for social, invite riders of varying levels. For apparel: drop a hoodie or shirt from the SLVSH line if you’re into ski-street style and want a brand that signals park credibility.

Why riders care

Because skiing should be fun, peer-driven and expressive. SLVSH removes the intimidation of judged contests and replaces it with a format nearly any skier can join. It brings friends, features and filming together in a way that emphasises trick creativity, risk-taking and fun—whether you’re a 270 board-slide novice or a back-flip rail veteran. Its brand cues—bold graphics, playful identity, video match-ups—resonate with skiers who spend equal time filming, lapping features and pushing style. For the park crew, the hill is the playground and SLVSH gives you the rules, the format and the vibe.

Hans Wiener || IILLUM

Athletes

Sponsors

Hans Wiener

Recommended Videos