Hectic Kiwi Ski Day. (Part 1/3)

Profile and significance Henry Zakowski is a Utah-based freeride skier and coach whose reputation has grown through real-world resort footage, credible results on the Freeride World Tour Qualifier/Challenger pathway, and a clear, instructional voice in his edits. Most winters he stacks laps in the Wasatch—especially at Alta Ski Area, Solitude Mountain Resort, and Snowbird—showing how to read firm “low-tide” conditions as well as storm days. In the Southern Hemisphere he’s spent seasons at The Remarkables in Queenstown, splitting time between coaching and competition.... Read more on the Athlete page

Overview and significance New Zealand is the Southern Hemisphere’s most complete freeski playground: contest-grade terrain parks, credible big-mountain lines, night-lap culture, and a late-winter event window that draws a global roster to train and compete while the North sleeps. The South Island’s hubs around Wānaka and Queenstown stack icons—Cardrona Alpine Resort, Treble Cone, Coronet Peak, The Remarkables, and Mt Hutt—while the North Island’s Whakapapa and Tūroa deliver a unique, lift-served volcanic experience on Mt Ruapehu. Layer in Canterbury’s club fields—Craigieburn Valley, Broken River, and Mt Olympus—and you have a spectrum that runs from World Cup slopestyle and superpipe to rope-tow steeps that feel like guided freeride, minus the fanfare.... Read more on the Location page

Brand overview and significance Pret Helmets is a Park City, Utah–born protection brand focused on lightweight, low-profile ski and snowboard helmets—and, more recently, integrated goggles. Founded in 2010 and shaped by riders and engineers from the Wasatch community, Pret’s calling card is fit and feel: helmets that “disappear” in use yet meet modern safety expectations. Within freeski culture, the company shows up on storm days in Little and Big Cottonwood, on park laps, and in backcountry zones where long approaches and rapid transitions punish heavy or poorly ventilated lids.... Read more on the Sponsor page