INSTABANGER x Joona Kangas at Level 1 SuperUnknown

10:24 min • 16/12/2025

Instabanger with Joona Kangas at Level 1 SuperUnknown '25. Joona scrolled through hundreds of your comments and tried as many as he could in one day in the SuperUnknown Park at Palisades. HUGE thank you to Level 1 and Palisades for this insane opportunity. Make sure to check Joona out here: https://www.instagram.com/joonakangas/ Support the guys who support us: https://www.instagram.com/level1/ https://www.instagram.com/palisadestahoe/ Beats by : @msn.wav. https://youtube.com/@msn.wav. https://www.instagram.com/msn.wav/ Make sure to check him out!

Park

Joona Kangas

Profile and significance

Joona Kangas is one of the clearest examples of how modern freeskiing can blend contest success with a deep film and street pedigree. Born in 1997 and raised in Finland, he came up through local hills like Himos before settling in Lapland and riding for Levi Ski Club. That northern upbringing, with long winters and floodlit parks, shaped a skier who would go on to win the 2014 FIS Freestyle Junior World Championships in men’s slopestyle and later represent Finland at the 2018 Winter Olympics. For many fans, though, his legacy is just as tied to the gritty, DIY style of the Keesh collective and a steady stream of influential video parts.

Within the freeski community, Kangas is regarded as a style leader rather than a numbers-only contest machine. His best competition years overlapped with his rise online: SLVSH games, Keeshlife edits, and later full parts like “Land of the Darker Sun” turned him into a reference point for skiers looking for a loose, creative but highly controlled approach. That combination of technical depth and effortless-looking flow keeps his clips circulating on social feeds long after individual contest results fade from memory.

Today, Kangas balances life as a professional skier with business studies, using his time at Häme University of Applied Sciences to build skills that support his career off the hill. Supported by multiple international sponsors and still active at the top level of freestyle, he has shifted toward “skiing on his own terms”—fewer World Cup starts, more filming, more invitational events, and more influence on how freeski style evolves.

Competitive arc and key venues

Kangas’ competitive arc moved fast. After dominating junior ranks in Finland, he broke through internationally by winning the 2014 Junior World Championship slopestyle title in Chiesa in Valmalenco, Italy. That result announced him as one of the strongest young riders in Europe, especially impressive given that it came in only his first handful of FIS events. It also set up his move onto the World Cup circuit, where he began to test his rail-dominant, creative approach against the best in the world.

On the FIS World Cup tour he stacked a series of strong showings in slopestyle and big air. Key highlights include a seventh place in slopestyle at Seiser Alm, Italy, and a ninth place in slopestyle at Quebec City, Canada, in 2017—both results that put him within touching distance of the podium at fully stacked events. An eleventh-place finish at Snowmass, USA, early in the 2017–18 season confirmed that his run construction could earn serious scores when he held it together top to bottom. Those results, combined with his world junior title, were enough to secure Olympic selection.

At the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, Kangas was the only male slopestyle skier representing Finland. The course favored big, risky rail approaches and heavy trick density—conditions that matched his strengths on paper—but he was unable to land the full package in qualification and finished outside the final. Even so, his presence at the Games, backed by his World Cup top-10s, cemented his status as a world-level athlete before he chose to step away from full-time FIS competition in 2019.

Since then, “events” for Kangas have meant another kind of stage. You are more likely to see him at Jib League stops, SuperUnknown sessions, or invited shootings in parks like Kläppen than at a standard open field World Cup. A 2025 profile from Häme University of Applied Sciences highlighted that he was named best male skier at a SuperUnknown gathering in California, underlining that his peers still view him as one of the sport’s most complete riders even outside the conventional ranking system.

How they ski: what to watch for

Kangas’ skiing is built around three pillars: powerful rail precision, relaxed airtime, and a constant search for slightly different takeoffs and landings. On rails, he is known for centered, locked-on slides and presses that look casual but leave no margin for error. Watch how he uses surface swaps, quick direction changes and subtle nose or tail pressure to create lines that zigzag across an entire rail section instead of simply ticking off one feature at a time.

On jumps, the same attitude shows up as smooth, fully held grabs and spin directions that avoid the obvious choice. Switch takeoffs, off-axis rotations and late tweaks are common in his clips, but they rarely feel forced. Instead, he rides with a medium-high speed and lets the trick unfold slowly in the air, often holding a grab from the lip almost all the way to the landing. That timing, combined with soft, controlled landings, is a big part of why fellow skiers talk about his “feel” for snow as much as his trick list.

Street and backcountry shots reveal another dimension: Kangas is comfortable adapting his park skill set to handrails, wallrides and natural trannies. In these settings he often adds small but memorable details—ollies into kinks, nose-butter entries onto natural rolls, or little drifted pivots on the way out of a pillow line—that reward slow-motion rewatching as much as first impressions.

Resilience, filming, and influence

Choosing to step away from the structured life of the Finnish national team after years of investment took both courage and clarity. Kangas has described the 2012–2019 national-team period, which included Junior Worlds gold and an Olympic start, as a crucial education—but he also wanted more creative control over his skiing. Since that transition he has built a career around projects that reflect his own taste: smaller crews, longer stays in one zone, and an emphasis on filming rather than chasing ranking points.

“Land of the Darker Sun,” released in 2021, is one of the cleanest windows into this phase. Shot in Finnish Lapland, the Swiss Alps and Riksgränsen in Sweden, the short film strings together street, backcountry and resort features into a cohesive portrait of how he likes to ski when there is no start gate involved. Later appearances in Keesh full movies and in K2 team projects like “Rikka,” filmed in Tokyo and Hokkaido, pushed his profile beyond the core freeski audience and underlined his value as a film skier capable of holding down full segments, not just one-off shots.

That filming focus has also made him influential as a stylist. Younger Finnish riders and international park skiers study his Keesh and K2 segments not only for the tricks, but for choices of speed, body position, and how he uses terrain that other people might ignore. In an era when many contest runs look similar, Kangas has become an example of how to keep freeskiing’s improvisational, playful roots alive even at a very high technical level.

Geography that built the toolkit

Kangas’ skiing is inseparable from the places that shaped him. Early days at Himos and other central Finnish resorts introduced him to park skiing on compact, efficient hills where creativity matters more than vertical drop. A family move north brought him to Levi Ski Resort, inside the Arctic Circle, where he still calls home. Long winters, floodlit slopes and the repetition of lapping the same lines night after night helped him develop the consistency you see in his competition runs and film segments.

From there his circle of “home” hills expanded: Finnish resorts like Sappee hosted national-level slopestyle events he won in his youth, while European venues such as Font Romeu, Seiser Alm and Silvaplana became regular stops during his World Cup years. Backcountry trips to Lapland and heli or touring days in the high Alps introduced him to bigger terrain, which now features heavily in his film parts. More recently, projects like “Rikka” have taken him to the deep snow and compact lift-served zones of Hokkaido as well as urban backdrops in Tokyo, further rounding out the environments where his skiing feels at home.

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

For viewers who also ski, Kangas’ choice of equipment offers useful cues. As a long-time athlete for K2 Skis, he rides playful, freestyle-oriented skis with enough width to feel comfortable both in parks and in softer snow. Paired with bindings from Marker, his setups are built to handle heavy rail impacts, side hits, and bigger step-down jumps. Soft but supportive boots and a progressive mounting point help explain why his switch landings and butters look so natural even on variable landings.

Outerwear and streetwear from Capeesh Supply reflects the same aesthetic as his skiing: relaxed, functional, and clearly rooted in skate and street culture. While individual gear choices will depend on a skier’s local conditions, riders looking to emulate Kangas’ feel should pay attention to how his setup supports both rail precision and all-mountain versatility. The balance he strikes—park-capable but still reliable for backcountry jumps and natural features—shows in how confidently he moves between urban spots, resort laps and powder.

Why fans and progressing skiers care

For casual viewers, Joona Kangas is simply enjoyable to watch: his tricks are big without looking anxious, his landings are soft, and his lines often include surprising details that make you rewind the clip. For core fans and up-and-coming skiers, he represents a path that values style, creativity and long-term love of the sport as much as podiums. He has proven that you can win world titles as a junior, make an Olympic team, and then deliberately shift focus toward filming, small-crew projects and building a sustainable life around skiing.

If you are a skier trying to progress in slopestyle, big air or urban skiing, Kangas is a particularly good study subject. Watch how he chooses tricks that he can land consistently rather than chasing the biggest possible rotation every time, how he keeps his shoulders calm over rails, and how often he uses speed and line choice—not just spin count—to stand out. Whether he is lapping Levi in midwinter darkness, exploring the high alpine, or drifting through Hokkaido powder with the K2 team, Joona Kangas continues to show that the most memorable freeskiing blends technical difficulty with personality and a clear sense of fun.

Palisades Tahoe

Overview and significance

Palisades Tahoe is a flagship North American resort with two distinct mountains—Palisades (Olympic Valley) and Alpine—now linked by the Base to Base Gondola. The destination blends Olympic heritage with modern lift tech and event pedigree. It hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, has welcomed the men’s Audi FIS Alpine World Cup at the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup in recent seasons, and continues to produce athletes through strong local programs. For freeskiers, the headline is a rare mix: high-output park laps, wind-buffed steeps under KT-22, and long Sierra spring sessions that justify its “Spring Skiing Capital” identity.

Scale matters here. Across both mountains you get roughly 6,000 acres, while the Palisades side alone lists 3,600 skiable acres, 2,850 feet of vertical, an Aerial Tram to High Camp, and a weather-resilient Funitel that speeds access to the mid-mountain park and lap zones, according to the resort’s Mountain Statistics. Add the gondola link and you can move between steeps, bowls and parks without driving, which changes how crews plan their day.

Terrain, snow, and seasons

The terrain character ranges from iconic faces off KT-22 to the Granite Chief bowls and storm-day glades that hold quality when the alpine is weathered. Typical season windows run from late fall into spring, with an average of about 400 inches of annual snowfall and a reputation for long spring operations on both mountains (see Mountain Statistics). On cold cycles, north and east aspects chalk up nicely for technical skiing; after storms, gullies and treeline benches deliver sheltered powder laps while patrol works the upper ridgelines. When wind and visibility improve, upper panels open and the flow extends into sustained top-to-bottom runs.

Coverage and surface quality are actively managed. Snowmaking supports key connections early season, daily grooming keeps speed predictable across popular traverses, and the parks team salts and reshapes as temperatures swing. Use the resort’s Lift & Grooming Status and Trail Map before first chair to pick aspects and pods that align with wind, temps, and your lap plan.

Park infrastructure and events

Palisades runs a multi-zone park program built for clear progression. The official lineup includes Belmont Park for small features and first spins, Gold Coast Park for medium to larger lines under a high-capacity uplift, and the legacy Mainline Park in big-snow phases. Over at Alpine, the team routinely activates Tiegel Terrain Park for fun mid-sized laps. In strong winters, operations updates have also referenced opening a “Mainline Superpipe” on the Palisades side later in the season, with timing dependent on snowfall and build windows. Day to day, park details are shared via the terrain parks updates on the resort blog, and safety guidance is centralized on the Terrain Parks page.

Event energy is part of the identity. The men’s World Cup returned in February 2024 with giant slalom and slalom on a broadcast-ready track, documented in the resort’s event recap and the FIS results. That visibility feeds into everyday shaping: jump radii, rail placement, and speed control reflect lessons learned from hosting international-level competition.

Access, logistics, and on-mountain flow

Fly into Reno–Tahoe International and build your ground plan from there; the Ikon Pass destination page pegs the drive at roughly 48 miles, while Sacramento is about 117 miles. The resort’s Travel Here page outlines shuttle options and a free, app-based microtransit called Mountaineer that moves riders around Olympic Valley and Alpine during winter, with evening connections between the two base areas in season.

Parking is managed by reservations on peak days; review the current Parking Program to see when free or paid “Reserve ’N Ski” slots are required and how weekly releases work. Once on snow, use the Funitel to reach Gold Coast efficiently for park laps, pivot to KT-22 for steep, sustained faces when patrol opens the zone, and ride the Base to Base Gondola to Alpine to mix in bowls and the Tiegel park. The point is continuous movement: minimizing traverses and queuing so you stack attempts and footage.

Local culture, safety, and etiquette

Palisades Tahoe blends Olympic legacy with a modern Sierra crew vibe. The “Mothership” nickname around KT-22 captures the culture: ambitious but respectful, where line choice and speed are earned. The resort’s park safety messaging follows Park SMART—start small, make a plan, always look, respect features, and take it one at a time. In steeper in-bounds zones, ski one by one through consequential panels and regroup below blind rolls. Boundary gates lead to true backcountry; treat anything beyond the ropes as avalanche terrain, carry proper equipment, and consult regional guidance before committing.

The community leans into spring just as hard as midwinter. As storms fade, shapers keep lips and rails riding true while corn cycles arrive on solar aspects. That combination—sessionable parks and forgiving spring snow—sustains progression deeper into the calendar than many destinations.

Best time to go and how to plan

Mid-January through late February stacks the odds for storm skiing and stable park speed. March into April is prime for long days and forgiving landings, and Palisades often stretches operations into late spring when coverage allows. Lock in access early if you’re targeting event windows; follow the daily status and interactive map each morning, and monitor wind on upper lifts. If you’re parking on a weekend or holiday period, secure a spot via the Parking Program and consider staying slopeside to maximize laps. For mixed-ability groups, start at Belmont for warm-ups, then step to Gold Coast or over to Alpine’s Tiegel as speed and confidence build.

Travel-wise, Reno is the simplest air gateway; Sacramento is a practical alternative if fares and timing line up. Once you’re here, the Base to Base link removes the old “which mountain today?” decision. Build your day by aspect, wind, and what you want to learn, not by where you parked.

Why freeskiers care

Palisades Tahoe rewards deliberate skiers. The lift layout feeds parks and steeps with minimal friction, the shaping team communicates clearly and maintains consistent speed, and the venue keeps sharpening its craft by hosting World Cup racing while honoring its Olympic roots. Between midwinter storm panels off KT-22, repeatable park lines at Gold Coast and Belmont, and long spring sessions across two connected mountains, this is a place where repetition turns into real progression—and where the cameras love the backdrop as much as the skiing.

Brand overview and significance

Level 1 is a Denver-based ski media brand conceived in 1999 to document the rise of freeskiing and push the craft of storytelling on snow. Over two decades, the crew evolved from dorm-room edits into one of skiing’s defining creative engines—filming street, park, and backcountry projects across the globe and premiering them to packed audiences. Level 1’s hallmark is a rider-first perspective: cinematography and editing that serve style, line choice, and snow feel rather than overshadow them. In 2019, the brand capped its 20-year run of annual features with its final tour film, then shifted focus to episodic projects and events without losing its role as a cultural touchstone.

Level 1 also builds community. Its channels highlight emerging skiers alongside established names, and its tone remains consistent—curious, welcoming, and uncompromising on quality. For skiers who follow freeski culture as closely as gear, Level 1 functions like a trusted label on the spine of a record: if it bears the stamp, it’s worth your time.

Product lines and key technologies

Level 1 doesn’t make skis; its “products” are films, event series, and premium digital content. The brand’s classic annual features culminated with 2019’s farewell chapter, after which production pivoted to focused short films, athlete-driven projects, and event coverage released throughout the season. Distribution prioritizes high-quality streaming and downloads, with archive access to past work for new audiences discovering the catalog.

On the craft side, Level 1’s technology is editorial. The team blends location-driven shooting, steadied tracking, and drone perspectives with meticulous pacing so tricks and lines read clearly. Sound design and score choices amplify snow texture and impact without drowning them. The result is a consistent “feel” across urban, park, and big-mountain segments—an aesthetic that many crews have since emulated.

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

Level 1 speaks to everyone who cares how skiing looks and feels. Park riders find trick shape, grabs, and switch landings framed so progression is visible. Street fans get thoughtful spot selection and build details shown honestly. Freeriders see line decisions and snow quality captured with enough context to understand speed, exposure, and consequence. If your winter mixes rope-tow laps, storm-day trees, and the occasional backcountry mission, this is the media that keeps you inspired between sessions and informs how you approach your next hit.

Team presence, competitions, and reputation

Level 1’s athlete network is deep, spanning multiple generations of influential freeskiers whose segments helped define modern style. Just as important is the brand’s long-running talent incubator: SuperUnknown, an open-submission video contest launched in 2004 that turns standout ams into finalists and, often, pros. The 2025 finals were hosted at Palisades Tahoe, underscoring how closely the series is woven into resort culture. Within the industry, Level 1 is regarded as a standard-setter for editorial discipline and rider partnership—projects ship when they’re ready, not when a schedule demands.

Awards have followed that approach, including major festival recognition for the brand’s capstone feature in 2019. But reputation here is earned less by trophies than by trust: riders, filmers, and fans expect a certain clarity and creativity whenever a Level 1 project drops.

Geography and hubs (heritage, testing, venues)

Rooted in Denver, Level 1 films wherever skiing is happening at a high level. Urban segments span North America and Europe; park and spring projects often orbit glacier and camp venues; and big-mountain shoots chase storms. On the resort side, the crew’s cameras are frequent sights in the Pacific Northwest and the Coast Mountains, with many Skipowd readers finding Level 1’s fingerprints around Whistler Blackcomb. Recent event chapters have also anchored in California’s Tahoe basin, where accessible lift networks and established park programs make for efficient production weeks.

Construction, durability, and sustainability

For a media brand, “construction” means repeatable quality and safe, responsible shoots. Level 1’s process emphasizes clear communication with resorts and municipalities, appropriate permitting for urban builds, and safety-first rehearsals on features that demand it. Durability shows up as editing restraint—keeping shots that stand the test of time and cutting anything that doesn’t. The sustainability angle is practical: smaller, high-impact projects minimize travel churn, and partnerships with resorts allow efficient use of lift-served terrain and existing park infrastructure.

How to choose within the lineup

If you’re new to Level 1, start with the milestone year that closed the annual-film era, then sample recent shorts to feel how the brand’s voice translates to tighter, more frequent drops. Fans of rider spotlights should look for contemporary one-offs and film-tour edits that foreground a single skier’s style arc; those who love community and discovery should dive into SuperUnknown recaps, which package street, park, and pow into a single week of progression. If your local hill favors deep storms and natural hits, chase the freeride-heavy pieces; if you live on rope-tows and rails, queue the street and park chapters first.

Want to connect dots on the map? Pair an evening of Level 1 with planning for real-world laps at destination hubs. Our readers often bridge screen to snow at British Columbia venues and other West Coast resorts; watch what the camera emphasizes—speed control, line setup, pop timing—and bring that intent to your next day on snow.

Why riders care

Because Level 1 makes skiing feel true. The brand documents progression without losing the small details—edge angles, snow sound, the quiet beat before drop-in—that make sliding on snow addictive. It champions new voices through SuperUnknown while continuing to produce polished work with established pros. And it has stayed remarkably consistent: projects are built around the skiing itself, not trend-chasing transitions. If you want media that informs your riding and fuels your stoke, Level 1 remains essential viewing—proof that the culture grows strongest when the camera serves the turn.

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.

INSTABANGER x Joona Kangas at Level 1 SuperUnknown

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Joona Kangas

Palisades Tahoe

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