INSTABANGER x Joona Kangas at Level 1 SuperUnknown

Levi, Finland | Active: 2012-present | Discipline: Creative Park, Street, Backcountry Freestyle and Slopestyle | Known for: Keesh, Jib League, X Games Knuckle Huck, SuperUnknown Ruka In October Before The Rest Of Winter The park at Ruka opened under cold Finnish light, weeks before most of Europe had reliable snow. Joona Kangas was there with filmmaker Arttu Heikkinen, stacking early-season clips on rails and jump takeoffs while the ground outside the lanes still looked half autumn. Ruka sits below the Arctic Circle, far enough north for October laps to feel normal in Finland and strange almost anywhere else.... Read more on the Athlete page

California ski resort across Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows | Known for: 6000 acres, KT-22, Gold Coast park, Belmont Park, Base to Base Gondola, 1960 Winter Olympics history, Sierra spring skiing, IFSA freeride events, and Level 1 SuperUnknown | Season: November to May depending on snowpack | Best for: freeskiers chasing steeps, park progression, spring sessions, Tahoe storm cycles, and filmable resort terrain KT-22 And The Olympic Valley Freeski Spine Palisades Tahoe rises from a 6200 foot base in Olympic Valley to a 9050 foot peak, with 2850 feet of vertical on the Palisades side and a combined 6000 skiable acres across Palisades and Alpine. Those numbers make it the largest ski resort in the Lake Tahoe region, but the freeski identity is more specific than size. It starts with KT-22, the chair that made steep Sierra in-bounds terrain feel like a public testing ground.... Read more on the Location page

American ski film production studio | Conceived in 1999 by Josh Berman and based in Denver | Known for: annual freeski films, SuperUnknown, Romance, Turbo, Refresh, Pleasure, Zig Zag and Full Circle | Focus: documenting freestyle skiing with rider first cinematography, street creativity, park progression, backcountry travel and a talent pipeline that keeps new voices visible. 1999 Denver origins and the camera pointed at newschool skiing Level 1 is one of the defining production studios in freeskiing. Conceived in 1999 by Josh Berman, the company was created to document the rise of freestyle skiing at the exact moment twin tips, terrain parks, urban rails and newschool style were changing the sport.... Read more on the Sponsor page

Global freeski matchup league and media platform | Known for: SLVSH games, SLVSH Cup, head-to-head trick battles, park matchups, Grandvalira events, YouTube releases and peer-driven freestyle competition | Focus: turning park skiing into a game of creativity, pressure, trick calling and rider-versus-rider style without traditional judges. The freeski game that made park battles simple SLVSH is not a ski manufacturer, outerwear brand, boot company or traditional film studio. It is a freeski media platform and matchup format built around one of the cleanest ideas in park skiing: take the playground logic of HORSE or SKATE, put it on skis, and let riders call tricks against each other until someone spells SLVSH.... Read more on the Sponsor page

SuperUnknown 22 was the 2025 Level 1 freeski talent search final hosted at Palisades Tahoe in California in April 2025 | Disciplines: park skiing, street influenced video parts, spring park sessions and filmed recap edits | Notable winners: Rylie Warnick and Isak Davidsson | Format: video submissions, finalists week, peer recognition and media recaps Palisades Tahoe Took The Twenty Second SuperUnknown Finals SuperUnknown 22 was hosted at Palisades Tahoe, California in April 2025, giving Level 1 its twenty second edition of the long-running freeski talent search. The official announcement placed the finals at Palisades Tahoe and described the event as a week-long session and park shoot for top men’s and women’s amateur skiers. The format stayed true to SuperUnknown’s original purpose: riders first prove themselves through video submissions, then selected finalists meet at a real mountain build where skiing, filming, peer reaction and final edits decide the lasting record.... Read more on the Competition page