Profile and significance
Max Palm is a Swedish freeride skier based in the French Alps whose mix of big-mountain composure and freestyle literacy has reshaped how modern freeride is ridden and judged. He burst onto the top tier in 2022 with a milestone at the Freeride World Tour opener in Spain, landing the first double backflip in Tour history and winning the event the same day. Since then he has added more podiums—including a runner-up at Canada’s Kicking Horse stop that season—and regular finals appearances on the sport’s heaviest venues. Off the bib, he films, develops products, and mentors younger riders through resort and brand programs. With roots in Scandinavian big-mountain culture and a daily home base around Les Arcs, Palm represents the new normal in elite freeride: tricks placed only where terrain invites them, landings driven to the fall line, and lines that read clearly at full speed.
Competitive arc and key venues
Palm’s competitive arc runs through the Freeride World Tour and the Scandinavian spring classic. As a junior he stacked titles on the Freeride Junior Tour and won the Scandinavian Big Mountain Championships—held under the midnight sun at Riksgränsen—before graduating to the pro Tour. The breakout came at Baqueira Beret in January 2022, when he stomped a clean double backflip to take the win on the west face of the Tuc de Bacivèr above Baqueira Beret. Weeks later he backed it up with a podium at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in British Columbia, then qualified to the Xtreme Verbier finals on the Bec des Rosses above Verbier. Subsequent seasons have kept him in the title conversation and on live-stream replays for the same reason his 2022 runs went viral: decisive line choice, high consequence features, and tricks that make sense to judges and fans.
How they ski: what to watch for
Palm skis with an “approach quiet, exit decisive” philosophy. Watch how flat and calm his skis stay on approach—light ankle work, hands neutral—until a firm pop from a clean platform sets rotation. The hallmark moves are axis-honest backflips and 360s used as punctuation, not decoration; when terrain offers a perfect lip with room to land deep, he’ll step into double-flip territory, but he doesn’t force it. Landings drive to the fall line and re-center immediately so speed stays alive into the next feature. On spines and convexities he manages sluff proactively, making short cross-fall-line cuts to dump moving snow before re-committing. The result is skiing that looks inevitable: a line drawn with intent where every feature advances the story.
Resilience, filming, and influence
Tour seasons include bruises as well as highlights, and Palm has navigated both, returning from setbacks with measured risk and the same clarity that won him his debut. He has leaned into storytelling with short films and athlete portraits, including a widely shared mini-doc that followed his path back to starts and showcased his methodical preparation. His product collaborations—such as signature accessories with a mountaineering-heritage gear brand—and public coaching at rail and technique clinics extend the influence beyond contest day. The net effect is credibility on two fronts: he can deliver under pressure on the steepest stages, and he’s willing to explain the process so progressing skiers can copy the habits that matter.
Geography that built the toolkit
Two regions shaped Palm’s skiing. Springtime Scandinavia taught him to read firm snow, long runouts, and natural takeoffs at venues like Riksgränsen, where the Scandinavian Big Mountain Championships have crowned generations of freeriders. Day-to-day, the French Alps and the lift-served backcountry around Les Arcs provide repeatable access to alpine faces, storm slabs, and playful wind features that ride like a natural slopestyle course. Travel to World Tour stops adds contrasting textures—chalky panels and sharky entrances in Golden at Kicking Horse, and steep ribs with exposure in Verbier—so the same decision framework gets rehearsed across very different canvases.
Equipment and partners: practical takeaways
Palm’s partner list reflects a freeride kit built for reliability, not novelty. As an athlete with Red Bull, he balances filming and competition with year-round training. His ski platform is anchored by Rossignol, with freeride shapes that stay predictable when landings are deep and fast; outerwear from Peak Performance and membrane tech from GORE-TEX handle storm days without fuss; gloves and safety hardware from Black Diamond speak to durability in rope-tow chalk and coastal storms; and he’s been featured by 100% on vision. For skiers translating that into their own setups, the useful lessons are simple: pick a stable freeride ski with enough surface area and supportive flex to accept imperfect landings; keep edges honest underfoot for chalk but smooth at contact points for three-dimensional snow; and pair boots/bindings that won’t fold when you come in hot. Beacon, shovel, and probe are non-negotiable in any backcountry context, and clear radio/voice comms with partners will add more safety than any single gear upgrade.
Why fans and progressing skiers care
Fans care about Max Palm because his lines tell a story you can follow: set a speed floor, pick features that build, put the trick where the terrain invites, and land to the fall line so momentum carries to the next move. His Baqueira Beret breakthrough made headlines, but the reason replays keep circulating is that the approach scales—intermediates can borrow the quiet approaches, the early edge sets, and the disciplined exits on their next storm day. With proven wins on the Freeride World Tour, podiums at venues like Kicking Horse, finals on the Bec des Rosses above Verbier, and a growing slate of film and product projects, Max Palm stands as one of the clearest references for contemporary freeride—credible to judges, inspiring to audiences, and practical for skiers trying to turn highlight-reel habits into everyday skills.
