Pro Skier Checks Out "The Most Underrated Ski Event"
Freeride fans have the Freeride World Tour (FWT), and park enjoyers have SLVSH, but what if I told you there was an event that landed somewhere in between, offering park booters and big mountain lines?
That's precisely what the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational strives to do. In a recent video, professional skier Alex Hackel checks out Nendaz to determine if it is, indeed, the most underrated ski event.
I think I agree with Hackel's premise.
At the beginning of the video, during his beneficial breakdown of what Nendaz is, Hackel reminds his viewers that snowboarding has Natural Selection—a multi-event freestyle/backcountry series—while skiing only really has Nendaz. And Nendaz happens once a year, unlike Natural Selection.
For one, skiing could use more combined freestyle/backcountry competitions. That's a simple premise and a point in Nendaz's favor—they're just really fun to watch.
Two, Nendaz, once it finally had good snow this season (previous seasons of the event haven't had the greatest snow), was executed flawlessly. The jump shapers and builders crushed it, allowing athletes to huck some major tricks into the powdery landings.
I imagine Nendaz is a nice break for athletes who've been competing in the World Cup or FWT, too. It's rider judged, as Hackel explains, making the energy a little more laid back, a notion skiing could use more of these days.
In summary, let's call the dang thing underrated. Nendaz is very cool, and it isn't particularly well-known, meaning, by definition, it's underrated.
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