Unique Freestyle Skiing Competition Returns Via New X Games Partnership

Ian Greenwood
·2 min read

SLVSH, a unique competition series favored by freestyle skiing's core audience, is back with another tournament.

This time, SLVSH competitors will fight for the title on the slopes of Snowmass, Colorado.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by X Games (@xgames)

The event winner will take home a cash purse and an invite to the X-Games Knuckle Huck, another competition that turns traditional slopestyle skiing on its head.

Here's the roster: Ferdinand Dahl, Sam Zahner, Kuura Koivisto, Tristan Feinberg, Cody LaPlante, Elias Syrjä, Matěj Švancer, and Tormod Frostad.

I could ramble about the strengths and weaknesses of each invited rider, but I'll save you a little time and just say this: the crew this season is stacked.

Now, you might be wondering how SLVSH differs from other slopestyle-oriented competitions.

The format for SLVSH events is borrowed from the skateboarding game SKATE. In SKATE, two skateboarders faceoff, taking turns trying challenging tricks. When one skater accomplishes a trick the other can't, their opponent earns a letter of SKATE. Whoever hits all five letters first loses.

SLVSH functions the same way, swapping the letters of SKATE out for SLVSH.

This format breeds creativity and encourages athletes to step outside the choreography of traditional slopestyle runs. It's not uncommon for skiers to try a trick they've never landed in a SLVSH game, unlike your average slopestyle or big air competition, where skiers tend to stick to what they know.

Therefore, SLVSH faceoffs are equal parts illuminating and exciting, revealing the depth of any given skier's bag of tricks. To succeed in a SLVSH game, you need to be comfortable with going off-script.

The first SLVSH game of the Snowmass Cup drops this Wednesday on the X-Games YouTube channel, so stay tuned.

Related: Utah Ski Resort Closed Indefinitely Following Fire

Don't miss another headline from POWDER! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of skiing.

We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging ski-related videos to feature on our channels. Whether you're a professional or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on POWDER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality ski videos.