This French Skier Just Hit 75 MPH on Sand, Shattering a World Record
In the oddly niche realm of sand skiing speed world records, there’s a new sheriff in town: Mahé Freydier, a ski instructor from France.
On September 25, 2025, Freydier raced down the side of a dune on skis, clocking a record-setting speed of 121 kilometers per hour or, in American, 75 miles per hour. Previously, according to Guinness World Records, the record was held by Henrik May, who hit 57.24 miles per hour in the Namibian desert in 2010.
Freydier turned to a different terrain. During his descent, he relied on Toro Mata, a towering Peruvian sand dune with a nearly 6,000-foot vertical drop. In his post about the record, Freydier revealed that the covers protecting the bases of his skis “burned up” because of the speed he reached, developing a small hole.Â
“I only got one try because my skis burned up, so it was impossible for me to try again! That makes this record even more special, because it was during the first run,” he wrote. “Above 100 km/h, it became very difficult to maintain speed, as the wind destabilized me considerably, and falling on sand can be very dangerous. The pressure inside me was intense,” Freydier added.
What did Freydier’s record look like, though? Pretty speedy, unsurprisingly. Tap or click to watch below.
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In Peru, Freydier also skied for fun, sharing footage of other, more casual-looking descents.
And you know what? Sand skiing actually looks like a great time. He carved turns, kicked up plumes of “powder,” and even aired off a small wind lip (sand lip)?
“The run was so long we didn’t even know what to do anymore. We made turns, jumps, straight line… it was like being on a ski slope!” Freydier wrote in another post about his adventures.
As grim as it might sound, it’s good to know that if all the snow melts in our lifetimes, we’ll have something to ski other than turf and escalators.
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