Skier Applications Open for Freeride Competition at the "End of the World"
Fancy a trip to compete in backcountry slopestyle at the “end of the world”? Consider moseying on over to the Backcountry Invitational website, where, right now, you can submit an application for the upcoming event in Ushuaia, Argentina.
The application includes the expected questions: social links, recent footage, sponsors—things like that. Those selected don’t just get to compete in Ushuaia. They’ll also get three nights of lodging, lunch, and access to all the content that comes out of the event, among other perks.
It’s an unusual approach to sourcing athletes—most competitions rely on a qualifying circuit or internally determined invite lists—but it aligns with the Backcountry Invitational’s out-of-the-box approach.
Started as a one-off event in Nendaz, Switzerland, in 2021, the competition blends freestyle and freeride, peppering natural courses with hand-built jumps and rails. Rather than rely on a judging panel, the results are determined by the competitors themselves.
With a prolonged weather window to find the best possible conditions (the Ushuaia event could happen any time between September 5 and September 26, 2026), the Backcountry Invitational calls its premise the “quest for the perfect day.” Or, as we put it in an article last year, the competition is the ski equivalent of a sugar rush.
Ushuaia is, indeed, at the end of the world. Depending on how you do the math, it’s one of—or the—Southermost city on the planet, perched on the ocean in Argentina’s famed Tierra del Fuego province (Puerto Williams, a much smaller town, is further south).
The surrounding area is home to inbound and out-of-bounds skiing, including the ski resort Cerro Castor. During the Ushuaia Backcountry Invitational event last winter, skiers competed on the Martial Glacier. While the snow was firm and unforgiving at the inaugural outing, the crew still made the most.
More Backcountry Invitational events are on the horizon, including one set to be held at Sugar Bowl, California, next winter, which seems like a natural fit. Sugar Bowl’s already home to the Silver Belt, a reimagined freeride competition that mirrors the Backcountry Invitational.
Related: The Nendaz Backcountry Invitational Is Going Global
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