Freeride Event Above One of World's Southernmost Cities Cancelled

The eagerly anticipated Backcountry Invitational event in Ushuaia, Argentina, has been canceled by organizers who cited uncooperative snow conditions.

The competition, a spin-off of an original series held in Nendaz, Switzerland, blends freeride with slopestyle, adding human-built jumps to natural faces. In a run, a skier might jump off a cliff before throwing a double cork 1080, making for some entertaining multi-discipline action.

Another key part of the Backcountry Invitational’s draw is the pursuit of what the organizers call the “perfect day.” To meet that lofty watermark, they don’t establish a set competition date in advance. Instead, the Backcountry Invitational uses multi-week weather windows and hosts the events when snow and conditions align.

Here’s a look at the last Ushuaia competition.

This time, though, Mother Nature wasn’t playing ball in the mountains above Ushuaia, a city perched near the southernmost tip of Argentina.

“The window hadn’t opened yet, but the mountain needs a solid base before we can build the course and wait for a storm on top of it. This season it’s coming late,” the Backcountry Invitational said in a social media post.

“The Backcountry Invitational runs when conditions are perfect,” the post continued. “That’s always been the deal, and that stays true even when it means waiting another year.”

The Backcountry Invitational thanked Cerro Martial, Freeride Argentina, and Turismo en Tierra del Fuego for their work leading up to the now-canceled event.

The called-off competition comes as the Backcountry Invitational broadens its horizons beyond Switzerland. Last year, the circuit hosted test events in Argentina and Treble Cone, New Zealand. The series’ leaders are on the hunt for more resorts that might be interested in hosting. 

The competition format, which uses peer-judging rather than a judging panel, has proven popular among skiers. Interviewed last year, pro skier Alex Hackel told POWDER the jam-style set-up allowed competitors to construct and ski their dream runs.

“You’re able to do your best tricks and your funnest tricks,” said Hackel.

The cancellation follows what was a challenging year for skiing’s best-known big mountain circuit, the Freeride World Tour, which suspended a slew of stops when the snow didn’t cooperate. 

Both hiccups highlight how tricky it can be to run a high-level competition in an unmanicured off-piste area where snowmaking or grooming can’t save the day.

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