Skiers Go Huge During New Zealand's Inaugural Backcountry Invitational Competition

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 3:26 PM ET

The Backcountry Invitational traveled to Treble Cone, New Zealand, this week, where it hosted another action-packed test event, offering competitors a freestyle-infused take on the freeride skiing format.

Professional skiers like Jess Hotter and Ben Richards descended the Backcountry Invitational course on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, launching off jumps and sliding rails. In between features, they careened over chopped-up snow—a reminder that despite the crafted features, the Backcountry Invitational is also a test of all-around skiing ability.

When the snow had settled, there were six podium finishers.

Lulu Laird of Australia took the win in the women’s competition. Harriet Lucas and Hotter finished second and third, respectively.

Laird, after the event, highlighted the elements that, aside from the big mountain-slopestyle mash-up course, make the Backcountry Invitational stand out. For one, it's competitor judged (with the assistance of a head judge) and offered skiers three runs, facilitating experimentation. When you have just one chance in a competition, you might only stick to the tricks you know best.

“I think it is really awesome to have three runs so you can get the nerves out on the first run and then just send it on the second and third,” said Laird.

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Olympian Finn Bilous, who took the win in the men’s field, shared a similar sentiment.

“My favourite part is seeing people take different lines throughout the same venue, courses and events like this that cater to a wide range of different skiing styles are quite unique and something I would like to see more of in the future,” he said.

Behind Bilous, Luca Harrington claimed second, and Fynn Powell finished in third.

The recent test events in the Southern Hemisphere are designed to gauge the feasibility of taking the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational concept to even more mountains, although the details aren’t yet concrete.

POWDER will be paying attention as more Backcountry Invitational events are planned this upcoming winter season.

First created in Nendaz, Switzerland, in 2021, the burgeoning competition series (first known as the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational when it was a one-off) pairs hand-built jumps with natural, unmanicured terrain. It’s a bit like the Freeride World Tour—if you plopped a few booters in the middle of the course.

The circuit's organizers held two new test events this austral winter, one in Treble Cone and one in Ushuaia, Argentina.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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