Stacked Athlete Roster Announced for Backcountry Invitational Test Event

Originally posted on Powder | By Izzy Lidsky | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 1:52 PM ET

After making its debut in Ushaïa, Argentina just a few weeks ago, the Backcountry Invitational has made its way to New Zealand. On Wednesday, September 3, 2025, Treble Cone will host the second iteration of the event this season.

For those unfamiliar, the Backcountry Invitational originated in Nendez, Switzerland as an offshoot of freeride events that take advantage of natural terrain and good snow conditions such as the Freeride World Tour (FWT) and Natural Selection Tour (NST) Ski.

The Backcountry Invitational differs from these other freeride competitions in that the venue has manicured slopestyle features built within the off-piste terrain, and it's entirely competitor-judged. The 2025 Ushaïa and Treble Cone events are both acting as test events to determine possible future growth of the event to new places.

The weather window for the Treble Cone Backcountry Invitational began on August 25, and while local event organizers (the incredible Sophie Luther & Ed Leigh of All Good Productions) are still waiting for a bit more fresh snow, conditions are already setting up nicely.

It also doesn't hurt that Treble Cone provides a pretty stunning backdrop for the competition. A crew of Wānaka locals have been hard at work building 10 jumps into the course, as well as a rail in the middle of the face, which runs from Shooters to Crags at Treble Cone.

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The event is taking advantage of skiers who have made the southern hemisphere pilgrimage to train for the northern hemisphere's winter, and has an incredibly stacked roster.

Freeride World Tour fans will recognize names like Martin Bender, Ross Tester, and Toby Rafford, as well as Kiwi legends Finn Bilous and Ben Richards on the men's side.

On the women's side, Jess Hotter and Britta Winans, as well as Harriet Lucas (who skied at POWDER's gear week in April!) will go up against an equally stacked field. The full lineup is below:

Men's Field:

Rafferty Burrowees (UK)
Lach Powell (NZ)
Aiden Fitzpatrick (NZ)
Luca Harrington (NZ)
Finbar Doig (IE)
Alexandre Gameiro (CH)
Ben Richards (NZ)
Martin Bender (CH)
Toby Rafford (USA)
Tiemo Rolshoven (CA)
Finn Bilous (NZ)
Ross Tester (USA)

Women's Field:

Harriet Lucas (UK)
Jess Hotter (NZ)
Jessie Violet (NZ)
Britta Winans (USA)
Lulu Laird (NZ)

Each athlete will get three runs throughout the day with the starting order being drawn at random. Video highlights captured throughout the day will help competitors to vote amongst themselves for the best runs of the day.

As the event is a test, it will not be live streamed, however, viewers can still follow along via the Backcountry Invitational Instagram page and there will be an in-person spectator zone on Side Saddle. To stay tuned in to all the Backcountry Invitational happenings, check out the series’ Instagram page.

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

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