The First Recap for Level 1's 'SuperUnknown 22' Just Dropped

Originally posted on Powder | By Ian Greenwood | Last updated May 7, 2025 7:04 AM ET

SuperUnknown 22 has come and gone, but forthcoming recaps of the event, whether videos or photos, mean that we’ll be able to savor one of freeskiing’s best spring skiing throwdowns for a little longer.

This year, Level 1, the organizers of SuperUnknown, mixed up the program. Instead of dropping one recap cut, they invited four filmmakers to capture the competition and produce their own videos. The best of the four videos will earn a cash prize, as voted on by the athlete roster and media team. That’s a win.

You can view and document skiing in hundreds of different ways, and additional perspectives on SuperUnknown, in our opinion, are a big win. Basic math is on our side, too. Four recaps are better than one.

Here’s the first of the SuperUnknown recaps filmed and edited by Hayden Benninghofen.

More are coming this week, check back on this article to watch as they're released.

Want to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly updates.

What Is SuperUnknown?

SuperUnknown is a long-running, jam-style freeskiing video competition first held in 2004.

The premise is simple. Up-and-coming amateur skiers submit videos of themselves shredding to Level 1. Of this crop, Level 1 picks their favorite skiers, who then receive an invite to a springtime park session, which functions as the finals (Level 1 added the finals week component in 2012). Whoever throws down the hardest during finals is crowned the overall winner based on a rider vote held at the end of the week.

Over the years, SuperUnknown has helped launch the careers of numerous, now-established skiers like Tom Wallisch, Magnus Granér, and Jonah Williams. At Palisades Tahoe, California, which hosted SuperUnknown 22 last month, Isak Davidsson and Rylie Warnick took home the titles.

In a world dominated by regimented, tightly scored competitions, SuperUnknown bears the standard of freeskiing's wild roots. It's about the art of filming, trick selection, and laid back in-person gatherings, as opposed to events where anything short of a perfectly-grabbed double cork isn't worthwhile.

Freeskiing, of course, has room for both the World Cup's athletic absurdity and video projects where style matters more than the technicality of a trick. But these days, the latter could always use more celebrating. SuperUnknown continues to do just that.

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

More must-reads: