Freeride Program Update: February 2025
1) Introduction
2) December Recap
- Woodward Park City
3) January Recap
- JHMR USASA Regional
- JHMR IFSA Junior 2*
- Sun Valley USASA Regional
- Freeride Junior Worlds
- Grand Targhee Junior 3*
- Snowking Park Build
4) Upcoming Events
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Snow King IFSA
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Wednesday Night Lights Vol. 2
5) Freeride Summer 2025!
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Intro:
Hello all! Sorry it’s been a while, Freeride has been firing on all cylinders with event hosting, coaches and athletes traveling all over the world, and 5 days a week of practice through it all! I’m very happy with how the team has come together this season. The high level of riding, the camaraderie; all of it!
Thanks to all of the hard-working athletes, coaches and families that make our Freeride community truly exceptional. Each day I get to spend coaching the kids reminds me just how special the people are in this little valley we all call home. It’s much appreciated.
The below contains mostly recaps of events Freeride has attended in the past two months. I would also like to mention the athletes who are not traveling to far off destinations and competitions. Each weekend we have 15 coaches and ~90 athletes showing up with big smiles on their faces, excited to push themselves in their own ways. Coaching the younger athletes continues to be such a rewarding experience and shows what an incredible vehicle Freeride is for personal growth and self confidence. Your efforts are ALL noticed and appreciated by myself and the rest of the coaching staff.
This newsletter will contain a re-cap of events in December and January, followed by an update on upcoming events for the month of February.
Keep up on the weekly ‘Friday Updates’ sent via email to stay up to date on all Freeride happenings. Instagram is our most updated social platform if you’d like to give us a follow JHSCFREERIDEPROGRAM.
See you all on hill! - Collin
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December Recap:
First day of training, Patrol meeting!
“We may have gotten off to a slow start snow-wise in December, with just a few lifts open, offering mostly man-made snow, but I couldn’t have been more pleased with the kid's attitudes as far as working what we had out there. I know it’s tough but it’s an important skill for the frothing teens to exercise restraint, know when to send it, and know when to hold back because there may be 4,000 tourists skiing in jeans on four hardpack runs. It’s that time of year for athletes to get their feet back under them, go through the reps, and solidify fundamentals.”
- Toby Koekkoek
A) Training Highlights:
“Early season training is all about taking what the mountain gives us and dialing in a base of our technical skills, like spinning all four directions, being in the front of our boots and driving through turns. Of course just as we took three full vans of athletes down to Park City the second week of December Jackson started to get hit with some much needed snow to answer our powder prayers and help open more terrain, and next thing we knew the back flips, cork seven’s and 360’s were flowing from everyone.”
- Toby Koekkoek
B) Tiernan Schuldt Scholarship Award:
We’ve been working all fall to create a new endowed scholarship award for Freeride. Huge thanks to the Schuldt family for working with us to create the ‘Tiernan Schuldt Memorial Scholarship’. This snowboard specific scholarship will support snowboarders in the Freeride program who make 90 second video-parts showcasing the skills they’ve learned as a part of the program. A Freeride ski-specific endowed scholarship fund is also in the works!
If you'd like to support Freeride specific endowed scholarship, please donate HERE. Be sure to dedicate your donation to 'Freeride'.
Congrats to Bennet Hultman and Noah Robertson for winning the first annual award!
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Woodward Park City:
“Our third and final fall training trip down to Woodward Park City proved to super beneficial for everyone who came down. Jackson’s terrain park at that time was fairly minimal, and Woodward’s jumps, rails and indoor facilities served as the perfect training ground for getting our athletes jump and rail games back up to speed going into the competition season. There is no shortage of opportunities to work on and learn tricks at Woodward, and I think it’s fair to say that everyone who came down learned something new.”
- Toby Koekkoek
Trampoline Time!
3) January Recap
A) JHMR USASA:
Rider: Ace Emery, Photo: Connor Burkesmith
Our first USASA event of the year was at home in the Bronco terrain park. Great skiing and riding from all who participated. Fortunately, Freeride had too many podiums to mention them all. Full event results can be found HERE.
Full event photos can be found HERE.
*These are free for personal use only. Please photo credit @connorburkesmith for all social use.*
Rider: McClay Rohrbaugh Photo: Connor Burkesmith
B) JHMR IFSA Jr. 2*
Our first IFSA event of the season was Jan 9-12 in the crowd-favorite venues of Toilet Bowl and Tower 3. We had over 40 JHSC Freeride athletes participate, with podiums in nearly every category. Thanks to all who turned out and made this event absolutely incredible!
Coach Max and Athlete Tia at the start! Photo: Connor Burkesmith
Fortunately Freeride had too many podiums to mention them all. Full event results can be found HERE.
Cormac Healy throwing a 360 into the finish line. Photo: Connor Burkesmith
Full event photos can be found HERE.
*These are free for personal use only. Please photo credit @connorburkesmith for all social use.*
Fired up in the finish corral!
C) Freeride Junior World Championships - Kappl Austria
Meanwhile in Austria, Coach Matt and Athlete Jack Kilmain, were one of 8 American teams invited to the Freeride Junior World Championships. Great work to Jack on his 6th place overall (and top American!) finish.
“In early January, Jack Kilmain and I went to Kappl, Austria for the Jr. Freeride World Championship. It was an amazing experience with great snow and sunny skies. It was his first event with visual inspection, which proved to be a difficult challenge on such a large venue. Jack skied well and finished in 6th place. He is looking forward to competing in Freeride World Qualifiers for the remainder of the season.”
- Matt Newton
The event live stream can be watched HERE. Jack’s run is at 5:08.
Jack on course!
We’re super proud of Jack’s awesome result at his final Junior Competition. Jack will be competing in the Adult Freeride World Qualifiers for the remainder of the season.
D) Wednesday Night Lights Vol. 1
Leon Mancisidor lettin’ em know how it's done!
Wednesday Night Lights Volume 1 went down on Wednesday, January 19th. Thanks to all who came out and put down awesome runs on our rail jam course. Wednesday Night Lights is a fun-for-all-ages event that serves as an awesome introduction to competition. Volumes 2 and 3 will be on February 19th and March 12th respectively. More information and signup links can be found on our website HERE.
Full event photos can be found HERE.
*These are free for personal use only. Please photo credit @connorburkesmith or @orionwillits for all social use.*
Awards crowd: Photos: Connor Burkesmith
E) Sun Valley USASA Regional
We’ve been attending the Sun Valley USASA regional for as long as I’ve been coaching with JHSC Freeride. This event has a high level of competition, and is a favorite among athletes and coaches for the awesome venues at Dollar Mountain, and the town of Ketchum.
“Over the past weekend, JHSC went to Sun Valley with 19 athletes for an USASA Slopestyle and Skicross/Snowboardcross event. The team spent four days on Dollar Mtn, enjoying an awesome park setup. The first two days we had four “cross” events and great weather. JHSC had 42 podiums over the two days. Saturday and Sunday came serious snows and back to back Slopestyle events. Despite the tough conditions, we had seven kids on the podium. Overall, it was a great weekend!”
- Matt Newton
Coach Matt and athlete Taz in the startgate!
F) Grand Targhee IFSA Jr. 3*
Our first IFSA national of the season just finished up at Grand Targhee Resort. The event started off with great conditions and clear skies, but quickly flipped to full on storm day with one of the biggest storms of the season heading into the region. Saturday and Sunday were both too stormy to run the event. Luckily, the athletes skied excellently and put down great runs for day 1. JHSC athletes had top 5 finishes in the U19 Men’s Snowboard and Ski, U19 Womens Ski and U15 women’s ski.
Congrats to Owen Smith and Taryn Moe for their 1st place finishes!
Full results can be found HERE.
E) Snowking Park Build
Our park build at Snowking is done! Myself and coach Andrew were the primary shapers, with Snowking cat operator Brandon providing the muscle. Huge thanks to Snowking for investing their time and energy in a terrain park. The opportunities provided to our kids would not be possible without their continued support.
If you like the park, please let them know and encourage bigger and better builds for the future!
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Upcoming Events:
A) Snowking IFSA Junior Regional, Feb 14-16:
Our next home event is coming up the following weekend. This event is the perfect introduction to competition in a low stress environment with a beginner-friendly venue. There are still spots available for U12 and U15 athletes only. Registration can be found HERE.
I am also looking for volunteers to make this event run smoothly. Please sign up if you’re available! Volunteer signup HERE.
B) Wednesday Night Lights Volume 2, Feb 19:
Wednesday Night Lights Volume 2 is coming up on Feb 19th. This is a 3 part, cumulative series with series champions crowned at the final event on Wednesday, March 12th.
Food and drink will be available in the cafeteria. We will also have a booth selling raffle tickets for a Burton splitboard as well as Freeride Merchandise.
More information and registration is available HERE.
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Freeride Summer 2025!
A) On Snow Camps
We’re excited to be expanding our summer on-snow opportunities for the upcoming summer season. We have limited availability and expect many of these to sell out. Please let us know if you’re interested in joining sooner than later!
Freeride families will have first priority until March 1st. Please sign up before then, as we expect most of our summer camp options to sell out.
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Mammoth Spring Camp (May 16-26): *Dates subject to change*
Cost Est: ~$1750 (Included 25/26 Ikon Pass)
Who:
Open to Competition Team Athletes age 14+ (or with coaches recommendation)
12 athlete cap
When:
May 16-26
Where:
Mammoth, CA. The trip will be 60% park skiing and 40% Big Mountain. We will have evening trampoline sessions and possibly an airbag.
Why:
This will be our biggest ‘bang for your buck’ trip. We will be skiing world class facilities during one of the quietest times at Mammoth. This is a great opportunity for our athletes to take their skills to size M and L features and prepare for National level slope competition.
Registration Instructions:
Go to the JHSC Program Registration page HERE. Filter by “Freeride Summer” on the right. Register for “Mammoth Spring Camp”. $1,000 deposit is refundable until lodging is booked.
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Woodward Copper (6/15 - 6/21):
Cost Est: ~ $2500
Who:
Open to all athletes.
18 athlete cap
When: Session 3: 6/15-6/21
Where:
WW Copper’s incredible indoor and on snow facility. The park here is S/M and perfect for learning new tricks in sunny, slushy conditions. This is 100% park skiing.
Why:
This is a great trip for all ages. The small/medium size terrain park is great for all abilities to learn new skills. This combined with the barn and the camp vibe makes for a great trip.
Instructions to Register:
Go to the Woodward Copper website HERE. Register for session 3. Use code TEAM2025 at checkout for $400. After registering with Copper, go to the JHSC Program Registration page HERE. Filter by “Freeride Summer” on the right. Register for “Woodward Copper Summer Camp”. There is a refundable $250 deposit to lock in your spot.
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Windells (Mt. Hood) (July 6-12):
FRP, Summer 2024
Cost Est: ~ $3000
Who:
Open to Progression + and Competition team athletes (or with coaches recommendation):
15 athletes
When: Session 4 (July 6-12)
Where:
Mt. Hood, Oregon utilizing Timberline’s world class parks and Windells incredible campus, including trampolines, foam pits, and a world class skatepark. This is 90% park skiing, 10% skiing the mountain.
Why:
Mt. Hood is the gold-standard for summer skiing/riding in North America. This is where the national teams train and prepare for the upcoming season. Pair this with all the fun at Windells Camp, and it’s an incredible experience for the kids all around.
Registration Instructions:
Go to the JHSC Program Registration page HERE. Filter by “Freeride Summer” on the right. Register for “Windells Camp”. $1000 deposit is required and refundable until camp spots are booked (March/April).
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Andes Freeride Camp (Chile) (July 28- August 11):
Photos from last summer's scouting trip.
Cost Est: ~ $5000
Who:
Open to Competition Team Athletes age 14+
10 Athletes
When:
July 28- August 11
Where:
Los Tres Valles, we’ll be skiing at El Colorado, La Parva, and Valle Nevado. World class Freeride terrain, mid-winter conditions, and awesome terrain parks. This will be 60% Big Mountain and 40% park.
Why:
This trip is the real-deal international ski trip. Mid-winter conditions in August, with truly world class terrain. The competitions count on the North American circuit and are LOTS of fun. This makes for less stress registering for events during the Northern Hemisphere season. Pair this with the international travel, culture, and language immersion of the Andes and this is an experience that any who attend will never forget.
Registration Instructions:
Go to the JHSC Program Registration page HERE. Filter by “Freeride Summer” on the right. Register for “Andes Freeride Camp (Chile)”. $1,000 deposit is refundable until flights/lodging are booked ~ 90 days prior to departure.
Esto es Chanchito, el lugar de competencia.
La zona de leyendas : Santa Teresa
Skate Camps:
More information and dates TBA!
Mountain Bike Team:
More information and dates TBA!
Lastly, we will be doing club-wide awards on April 24th at the Center for the Arts. Save the date!
That’s all folks, see you next month - Collin
“We need technical skills to give us the tools to express ourselves” - Hank Bilous, Former Freeride World Tour Athlete and current nurse
Check out his awesome new video part HERE.
