Saturday, February 7th 2026 was the lucky day of the 30-day weather window for the sixth edition of the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational, a unique freestyle-focused freeride event held by Nendaz Freeride out of Nendaz, Switzerland.
Conditions were looking grim until the region finally saw significant snowfall late January. Once a venue was chosen based on this season’s conditions, the shaping crew spent a full week, sleeping in tents by the venue, building this epic park in harmony with the natural features high up in the Nendaz/4Valles backcountry. The venues of the Backcountry Invitational events are unique in the sense that they build variety of massive jumps, even including a rail, into the landscape that also lends itself to steeps, cliff drops and natural hits in a attempt to make the turns between the man-made jumps as interesting as the jumps themselves in an effort blend freestyle, freeride and creativity at the highest level. Additionally, they provide a 30-day weather window to ensure optimal soft bluebird conditions for the athletes to unleash their full potential without having to hold back due to unfavorable snow or lack of visibility.
Another detail that sets the BC Invitational apart from other comps is that it’s judged by the athletes themselves, where after each of the three runs they vote on which they think was the best (besides their own of course) with a head judge breaking any ties. We’re always a fan of this kind of judging when the athletes competing are the ones who choose the winners themselves, removing any outsider inlfuence.
If you missed the event, catch the full replay of the Live Show which we streamed live a few posts below this one on our home page. And see below for the comp results, highlight videos & photos and a look into the future expansion of Backcountry Invitational as they work on bringing this uniquely progressive event to an international stage as they transition into the Backcountry World Tour.
Men’s Ski Ranking
1st Tobias Sieder (ITA)
2nd Manu Barnard (NZL)
3rd Jordane Legal (FRA)
4th Antoine Adelisse (FRA)
5th Olivier G. Gagnon (CAN)
6th Alexandre Gameiro (SUI)
7th Noé Vouillamoz (SUI)
8th Dennis Ranalter (AUT)
9th Maxime Chabloz (SUI)
10th Johan Bachofner (SUI)
11th Tiemo Rolshoven (GER)
“In the men’s category, Italy’s Tobias Sieder claimed victory with a run of surgical precision, highlighted by a rail back 2, a powerful double flatspin Japan, and a perfectly stomped double cork 1080 blunt.
New Zealand’s Manu Barnard, a former Freeride World Tour athlete, secured second place with a fluid and technical line featuring a switch cork 540 safety, a cork 360 mute, and a flawlessly executed double flatspin Japan.
French rider Jordane Legal completed the podium thanks to a spectacular third run including a double frontflip, a stylish flat 360 safety, and a massive 40-meter backflip perfectly landed.” – Backcountry Invitational
Women’s Ski Ranking
1st Jessie Violet (NZL)
2nd Léa Bouard (FRA)
3rd Mila De Le Rue (FRA)
4th Arianna Tricomi (ITA)
5th Eva Battolla (SUI)
“In the women’s category, New Zealand’s Jessie Violet won this 6th edition with a committed run featuring a frontflip off the top kicker, a 360 landed on the knuckle, and a huge perfectly stomped double backflip.
Léa Bouard made a strong impression with the biggest backflip of the competition, measured at 35 meters, earning her second place overall.
Mila De Le Rue completed the podium with a creative and powerful run, capped by a massive double backflip on the final kicker.” – Backcountry Invitational
Backcountry Invitational: soon to be Backcountry World Tour
Although ‘Backcountry Invitational’ is still the official name, there are some big plans in the works for them to become the ‘Backcountry World Tour’ in the near future. At this point, they’ve successfully hosted six editions of the Nendaz Backcountry Invitational in Nendaz, Switzerland as a one-off event. More recently, they’ve expanded a couple international test events this past summer in the southern hemisphere; one in Ushuaia, Argentina and one in Treble Cone, New Zealand.
In order to create the ‘Backcountry World Tour’ they’re aiming to secure at least five stops internationally. Their next step in taking things international is a stop in California with a weather window March 23rd-27th; the Sugar Bowl Backcountry Invitational. We’re pumped for the first US-based event and area looking forward to the growth of this awesome comp and future tour.
