Natural Selection Tour Organizers Reveal Surprising Change for This Year's Event

Ever since the Natural Selection Tour came to skiing, it’s been shrouded in pre-event secrecy. 

The eagerly anticipated freeride competition is filmed, completed, and then later released as “live” afterward. To make sure that the eventual premiere is exciting, organizers keep a tight lid on what actually happened before the big show debuts (yes, we’re not kidding—we have zero idea who won).

It surprised us, then, that the Natural Selection Tour shared new details about how the second annual event went down in March: the thrust, this time, is that the competition is set to look different than last season.

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Initially, organizers had hoped to return to Valdez, but low and unpredictable snow in Alaska forced a pivot. They tried a zone in Girdwood—the iconic Spine Cell face—but had to shift focus again after part of the face slid. The team settled on a new venue with a safe aspect and angle, working together to build out a competition zone from scratch.

“We came here thinking big mountain, spines, exposure—and suddenly we’re looking at a freestyle heavy venue, where you could link tricks top to bottom,” said athlete Markus Eder in the release. “A 180 degree shift which turned out to be all time. In my opinion, that’s what NST is all about. You’ve got to have all-round riding skills in your bag!”

According to the release, the skiers delivered “double backflips, double corks, creative line choices, and non-stop trick combinations.” Runs included as many as nine tricks, a departure from last winter.

“We showed up ready for one thing and ended up doing something totally different,” said Hannah Epsteyn, who qualified for Natural Selection through the new Super Sessions qualifier. “No warm-up, building jumps, going straight into it. It felt more like filming with your friends than a contest. Everyone was hyping each other up, and it brought out a different side of everyone’s skiing.”

Overall, rather than technical Alaska spine riding, it was “a big-mountain slopestyle showcase.” We’re stoked to see what exactly that looks like, especially given that many of the competitors, like Manon Loschi and Finn Bilous, have serious freestyle chops.

At the same time, some fans may miss the emphasis on steep, unmanicured skiing that the event delivered last winter. Rolling with the punches—and working with whatever Mother Nature delivers—is part of holding these kinds of competitions, though.

The competition premieres on April 14, 2026, at 4 p.m. PT, exclusively on Red Bull TV. The broadcast will include results.

Here’s who you can look forward to watching.

Ski Women

• Manon Loschi 
• Astrid Cheylus 
• Hannah Epsteyn 
• Elisabeth Gerritzen 

Ski Men

• Craig Murray 
• Markus Eder 
• Sam Kuch
• Colby Stevenson 
• Karl Fostvedt 
• Tanner Hall
• Finn Bilous 
• Jonah Williams