Moment Skis' Athlete Qualifies for Freeride World Tour

This past Monday the Freeride World Tour Challenger Series wrapped up at Kirkwood on the legendary Cirque venue. It was a busy day with over 80 athletes competing across men’s and women’s snowboarding and skiing.

Moment Skis ’ athlete and Truckee, California native, Britta Winans , won the Challenger Series and qualified for the 2024/2025 Freeride World Tour.

Winans finished on the podium across all three Challenger Events, including taking the top spot at Crested Butte. It’s no easy feat being that consistent for a full competitive season with the amount of talent and progression that’s happening in the freeride world.

Winans is currently living in Denver while pursuing her undergraduate studies in journalism, as well as writing for local 303 Magazine and competing in seven freeride events this winter.

You can check out some of her work here , and watch her shredding at the Crested Butte Challenger.

I was able to catch up with her, and chat a bit about her competitive season, dealing with injuries, life, and looking forward to the tour next year.

“It was really cool to be able to build it up. There were a lot of local Colorado comps; so they kind of felt lower stakes with all my friends, and I just took that energy into bigger competitions once I qualified for challengers and just really tried to ski for myself,” said Winans.

She explained that skiing for herself this season was a vital factor.

“I was going into comps [this season] very much skiing for myself. It's super easy in competition settings to get caught up in what other people are doing and the level of skiing that's going on, but I really just tried to choose lines that spoke to me and that I knew I would have fun skiing. In turn I was less nervous to do them, and I feel like that's the key to staying healthy when you’re confident going into a line.”

Winans has been climbing the ranks of the IFSA circuit from the juniors to the adults for the past nine years, and she’s coming off of a couple injury riddled seasons.

I asked her how she was able to deal with coming back from injuries and performing at such a high level for a full competitive season.

“I think easing into it was a huge part of it. After I had my first knee injury I just started skiing like I knew I could ski, but I was still struggling with pain. A lot of it this year was being in touch with my mind and body, and if I was hurting I would just call it. So, I had built up my strength and throughout the season just kept pushing more and more and kept listening to myself.”

She also explained that this season felt a little different than others.

“This has been a lingering goal for a long time to make the World Tour, and this year I got really strong after my injury. When I won the first challenger, I was like ‘oh s**t I can actually make the tour.’ The Crested Butte comp was a pivotal moment because I stomped a big air, it felt good, and I got rewarded for it.”

Britta comes from a family of freeriders. As the youngest of three sisters, she has been able to see the progression of the sport, specifically the women, first hand. This year was also special for her because she was able to compete with her older sister, Mia Winans , who finished fifth overall this season.

“A lot of times at these comps you can feel alone while you're inspecting, but having Mia there is so cool because we know each other so well. We know how each other skis, and we can inspect together. She's my best friend, and to be able to go and compete together is honestly the highlight of it all.”

After a hectic season, it’s hard to already start to look forward to another huge competitive season, but she’s keen for what the Freeride World Tour has to offer.

“I'm really excited to travel. I love travelling, it's a nice excuse to check out new places in the world, and meet a whole new crew of people. I’ve found it's pretty special how skiing connects people from all over the world,” said Winans.

For now, she’s headed back to Denver to finish a semester at school, relax, recoup, and enjoy the rest of spring skiing.