Stifel U.S. Freeski Team slopestyle team athletes Mac Forehand and Alex Hall podiumed in the first slopestyle World Cup of the season, taking home second and third respectively.

Due to tough weather conditions, qualifiers were rescheduled from Friday to Thursday with hope of finals on Friday. However, due to the forecast predicting extreme winds and heavy snowfall, the finals were ultimately canceled. Results were determined based on qualifications, making this the second freeski World Cup to do so this season, after last month's Big Air Chur event was cut short due to weather. 

Taking advantage of the qualifiers and knowing cancelations were possible, Forehand and Hall executed unique, stylish and technically difficult jump runs. Forehand put down a switch left double 1620 lead stale grab to right double 900 lock with a mute grab. In Hall's creative third-place finish, he executed a right double 900 pretzel with a safety grab to switch left tail butter double 1260 mute grab, a run that would secure his 10th career World Cup podium. 

Canada's Evan McEachran took home his first slopestyle World Cup win ever. 

Stifel U.S. Freeski Team slope team athletes Cody LaPlante, Konnor Ralph and Troy Podmilksak also delivered excellent runs, earning scores that would have given them a chance to compete in finals. On the women's side, Rell Harwood secured a spot in the finals as well. 

"Very proud of the whole team yesterday," said Stifel U.S. Freeski Team pro slope team head coach Dave Euler. "We've had lots of bad weather at recent training camps. It was amazing to have a perfect competition day, which allowed the athletes to showcase their incredible skills. Having Mac and Alex on the podium, along with six athletes making finals, makes it even better! Great kickoff to the slopestyle season, and I am excited to keep the momentum building into Beijing and Copper big airs."

Up next, the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team slope team travels to Beijing, China, the host of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, for a big air World Cup event Dec. 1-2. 

Results
Men’s Slopestyle
Women’s Slopestyle 

Use the table below to stay updated on 2024-25 FIS Freeski World Cup events and how you can watch.

As an overview: 

• All international races (minus Austria) will be live and on-demand on skiandsnowboard.live 
• Events in Austria will be live and on-demand on Peacock
• All domestic races will be live on Outside TV (for free) and on-demand (behind a paywall). NBC, CNBC and Peacock will be also showing some domestic events, listed below

Learn more on How to Watch HERE. 

*dates, times, and how to watch subject to change

Updates 12/4/2024 at 5:45 pm ET

Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athlete and 2023 world champion Troy Podmilsak made an impression at the first World Cup of the season. The Big Air Chur World Cup event in Switzerland kicked off qualifiers a day earlier than scheduled due to heavy winds and rain in the forecast, and Podmilsak capitalized on the opportunity and went out big. Executing a triple 18 mute placed him in second in his heat and guaranteed a spot in the finals. Unfortunately, the extreme weather conditions led to the cancellation of finals, with the results from Thursday, Oct. 19, qualifications standing as the final results.

Podmilsak finished in fourth place overall, trailing behind Dylan Deschamps of Canada in first, Daniel Basher of Austria in second and Birk Ruud of Norway in third.

"I'm happy to have shown up and landed the trick I wanted to do yesterday. I was looking forward to stepping it up today for finals but you can’t beat the weather," said Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athlete Troy Podmilsak. "Big thanks to the organizers for making the jump awesome in the difficult conditions. Looking forward to coming back next season!"

Podmilsak, often referred to as TPod, is no stranger to pushing the boundaries in freeskiing. Despite being only 19 years old, he clinched a gold at his first World Championships in big air and took home third place at this event last season. 

Notably, Podmilsak was the only U.S. skier to compete in the Big Air Chur event. Next up, the Stifel U.S. Freeski Team will travel to Stubai, Austria for the next contest of the 2023-24 season. 

RESULTS

Men’s Big Air