Backcountry Challenge by Alfons García

BY Alfons García: Showcasing Spain’s untapped terrain

photos Andoni Epelde

The Backcountry Challenge is an invitational Backcountry Freestyle event organized by Landing Snowboard and led by Pyrenean freerider Alfons García in Naut Aran (Baqueira-Beret’s region). It is an event designed to be filmed and photographed, with the goal of creating high-quality snowboarding content and showcasing the Spanish Pyrenees mountains and their impressive (yet vastly unknown by many) terrain.

“My motivation behind the Backcountry Challenge has been all the years I’ve spent on the mountain snowboarding and filming with friends because here in Naut Aran we have the perfect terrain and conditions for it, and I wanted to have the opportunity to share the terrain and snowboarding with such a cool group of people. I really enjoyed watching riders with more of a freestyle approach, like Manex Azulea, ripping in the powder!

The lesson I have learnt through this process is that if you want something, it will cost you something (scouting many locations, waiting for snowfalls, walking a lot, and many hours on the computer from the organizers). The day of sunshine, the epic powder conditions, and the fact that no accidents happened were the most valuable things! And of course I want to thank the Landing Snowboard organization, Cris Monclús and Javi Guimont, all the riders, and of course, all the collaborators and partners that helped us make this dream a reality.”

You can watch the best lines, and the event highlights and follow the window for 2025 on their instagram @backcountrychallenge