Natural Selection Tour

The Natural Selection Tour continues to break new ground in the backcountry – We heard from 2024 Champion Marion Haerty on overcoming challenges and rising to the top.

INTERVIEW Alba Pardo

There is no doubt that since the Natural Selection Tour launched in 2021 the landscape of freeride competitions forever changed and broke every barrier of what was thought possible. Combining the videogame-like angles of the riders’ point of view and the latest technology to stream all the action live from some of the most remote areas of the mountains, the NST brought the excitement and thrill of the snowboard movies to competitions by making it instantly accessible, raw and very real. In short: it kept the snowboarding enthusiasts on the edge of their seats for three hours straight, and then it continued to make waves for months afterwards…

Nobody hits the nail on the head with this level of innovation without experimenting and without a lot of trial and error. Also, with technologies still developing and their stratospheric plans, even they have been limited by what can’t be done, yet… The addition of a global pandemic made their tasks even harder and the organizers had to ramp up their creativity to find ways to continue to host these shows. All of this means that out of their 10 events, some of them have been recorded and presented after the actual competition, others have been broadcast live, and some have had a mixture of recorded and live elements. To add to the mix, they also introduced the duels, which are short recorded episodes that are shown consecutively in the weeks before the first competition of the season and are used to build the storyline, the hype and decide the field of riders for the main event. 

For some fans, the different formats, the changes and the added layers may seem confusing, for others, it may seem not enough. Some crave more content, others crave more raw live-action, but everyone wants to see the incredible performances of some of the best backcountry riders in the world. Of course, giving everyone what they want is no easy feat. But what Travis Rice once envisioned is now very much alive, and with the co-founder Liam Griffiin as the COO — backed up with some of the heaviest weights of the snowboarding industry — they are doing an exceptional job of running the benchmark freeride event, as well as listening to the community, and trying as hard as possible to deliver a show that the riders want to be part of, the brands and companies want to back up, and the rest of us mortals want to enjoy. 

But don’t take my word for it, 2024 NST winner Mikey Ciccarelli explains the successful recipe by stating that the “Natural Selection Tour is the coolest event in snowboarding; the terrain and the riders are unmatched. We are riding the terrain for the first time when we do our runs, which makes for such exciting riding for us and the audience. Winning the event was by far the biggest accomplishment of my career. I have been a huge fan of NST since the first event and had the dream to one day make it onto the tour. So the fact that I was able to win the Tour is truly surreal.”

In 2024 they had back-to-back days in Revelstoke for the qualifying and finals day. The first day was broadcast live, and the finals day was recorded and presented “as live” a few weeks later. For 2025 the tour will return to the Canadian Rockies from March 10-17 in a similar format but making the live broadcast their priority: “Hosting two live broadcast days will allow us to share all the action straight from the backcountry, as it happens,” explains Carter Westfall, Natural Selection Tour CEO. “We’re planning to double down on ways to bring the vibrant global and local community together throughout the week with events, programming and live broadcasts. Natural Selection’s goal is to connect people with Mother Nature by providing a platform where the most inspiring riders of our time can push the limits of the natural world. We can’t imagine a better place to do that than in Revelstoke.”

The space that the NST has taken in the winter calendar and its consolidation is backed by every single participant’s story, including the former Freeride World Champion and the 2024 women’s winner Marion Haerty. We interviewed Marion to understand the Natural Selection Tour from her rider perspective and to get an insight into her career evolution, including the risks she has taken to be part of this newer tour, the challenges it poses, and the opportunities of progression and expression it offers.

Hi Marion, first of all congratulations on winning this year’s tour. What does it mean to you to claim the 2024 NST title?

After competing on the FWT for six years, I decided to leave the circuit to join only the Natural Selection Tour. It was a big risk to engage myself in a different competition style but I was really happy to challenge myself. I tried my best to mix my freeride approach and my old skills from slopestyle. During this process, I went back to the snowpark to work on tricks and I broke my arm very badly on a kicker. That accident presented another challenge for me and I had the biggest mountain to climb of my life: getting out of an intense nervous breakdown and keeping up with my mental health. So for me, winning the NST was a lot more than just winning a competition; it was about winning with myself.

I am glad you were able to face your challenge and successfully conquer it, not just by surviving it but by thriving. That takes a strong mindset and I’m guessing a lot of preparation. Can you tell us about the differences and similarities of the NST competitions vs the FWT competitions and what aspects you enjoy more, or which ones pose a bigger challenge for you? 

The difference between the NST and FWT is the human intervention on the terrain, the number of runs and also the competition format. On the NST they prepare the terrain during the summer, building wooden features and ramps. Everything on the faces where the FWT take place are made by nature only.

The thing that I like the most on NST is the number of runs, you can express yourself differently when you have two runs compared to the FWT when you have only one run. Also the competition format as a duel  is fun, but depending on who you are against for the first stop will determine the rest of your season. At the beginning, after saying goodbye to the FWT, I felt a lot of pressure on the first stop in Jackson with this format.  

Talk to us about your competitive strategy. Despite your background in slopestyle, you have definitely evolved to be a big-mountain rider. How have you used these skills to your advantage against the perhaps more evolved freestyle skills of the other riders in the field?

What I like the most about freeriding is that you have to read nature and be one with it if you want to ride the mountain safely and write your own line. In Chamonix, we are riding in every terrain and every weather condition on a daily basis, and sometimes style is less important in that space. We are looking to score a fast run with a big commitment on cliffs, so that is my focus and strength. But for sure with my past in slopestyle, I have more understanding of tricks. 

What is the NST like from the inside? What’s it like to compete in those locations, with those set ups with that amazing curated group of riders?

It’s a nice community of people passionate about snowboarding, it almost looks like the riders competing in this event are just there as a “bonus” because they have already accomplished so much in their careers. But the vibe is super high and everyone is super stoked to ride these crazy faces! I’m really inspired by each of them and I have so much respect and appreciation for Travis Rice and the team for all the time and hard work to put this event together. Also, I won’t deny that I felt really shy and awestruck in front of these legends at the first events!

Legends admiring legends. I love it. What battles surprised you the most through the seasons? Which one did you enjoy the most and which one you felt was the biggest challenge?

The battle that surprised me the most, or actually confused me the most was the one against Anna Gasser. She is the queen of my generation and her snowboarding is so strong. I respect her so much that winning against her made me feel really uncomfortable. My biggest challenge was against Robin Van Gyn, she knows how to read a mountain, how to ride a kicker and how to put a great run together in British Columbia. However, in the end, thanks to all of them, I have made significant progress and now believe in myself more than ever to reach the next level!

What are you most excited about this starting season on the tour?

I’m really excited for this next season because when you know the faces a bit you can express your riding even better! I can’t wait to be in Revelstoke and to live another year full of experiences. I’m competitive, but I really like to experience another snowboard culture and to discover new people along the way, for me snowboarding is a lot more than just competition.