It’s ON! Day 1 of the YETI Natural Selection Revelstoke

Mother Nature says it’s time to GO this Friday, as 24 of the most exciting all-mountain snowboarders in the world prepare to drop into an expanded venue in prime conditions.

The wait is finally over! Mother Nature has spoken and she said that it’s a GO for the YETI Natural Selection Revelstoke to stream live worldwide starting Friday, March 14 at 1 PM PT. Get ready for two action-packed days of all-mountain snowboarding from the world’s top riders, streamed live exclusively on Red Bull TV.

This year’s event promises more excitement than ever, with an expanded venue including room for an in-person crowd, a new competition format, and an all-rider judging panel. The action will unfold in Revelstoke, BC, where 24 of the world’s most exciting snowboarders—including former NST Champions like Travis Rice and Elena Hight, and NST rookies including Ståle Sandbech and Aya Sato—are waxing their boards and scoping their lines ahead of Friday’s first day of competition. 

Only 12 riders will make it through Day 1 to the finals, which will run on a second day of live broadcast between Saturday and Monday, when the window closes. On the final day one man and one woman will claim the prestigious 2025 Natural Selection Tour title.

Where to Watch
For the best experience find the biggest, baddest screen you can and watch through the Red Bull TV app or beam it from the Red Bull TV app on mobile. But for one the go, click one of the links below.

2025 YETI Natural Selection Revelstoke | Day 1 (Friday) – www.redbull.com/NSTsnow1
2025 YETI Natural Selection Revelstoke | Finals (TBD) – www.redbull.com/NSTsnow2

For the lucky few who happen to be in the Revelstoke area this week, please join the crew at the venue or the NST Basecamp at Revelation Lodge. 

The Venue: “Like Kids in a Candy Store”
The venue at Revelstoke has undergone a major transformation for 2025. Under the guidance of NST competitor and Revelstoke-based pro snowboarder Dustin Craven, the venue has doubled in size, allowing for two full days of live competition. The expanded Montana Bowl now features more than 70 features, 10 entrance points (up from just three in 2024), and 600 feet of new cliff space with improved landings. For the spectators, the on-site viewing area has grown 10 times larger, and is now able to accommodate more than 1,000 people at the base of the venue.

“After riding the venue last year, we spent the summer not only fine-tuning it, but also doubling the size and features to accommodate both days and safely host a larger on-site crowd,” says Craven. “The new 30-40 features and natural terrain options that have been finetuned open up so many more options for riders with better, safer landings and an overall improved course.”

On Monday with more than 20cm fresh snow coated on the venue, riders got a first in person look at Montana Bowl. Natural Selection is known for the most dynamic, progressive and sometimes nerve-wracking venues that push snowboarding to new levels. The conditions are looking prime and riders are liking what they see this year.

“The venue looks amazing. I can’t wait to get on the course,” said Šárka Pančochová, who is a first year NST competitor who competed with Aya Sato at the DUEL in Japan, and went on to qualify with a win at this year’s Research & Development event. “ The qualifying face is super playful. It’s gonna be kids at the candy store! It’s literally a dream come true to be part of this event. Can’t wait to ride!”

Torgeir Bergrem, who made it through to the finals in 2024 agrees, “It looks awesome. It looks more filled in than last year, which is nice. It’s going to be interesting to see where people go, because it looks like everything’s on and it’s a kid in a candy store situation where there’s so many options that it’s hard to choose!”

Brandon Davis, who received a wildcard following a close DUEL at Kirkwood, was processing it all riding out through Revelstoke Resort from scope day, “ It’s a lot to take in… I’ve only seen it in on the TV before, so then we show up in person, it kind of puts everything in perspective. There’s like a hundred ways down, you just gotta find one. The bottom section is massive, especially the more natural features are huge! The middle section, Bar Fight, that we were just looking at seems almost unrideable to me. Well, I know you could ride it, but like it’s right on the edge; it’s crazy!”

A New Competition Format

This year, Day 1 of the competition will feature an exciting new format designed to deliver faster-paced action. Gone are the traditional head-to-head eliminations—replaced by three cutdown rounds that will give riders more opportunities to shine.

Here’s how it works:

• Round 1: 8 riders – Top 2 advance
• Round 2: 6 riders – Top 1 advances
• Round 3: 5 riders – Top 1 advances

This will allow the top performers to move forward to the final day of competition. The new format will also ensure the best lines rise to the top and eliminate any “random first-round matchups” that might have prevented the true contenders from advancing.

Full Rider Lineup

The 2025 YETI Natural Selection Revelstoke will feature a star-studded lineup of 24 riders. It’s a record season for rookies with five of the eight women competing in their first NST season, and five men making their first NST appearances. 

Women

• Mary Rand (USA) – Pre-qualified from 2024 (2nd place)
• Madison Blackley (USA) – Eleven Irwin, Crested Butte, CO DUEL winner)
• Aya Sato (JPN) – Lime Resort, Myoko, Japan DUEL winner
• Ellery Manning (USA) – 2024 Research & Development (RND) Winner
• Šárka Pančochová (CZE) – 2025 Research & Development (RND) Winner
• Elena Hight (USA) – 2022 NST Champion
• Spencer O’Brien (CAN) – Wildcard
• Estelle Pensiero (CAN) – Pre-qualified from 2024 (in for Marion Haerty, who is injured)

Men

• Ståle Sandbech (NOR) – Andermatt + Sedrun + Disentis, Switzerland DUEL winner
• Brin Alexander (CAN) – evo’s Journeyman Lodge at the Callaghan, BC DUEL winner
• Severin van der Meer (CHE) – Kirkwood Mountain, Lake Tahoe, CA DUEL winner
• Blake Moller (USA) – High MTN Heli, Victor, ID DUEL winner
• Brandon Davis (USA) – Wildcard for stand-out riding in his 2025 DUEL
• Dustin Craven (CAN) – Pre-qualified from 2024
• Gigi Rüf (AUT) – Wildcard
• Torgeir Bergrem (NOR) – Pre-qualified from 2024
• Mikey Ciccarelli (CAN) – 2024 NST Champion
• Jared Elston (USA) – Pre-qualified from 2024
• Sage Kotsenburg (USA) – Pre-qualified from 2024
• Nils Mindnich (USA) – Pre-qualified from 2024
• Travis Rice (USA) – Pre-qualified from 2024
• Austen Sweetin (USA) – Pre-qualified from 2024
• Mikkel Bang (NOR) – 2021 NST Champion
• Ben Ferguson (USA) – Wildcard

Follow the drop order and results throughout the day here.

Meet the Judges

The event will feature an esteemed panel of judges with over 100 years of combined experience in competitive snowboarding and backcountry riding. This year’s all-pro judging panel includes Chad Otterstrom (USA), Jody Wachniak (CAN), Jussi Oksanen (FIN), Leanne Pelosi (CAN), and David Carrier-Porcheron (CAN). These legendary riders will score runs based on criteria such as creativity, risk, execution, difficulty, and overall flow, ensuring a thorough and well-rounded evaluation of each rider’s performance.

Like-minded partners are coming together to help develop and support the Natural Selection Tour. YETI is back as the Title Partner of the DUELS, Natural Selection Revelstoke, and as the Tour’s Official Sustainability Partner. YETI will also title the inaugural Natural Selection Ski event in Alaska. Arc’teryx returns as the Tour’s outerwear partner for both snowboarding and skiing. Additional partners signed on include A New Earth Project, Blackstrap, Dakine, 10 Barrel Brewing, Oakley, Ski-Doo, Turtlebox, Manscaped, Mammut, and BOA.

The Industry Alliance program returns this season, with partners including Union Bindings, Salomon, Lib Tech, The North Face, Remind Insoles, Arbor, Anon, K2, Dragon, Rossignol, and Burton. NST hopes that people choose to support the brands that support snowboarding! To get involved, please contact the Natural Selection Tour’s partnership team at conor@naturalselectiontour.com.

The competition will also feature events that celebrate the Revelstoke community, supported by the Government of British Columbia Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, and Sport, Tourism Revelstoke, and Selkirk Tangiers Heli Skiing. The full event schedule is listed here.