RnD: The future of women’s backcountry freestyle

Backcountry freestyle doesn't fit neatly into a single category. It draws on elements of slopestyle, film culture and technical freeriding. RnD exists in the space where all three overlap. The women's snowboard event created by Jones Pro Team rider Robin Van Gyn is built around a single objective: get more women deep in the mountains and give them the space to be seen, build their presence and shine a spotlight on their backcountry riding.

Fifteen up-and-coming pros and established freeride athletes from around the world gathered at Whitewater Resort in Nelson, BC, to film, compete and deepen their experience in the backcountry. Now in its third year, it's the clearest proof yet of what this unique format is capable of producing.

Over a week, riders got to immerse themselves in the terrain of Whitewater's Trash Chutes, scoping lines and visually mapping out their contest runs, while stacking footage with a world-class film crew across two dedicated filming days. On contest day, the riders put down two runs each in front of the judges. Each athlete’s scores were weighted 70% on their best contest run and 30% on their strongest filmed clip to determine the overall positions.

But the structure is only part of what makes RnD special. With an emphasis on mentorship, avy education and creative collaboration, the event creates an environment to help athletes deliver their best under contest conditions, while also gaining the experience to increase their exposure in the backcountry. The whole spirit of the event, from bootpack-accessed riding to avalanche safety clinics is squarely aimed at building complete backcountry riders.

Come contest day, blue skies and hero snow set the stage, and every rider threw down. The Jones riders turned out in force and delivered some of the highlights of the day. Marissa Krawczak dropped in on one of the steepest, most technical sections of the course, managing to hold her line despite triggering a slide beneath her. Eva Van Vugt claimed the undisputed send of the day, earning her the Seal Team Sender Award in the process. RnD rookie Audrey Doan handled the steep learning curve of event debut, putting down two clean runs in the contest.

The podium belonged to Billy Pelchat, Yuka Fujimori and Katie Kennedy. On top of being a standalone event, RnD serves as a Super Session qualifier for the Natural Selection Tour, with Billy and Yuka claiming the final two invites to the finals in Revelstoke.

Three years in, RnD looks less like a proof of concept and more like a blueprint for the future of competitive snowboarding. The format is proving that, given the right platform, the right terrain and the right community, talent doesn't just show up, it compounds. The future of women’s backcountry freestyle has never looked stronger.

Audrey Doan, Yuka Fujimori, Maria Hidalgo, Katie Kennedy, Marissa Krawczak, Stefi Luxton, Ellery Manning, Billy Pelchat, Juliette Pelchat, Estelle Pensiero, Celia Petrig, Enni Rukajärvi, Eva Van Vugt, Ellie Weiler and Egan Wint