Thirty years of Xtreme

In early spring 1996, Nicolas Hale-Woods gathered a group of friends on the face of the Bec des Rosses with a wild idea: a competition with no gates and no timing. The challenge? To see who could ride the most beautiful line. The skier-entrepreneur brought Red Bull onboard, which was just launching in Switzerland, and riders who would later become legends — American snowboarder Steve Klassen, Gilles Voirol, Stéphane Dan and Bruno Compagnet.

Twelve years later, this now-iconic event became the final stop of the world’s first freeride championship: the Freeride World Tour (FWT). Footage from the event circled the globe, putting the high mountains on full display and inspiring a new generation of youth with its message: up here, freedom reigns.

You win or you learn
Fast forward to 2016. Then just a 14-year-old kid from the Chablais region, Simon Perraudin answered the call of the FWT, arriving in Bruson ready to ski. He finished 87^th. The rookie’s hunger to race consumed him, “but I clearly wasn’t up to par”, he recalled.

Driven by sheer determination, Simon returned to compete on the junior circuit, progressing quickly and even earning a few podiums in home races. It was enough to join the Freeride Qualifier Circuit in 2021. “I was pretty intimidated because I didn’t think I had the level, but I got some very good results that allowed me to qualify for the Challenger.” And then — disaster struck. “At the first event I lost both skis! But after that, I had nothing left to lose”. Having taken the pressure off himself, Simon (who is remarkably tall — 2 meters!) won the next stop, in Jasna, and soon secured his spot in the FWT.

Levitation, 360°, impact
It was his first season racing with “the big boys”, alongside local athletes like Maxime Chabloz, who was, incidentally, a kitesurf world champion and a phenomenal rookie that had taken the crown just the year before. Tough competition. And it was tricky juggling between the acronyms: from FWT to EPFL, where Simon was in his first year of studies. Fortunately, the pace was less intense than in the Qualifier or Challenger circuits, and riders were given more time to survey the mountain faces. Simon made the cut but, unfortunately, bad weather cancelled the finals on the Bec des Rosses that year.

The 2024 season started badly: Simon injured himself and withdrew. He was granted a wildcard entry in 2025 but finished 18^th overall. Still no Bec des Rosses. So back to the Challenger circuit he went, to try climbing the ladder again…

Freeride = ski + freedom
Loïc, the younger brother, also has a few tricks up his sleeve. Just for fun, he entered the Bruson Freeride Week in 2025… and won a second place! But he’s mostly interested in other projects, and he’s taking his brother along for the ride. The two agree that “competition isn’t the only thing that matters in freeriding. In fact, today’s best riders aren’t even on the circuit — they’re out filming their own projects.” So, that’s exactly what the brothers decided to do.

Their first creation? Nova — a 13-minute ode to freeriding with a psychological approach that “explores the cyclical nature of life and its events, where skiing represents rehabilitation. We drew inspiration from the world of music and its visually striking aesthetics. We both love music. We’re currently premiering the film but can’t wait for Nova to be released on YouTube (by the end of the year)”. Their first screening was at the High Five Festival in Annecy, where Nova was well received and selected by the judges. The next is on 19 December at Verbier’s cinema. “It’s truly incredible to see your work come to life on the big screen,” exclaimed Loïc. “Loïc did all the work behind-the-scenes. He’s extremely meticulous and fine-tuned every aspect of the sound and visuals”, Simon explained. As for what’s next, the brothers have plenty of ideas. They’re already working on a new project, skis included, of course.

freerideworldtour.com
scott-sports.com