Lake Tahoe Athletes Representing at the Freeride Junior World Championship in Austria

It's no secret that Lake Tahoe is a skiing and snowboarding mecca.

With an abundance of ski resorts throughout the basin, opportunities abound to make skiing your life, if you so choose. In fact, that is why many of us decide to call Lake Tahoe home. It truly is one of the best places for enjoying the freedom of sliding on precious snow. This special area is known to call to the souls who find love and expansion in the act of riding in the mountains, drawing them to the Sierras like a magnetic beacon. But it is also a divine place for raising children and showing them the positivity that can come from dedicating yourself to the mountains and to the sport.

This devotion equates to spectacular achievements for those who give it their all, a reality realized by three special athletes who call Palisades Tahoe home. For the second year in a row, Palisades Snowboard Team qualified and were invited to compete in the Freeride Junior World Championships (FJWC). Overall, the ski area has represented in the Freeride Junior World Championships for a total of eight seasons, with repeated deserving podium finishes. This year, once again, there is reason to celebrate. Of the three athletes chosen, Kaiya Hanepen won third, reminding the global stage that Palisades Tahoe breeds some of the best. 

Kirkwood serving up stupendous training for the World Championships. Photo courtesy of Tahoe Freeride

The Freeride Junior World Championships is an endeavor for the cream of the crop. A competition that includes four categories (Women’s Ski, Men’s Ski, Women’s Snowboard and Men’s Snowboard), the multi-day event is a spectator sport that ups the ante of excitement. To make it to the podium, competitors need to showcase their abilities in on-course fluidity, control, line choice and technique as well as air and style. All competitors are offered a visual inspection of the course prior to the event, but they are not allowed to practice or physically ride their chosen descent before the race. The complete course is a creation made by Mother Nature, with the mountain supplying the canvas and the only human intervention being the start and finish lines. The competitors are judged by a panel of seasoned freeride skiers and snowboarders who are experts in their own right. The entire race is one of athletic artistry, with each competitor able to pick their own version of descent and features to play with.

This year's competition was held in Kappl, Austria, for the fourth season running. The race was held from January 23 to the 26 and was blessed by great snow and epic conditions. Palisades Tahoe sent three athletes from the snowboard team, including Kaiya Hanepen (female, age 18), Mia Jones (female, age 18) and Sam Briggs (male, age 17). Each athlete was chosen because of their high standings from last year's North American Freeride Series. The competitors also competed in a pre-Championship event, the ARC 1950 Freeride World Tour Junior, in which Kaiya took first place and Sam won second. This was both Mia and Sam's first opportunity to show off their abilities at the Freeride Junior World Championships and Kaiya's third.

For Palisades Tahoe, this is a continuation of training impressive contenders. Kaiya will be added to a long list of winners, including Dylan Zellers, first place; Jesse Aves, first place; Andrew Kraatz, third place; Adrian Babet, third place; Tilden Wooley, second place; and most recently, Tavo Sadeg winning first place at the 2022 FJWC.

Fun and excitement are the name of the game for Freeride athletes. Photo courtesy of Tahoe Freeride

If you have the time, check out these impressive athletes in action at the upcoming Tahoe Freeride Stop 3: IFSA Junior 2 Regional competition happening February 4 and 5 at Kirkwood Mountain Resort as well as the Tahoe Freeride IFSO Junior 3 National Championships March 3 to 5. Palisades Tahoe will be hosting a Tahoe Freeride IFSA Junior 3 National competition on February 10 to 12 as well.

Junior athlete stardom in the making at Kirkwood IFSA National Championships. Photo courtesy of Tahoe Freeride.

After watching these amazing riders rip, partner the excitement with a great event happening anywhere in Lake Tahoe. Learn more at either our Daytime or Nightlife pages. 

Title Photo courtesy of Kaiya Hanepen GoFundMe page