ORDINO ARCALÍS, Andorra – Of the eight freeride skiers and snowboarders representing the United States in the FIS Freeride World Championships in February, close to half are from Lake Tahoe. The event takes place February in Ordino Arcalís, Andorra, a location in the Pyrenees, known for challenging freeride terrain.

Tahoe City’s Lily Bradley, Truckee’s Ross Tester, and South Lake Tahoe’s Molly Armanino are representing the U.S. in the ski division.

All three qualified based on their results in the 2025 Freeride World Tour Pro competitions along with 24 others from around the world.

What makes qualifying for the occasion all the more momentous is the event represents the first ever FIS Freeride World Championships, an important occasion on the sport’s path to becoming an Olympic event.

Last summer International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) congress members voted freeride as an officially recognized discipline. That puts it in other FIS categories along with racing and freestyle.

The FWT Pro Rankings that these Tahoe athletes qualified under is the first of four qualification groups.

The second qualification group pulls twenty additional top athletes from five continents for each competition (not already in the first group) based on a Global Seeding List.

Another group of athletes will be announced later this year and will qualify through the National Ski Associations around the world (four women and six men). There are also four wildcard spots and a host nation wildcard spot. The full roster is scheduled for release on Sept. 16.

The competition will take place on a single day selected within a six day window (Feb. 1-6) to ensure flexibility in selecting the best conditions.