Ordino Arcalís Mountains to Host Inaugural FIS Freeride World Championships

A group of 66 athletes from 17 nations, including Andorra's Joan Aracil, will compete for the title of the first freeride world champion in history on the slopes of Ordino Arcalís. Coinciding with the opening of the ski season, Andorra has begun the countdown to transform into the nerve center of international freeride next February—in less than two months—when the inaugural edition of the FIS Freeride World Championships will be held.

The peaks of Ordino Arcalís, internationally renowned for the excellence of their snow and their particularly demanding terrain, will host this unprecedented event that will crown the first freeride world champions under the auspices of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). The championship also reinforces the official recognition of this discipline within winter sports.

The event will take place on a single day, within a weather window set between February 1 and 6, 2026. Four divisions will compete: men's ski, women's ski, men's snowboard, and women's snowboard.

The registration list brings together the world's freeride elite, including Spaniards Abel Moga, Jokin Ruiz de Larramendi, and Elisabet Marina in skiing, along with Núria Castán and Pol Sabidó in snowboarding.

Representing Andorra, skier Joan Aracil joins this group, and will be able to leverage his intimate knowledge of the terrain where he grew up and trained. A former instructor at the Ordino Arcalís Ski School with international circuit experience, Aracil embodies the new generation of freeriders. His presence in the championship guarantees the host country's participation in this historic event.

This championship will condense the fight for the World Champion title into a single decisive day, unlike the FIS Freeride World Tour, which spans the entire season with multiple stages at different resorts. This makes the event an ultimate challenge where the planet's best specialists must push their technique and daring to the maximum to deliver a top-tier spectacle and aspire to be crowned winners.