Freeride Program

Freeride programs are the fastest growing ski competitive product that can be found in the industry around the world. ASC’s The program is formatted around the International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association (IFSA) Junior Freeride Competition Tour (www.freeskiers.org). Our athletes train with experienced coaches to hone their skills in all aspects of freeskiing, with a heavy focus on the fundamentals of freeride: Line Choice, Technique, Style, Fluidity and Control.

Designed for competitive freeride amd freeskiing athletes ages 10-1,. this program will be fluid in terms of training specific competitive focuses on any given day. Groups will optimize the focus for each day based on snow and weather conditions at Alyeska. Athletes can expect to have coach directed trick practice, technique drills, assessments or mini-competitions, video analysis, mentoring with older athlete role models, and of course, freeskiing with a group of some of the best freeskiers on the mountain.

IMPORTANT: All athletes are selected during tryouts in the spring – Tryouts are required for all programs. All athletes must place their intent to compete in at least one IFSA sanctioned freeride competition.

For questions, contact Drew Petrie at freerideprogramdirector@alyeskaskiclub.com
New to freeride? Read this first: https://www.freeskiers.org/about/welcome.html

Step by Step guide to registering for IFSA competitions: https://www.freeskiers.org/news/429-athlete-instructions-for-event-registration-on-the-driven-platform.html

Optional Dryland Opportunities

Dryland Options with Freeride Program – Elite Gym Only
U14 – U19 Fall Dryland | Elite Gym Two Day – $640
Every Tuesday and Thursday Sept. 5 through Dec. 14, 2023 at Elite.

Wednesday Get Air Gym Sessions (October 4 & 18, November 1 & 15 and December 6 & 20; U12 early evening, U14-U19 late afternoon)
U14 – U19 Get Air Gym Sessions | without a previously purchased annual pass – $200
U14 – U19 Get Air Gym Sessions | with a previously purchased annual pass – $75

Winter Break Camp
Sessions |Dec 26 through Dec 29 & Jan 2 through Jan 5 – $360

IFSA Alyeska JR National 3* Event Photos

Alyeska Classic Photos

Additional Resources

Our Coaches

Drew Petrie – Head Coach/Program Director

Drew grew up as an Alyeska Ski Club Mighty Might starting at age 6. At age 11 he progressed into the Junior racing program for 3 years before realizing his passion in freestyle/freeride skiing. He was one of the original members of the ASC Freeride Team competing for 4 years in Half Pipe and Slopestyle before moving on to Big Mountain skiing. You’ll find Drew on the Kenai River during the summer working as a Fishing Guide and at SkiAK during the winter months working as a Sales Associate.

Connor Michael

Connor Michael was a competitive racer and freeride skier for most of his life. He ski raced through high school with the Alyeska Ski Club Juniors. During his years in FIS, he attended Western Region Championships every year. After graduating high school, he moved to Gunnison Colorado to ski for Western Colorado University’s Freeride and Ski Cross teams. He was a top 10 ranked skier in the Freeride World Qualifiers in North America. He also took a 2nd place and 8th place at College Nationals for ski cross. Connor is now the Program Director of Alyeska Freeride Team, and head coach of the 12-18 age group. During the week, Connor works for Alaska Permanent Capital Management as a Financial Advisor.

Gabriel DeGange

Jonathan Gurry – U12 Head Coach

Jonathan was born and raised in Seattle, WA.  As a kid he was involved in many ski programs/teams.  At 18 he moved to Salt Lake City to attend the University of Utah and freeski.  He started competing in Freeride contests all over starting in 1999 and finishing up in 2009 at an Alyeska Contest.  In this time, Jonathan became a Professional Photographer appearing in front of the camera and published in publications such as Powder Magazine, Backcountry Magazine, Telemark Skier Magazine, among many others.  He has appeared in and help produce 6 different ski films over the years and continues to create content in the ski media world, as well as photograph many other things such as commercial and portrait work. This is Jonathan’s second season of coaching with ASC, and he truly enjoys coaching the younger athletes just getting into the sport.  He believes there is no such thing as a bad day of skiing.  There is simply always something fun to do on skis, even if it’s surfing on your skis in the rain.

Jake Dahl

Jake Dahl is from Anchorage and grew up ski racing for ASC from Mighty Mites through Juniors, competing in FIS races across the West. Towards the end of high school he drifted away from racing, finding more enjoyment in back country and big mountain skiing. He went on to earn his degree in Electrical Engineering from UAA and promptly moved to Salt Lake City Utah to pursue employment opportunities and fluffier snow. After 3 years in Salt Lake, the urge to return to Alaska could no longer be resisted. He strategically quit his job and started working remotely as a freelance software engineer, which would allow him the opportunity to move home. Jake is stoked to be back and is excited to share his experience and enthusiasm for the sport of skiing with the next generation of rippers.

Alec Stepovich – U14 Head Coach

Alec was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska and started skiing at Alyeska at the age of four and hasn’t stopped since. He started out in Mighty Mites and eventually made his way to the Juniors race program. Alec attended several races throughout his time in Juniors but his favorite was the 2014 Arctic Winter Games where he took a bronze and gold medal for alpine skiing located in his fathers hometown Fairbanks. If he’s not on the mountain tearing it up you can catch Alec at Moose’s Tooth slinging pizzas and serving up smiles. Alec has made life long friends through Alyeska Ski Club. You can hear him say regularly “Never a bad day of skiing!’ or “I owe some of the happiest moments of my life to skiing.” He’s elated to be coaching and bring the joy he’s found in this amazing sport to the next generation of “rippers.”

Colin Gordon

Colin is excited to be returning to coach for the Alyeska Freeride Team this season. Born and raised in Anchorage he spent as much time as possible on the slopes of Alyeska. For the last dozen winters, Colin has coached Freestyle/Freeride skiing at both Alyeska and Squaw Valley. Colin has a passion for sharing his knowledge and love of skiing with the next generation, and can’t wait to meet this year’s team.

Katie Writer

Katie learned to ski in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado that shaped her diverse background as a free skier. Tree skiing, moguls and pursuit of powder entertained her early years, while racing gates with the University of Colorado club program ignited her competitive spirit. She competed at the national level in moguls after completing a degree in Geography at the University of Colorado. While living in Lake Tahoe for eight years, she learned about backcountry skiing and became a ski guide for All Mountain Ski Pros and Shasta Mountain Guides. Her first trip to Alaska in 1997 was to compete in WESC during the time that Shane McConkey and Wendy Fisher were laying down the foundation for the International Free Skiing Association. Her writing and photography combined with being a pilot has fueled her passion of spreading the message of climate change with the use of aerial photography. As a mother of two, Katie loves sharing her passion for the mountains and flying with others and is super excited to join the Alyeska Freeride Program.

Sage Dudick – U18 Head Coach

Having grown up in Girdwood, Sage began skiing at a young age and spent most, if not all of his free time skiing at Alyeska. Making his way through the Alyeska Ski Club, Sage raced in Mighty Mites then joined the Devos program until becoming one of the original members of the ASC Freeride program for the first two years and competing in slopestyle competitions. After high school, Sage went on to play college baseball at a junior college in Oregon, until realizing he missed the snow too much and returned to Anchorage to finish his degree at UAA. These days, you’ll find Sage working at a public relations firm in Anchorage, skiing as much as he can and exploring Alaska with his camera at his side. Sage is thrilled to see how far the Freeride team has come since being on the team, and is stoked to be able to pass along his love of skiing to the younger generations.

Cameron Reitmeier

Cameron was born in Anchorage and raised in Seward. He grew up backcountry skiing the many peaks surrounding Seward and around the Kenai Peninsula. Cameron eventually attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks, but spent most of his time backcountry skiing, heli-skiing and climbing the Alaska, Wrangell-St. Elias, and Chugach Ranges, including summiting Denali in 1998. Cameron moved to Europe in 1998 to ski and climb… with a little studying and working added in. He primarily skied the remote regions of Scandinavia, Balkan Mountains, and the French/Italian Alps, eventually returning to his hometown in Southcentral Alaska in 2002. After enjoying his first season coaching the performance and energy driven U12s, he is excited to help coach the next snow shredding team.

Sam Trop

Sam grew up in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah spending most of his free time skiing, biking, and fly fishing. After graduating high school, Sam joined the military, being stationed with the US Army’s 2nd Ranger Battalion in Washington State with one deployment to Afghanistan. Sam exited the military in the winter of 2016 and returned to the Wasatch, where he started telemark skiing and coaching mountain biking with the Utah High School Mountain Bike League. Sam moved to Alaska in 2021 and through word of mouth found out about the Alyeska Freeride Team and got hired on as a coach. Sam is excited to bring his passion and knowledge for skiing back for his 2nd season with AFT.

Athena Pilato

This is Athena’s first year coaching for Alyeska Freeride, and she couldn’t be more excited for the 2022/2023 season. Athena has been an enthusiastic skier since age 4. She grew up in Havertown, Pennsylvania and learned to ski on solid ice. Athena was always a part of numerous ski/snowboard programs while in high school, but when she graduated, she ultimately made the choice to play Division 1 soccer at the University of Northern Colorado. At UNC, she got her bachelor’s of science in nursing (BSN). Currently, Athena is an RN in Anchorage who specializes in pediatric psychiatry. She believes that skiing plays a huge role in improving a child’s mental health. Last year, Athena coached the U12 freeride team at Alpental resort in Washington. Athena has her AIARE 1 & 2 certifications, and aspires to be a heli-ski guide one day.