The laid-back Colorado native won his first world title this year. Emphasis on “first.” Photo: FWT
One of the most beautiful aspects of snowboarding is that it’s really hard to put a label on what it means to be a pro. Park rats from the lowlands can spin their way to Olympic gold (a-la Mark McMorris or Shaun White), and someone who grew up in the mountains can slay the big lines in Alaska and inspire people to keep pushing the sport upward (Travis Rice comes to mind there).
But those aren’t the only segments of the sport to love. We also have the Freeride World Tour, which combines the choose-your-own line freedom of backcountry riding with the subjectivity of a judged event. FWT contests are a display of both skill and preparation, with a nice serving of luck as well. But extend those contests across a season and the luck fades away to crown the tour champion for skiers and snowboarders, men and women.
This year, American Blake Moller took home the title for snowboarding men. When you speak with him you see how his particular title just might be the most textbook definition of what it means to be a competitive snowboarder. What is that, you ask? Well if I were writing the textbook — and I don’t think I’m alone — it would be the one who is doing it not for money and fame, but because it’s probably the funnest thing to do on the planet. When I asked Blake, who grew up in Colorado riding Beaver Creek, what he does to prepare for a run, I was a bit surprised by his answer, as it seems to go against the grain of other riders looking to score points: “I’m not necessarily thinking about the judges’ criteria and what they want to see. I’m more looking for what speaks to me.”
The man is fearless. Photo: FWT
Blake’s road to the top sprang from the inspiration of his big brother Grifen Moller who in 2018 competed on the Verbier face. “I saw that mountain and was like, damn… I really want to ride that someday,” he said. “The next year I tried a couple qualifiers, and made it on the tour.” The year after, however, he blew his knee and was out the entire winter (of 2019-2020). In 2021, due to his injury, the FWT organizers granted him a wildcard, which he didn’t waste, finishing second. This year, “worked out nice,” as he puts it, winning the world title at 21 years old and a mere four years after dreaming up his chance to compete among the world’s best.
It’s not that he was sitting idly by, though. During his recovery Blake got into the backcountry with his brother who coincidentally also had a knee surgery around the same time. Those long uptracks of earning those turns seem to be just what he needed to get into the best possible shape to become a champion. Before any desire to win the tour, his motivation was more pure: stay active and have fun in the mountains. “It’s cool to take a step back and just accept everything that’s going on and just be in the moment, you know? It’s pretty cool,” he says.
And how can you not agree? Getting out there and just doing it without seeking glory or fame, but just enjoying the journey. It’s no easy task to evade the temptations of the limelight. But Blake has done that. Our culture seems so driven by social media, and hence, narcissism, that it encourages young people to show off and chase fame and their respective 15 seconds. Blake Moller is beyond that – a pure soul in a soulful pursuit to simply ride the best damn line of the day. And that outlook took him to his first world title.
Another aspect that makes the FWT unique and special is the fact that everyone competes together. The guys and the girls, two plankers and knuckle-draggers all travel and compete together, on the same day. This makes for interesting camaraderie and a way for competitors to help each other without helping their competitor win. “I think the skiers want to ride with the boarders,” he said. “I think we all want to do the same thing at the end of the day, and just ride. We kind of just…vibe.”
