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Léo Slemett, freeride made in Chamonix

With: Vibram
ITW: Léo Slemett
By: Martina Tremolada

Born and raised in Chamonix, Léo Slemett is the youngest athlete ever to participate in the Freeride World Tour, then winning the title of World Champion in 2017. His passion stems from alpine skiing, moving on to freestyle to get to freeride.

“In Chamonix I’ve been watching the oldest generation skiing around the valley like nowhere else. Once I had the opportunity to go to Verbier for the FWT final – the Verbier Extreme – and that day I saw Aurelien Ducroz skiing. Aurelien is from Chamonix too, it’s been a good inspiration for me: that day in Verbier he won his first World title and from that day I just decided that freeriding would have been my way.”

In the common imagination, freeride is one of the most dangerous disciplines, how did your family and people close to you react to your choice?
I’m lucky my parents are always supporting me as long as I’m happy. For my mother it was important to have also the certificate from school and she told me: “if you’re good at school you can go skiing and follow your passion”. For me it has been a double victory. They knew since the beginning I was not taking freeride as just a passion: it was like my goal, my dream and something I was really happy to do.


What is the equipment needed to have fun in safely?
When you’re practicing freeride the difference between other sport on skis is that there are no people who will secure the terrain for you. You are the person who have to manage his own safety. The point is that you need to be self sufficient because you have to consider that the people around you when you go outside the resort can be the people who are able to save you either. So you have to trust the people you’re going with. The essential materials that you need when you go freeriding are the transceiver, the probe and the shovel. You may also need an airbag to stay on the top of the avalanche and not to be trapped under the snow and obviously you need an helmet.


Then I guess you have to be careful.
Yes obviously you have to be careful, to learn about freeriding you need time and experience. You cannot learn it in the books. You have to live it, to understand how it works. You have to learn how the snow can move, how the wind can affect the snow and how the terrain can have an impact on the layers of the snow. It’s pretty interesting, but you need experience and time to understand how it works. So if you start with the main materials (transceiver, probe and shovel) I would say you’re starting in a good way.

You were the youngest athlete to participate in the FWT and in 2017 you became world champion for the first time. Despite the excellent results, you have declared that you do not feel you have reached the top yet. What are you missing?
I had three goals when I started freeriding. First one was to reach the Freeride World Tour, the second was to win the Verbier Extreme and the last one was to win the world title, to become a world champion. So done for the FWT, done for the title but I miss just one: I’m still training to win the Verbier Extreme, I ended up twice second so I’m pretty close, but I did not reached the goal yet.

 

This year the FWT has a new format: the best 12 athletes are selected after the first three stops and then there are two finals, the first in Austria at the best of two runs. What do you think about this change?
It’s interesting. I’m pretty curious to see how it will be in Austria and Verbier. I’m quite excited because we have two chances to express ourselves and maybe to feel more comfortable. You don’t have the pressure of one run – one chance but we will have to runs and two chances. I think the show will be interesting.


You are tenth in the FWT ranking, what is your goal for this year?
I’m just back from an injury: I torn my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) last year during the Verbier Extreme. My goal, since I knew my ACL was broken, was to be back at the Verbier final for the Extreme. Actually I just made the cut ten days ago in Canada so I’ll be participating at the second part of the season. One of the goals is done for now and I’m still training for the podium and maybe for the win in Verbier. We will see.

 

In addition to great skills, you also have to train hard to become a freeride athlete. How do you prepare for competitions?
Freeride competitions are a bit special because you need to be able to express your skiing abilities in all the different kind of terrains that the competition will propose you. You have to work hard on your skis and on your tricks in all the different kinds of terrain that you can imagine out of the resort (bumpy, powder, dry, icy and many more). The aim of the trainings is to be comfortable in all those terrain. You need also to be physically ready, so before the competition I do physical preparation to have stronger legs and stronger body.

 

Given the climate change in this period, how do you imagine for freeride in the future?
I’m not super worried about my sport because actually with the climate change people want to practice the mountain with more respect and more consciousness. They go more and more into freeride. Our competition is not using artificial snow, we use just the snow that the winter gives us: for me this is the best way to explore the mountains. I’m pretty confident about the future and I’m sure that people will always practice freeride instead of resort skiing or other sports because they want to be free.

In addition to competitions, your passion for the mountains has led you to travel far: Chile, Greenland, Japan and even Siberia. How do you prepare for this kind of explorations?
Since I was a kid I had the opportunity to travel with my parents and I think this is how I got the virus (travelers‘ virus). Growing up I just realized that skiing would give me the opportunity to explore different mountains, to live different adventures and to get involved in different cultures. Traveling with my skis it’s always been part of my dream. I was looking at the oldest explorers to learn how they prepare the expedition and what was their idea. I did just the same with my idea of it: I sport the mountains on the map. Now I feel traveling is something I’d like to push even more than the past because it’s ten years of competition – even more, eleven- and I feel like my skis belong to something deeper that the FWT.


They need different mountains.
Yes, definitely. The point is not that I’m done with competitions, but I’d love to do something new. This kind of adventures is the best way to test yourself and to feel the adrenaline you had at the beginning.


What was the most satisfying trip?
All the trip were different so it’s pretty hard to say which one is the most satisfying. Skiing in Greenland is something super special, skiing in Pakistan with the big mountains surrounding you is also epic. There’s not a single trip to remember, but it’s the global experience that will last long.

You have covered the north face of the Aiguille du Midi where you don’t have choice about the line of descent. Is the impossibility of choosing the line and not being able to jump rocks a limitation for you?
No. I really like steep skiing because the aim in this discipline is not to be the best on one line but is to be able to realize the line. The descent is the achievement after you reached the top. Skiing steep lines requires to have different skills and different approach to the mountain even if it’s still freeriding. It’s really interesting.


In the mountains you have to face difficult terrains, how important is for you to have good materials among skis and boots?
As soon as you feel comfortable with the materials you feel stronger and the limit moves super far. It’s really important for me to have the materials. I’m happy to be part of the Vibram team because they produce the best sole you can have to made your adventure.


Would you like to give some advice to young poeple approaching freeride for the first time?
Everything will come, just take your time and enjoy your experience!