Natural Selection Snow has officially kicked off for 2026. And a whole slope of the world’s greatest snowboarders just made big mountain terrain and deep steep pow their playground. Day One brought enormous features, creative lines, old-school riding, and a whole lot of heart - the way good, honest snowboarding was intended.
If you’re new to the tour, NST Snow is one of the most exciting competitions in modern snowboarding. The event makes nature the main character: it’s all about natural lines, natural terrain, and naturally blending freestyle creativity with big-mountain technicality. It’s a competition that challenges the world’s best and rewards riders who think differently, who take creative risks, who do it for themselves and who say it with their chest.
Here at Mons Royale, that makes NST a natural fit. As proud partners of NST and long-time supporters of freeride culture, we’re also backing one of the sport’s most iconic riders: Gigi Rüf. With decades of influence in freeride snowboarding, Gigi arrived at this year’s NST Snow event layered in Merino and ready to show that style, creativity and experience still hold their own on the world stage. And spoiler alert, did he ever.
Day One delivered big lines, creative riding and a few surprises. Here’s how it went.
How the competition works
NST Snow goes down at Revelstoke Mountain Resort in BC, Canada. Read, one of the most legendary freeride hotspots in the world. The competition face in Montana Bowl is packed with natural terrain, big cliffs, gnarly spines, pow pillows and wind lips, making it a choose-your-own-adventure for riders.
Day One began with 24 riders - 8 women, including New Zealand’s own Zoi Sadowski-Synnot, and 16 men, including Mons athlete Gigi Rüf. These 24 riders were split into three sessions, 8 riders each.
Each session follows a three-round cutdown format: in the first round, the top two riders advance immediately, while the remaining six riders drop in again for round two. One rider advances from that second round, leaving the final five riders to battle for the final advancing spot in round three. Still with us? This means four riders advance from each of the three sessions, reducing the field from 24 to 12 riders who move on to the Day Two finals.
Day One: The Conditions
Day One conditions delivered exactly what Natural Selection is known for: deep powder, endless terrain options, unlimited potential. Storm cycles in the days leading up to the event stacked fresh snow across the hill, filling cliffs, spines and pillow lines just the way we like it.
With dozens of terrain features across the face and several possible entry points, riders were essentially given a giant playground to craft their run around – but one where line choice, speed and commitment mattered just as much as technical finesse.
Day One: Gigi’s Run
Just seconds into his run, Gigi set the tone with an enormous chicane off the first feature. Fearless style, right from the start. From there, he dropped into a flawless, high-speed back-3 nose butter off the Eagle’s Nest before flowing through trees and off lips with all the style, joy and energy he’s known for. A stylish grab off a natural lip showed his playfulness before navigating his way to the finish line with buttery turns and signature style.
“I kind of have a go-in-and-ride mentality. I’m really riding on the vibe of a session. That’s what snowboarding is to me,” says Gigi.
Day One: The Results
Gigi’s epic run was enough to secure him second place in the first round, making him one of the first two riders to secure a spot in the finals while the remaining six athletes battled it out for spots three and four. You go, Gigi Rüf.
We were stoked to see Gigi smashing his run with smart line choice and creativity, just like the world has come to expect from the Austrian snowboard legend. It was a classic Natural Selection moment, proving that authenticity can still compete with the most progressive tricks in snowboarding.
Looking to Day Two
With Day One under the lid, the field has been halved and the stage has been set for the final round. The remaining riders will return to the mountain for Day Two, where head-to-head matchups will decide the champions of this year’s NST Snow event.
It’s looking like the finals will take place on Saturday (PT), so stay tuned to watch the action unfold and check back here for updates as the finals go down in Revelstoke.
