# Freeride or Backcountry?



## baconzoo (Nov 12, 2010)

Backcountry in in North America starts where the ski area boundary stops.

So to take a heli to the top of a mountain is more Freeriding. 

But in the case of an event series, some marking dude came up with that. Freeride Tour sounds better than Backcountry Tour which sounds like a bunch of split-boarders, granola, a few dogs, and massive amounts of ganja.


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## Music Moves (Jan 23, 2009)

baconzoo said:


> sounds like a bunch of split-boarders, granola, a few dogs, and massive amounts of ganja.


Lol, generalize much?

/stereotype


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

Music Moves said:


> Lol, generalize much?
> 
> /stereotype


:dunno: sounds like a good time to me....

As far I interpret it, Freeriding is the act of riding any natural part of a mountain, in bounds or not. Park-riding and Free-riding are opposites, where one focuses on riding man-made features and the other focuses on riding natural terrain.

Backcountry can be referred to as any area outside of a ski-resort's boundary. Some people use it to explain terrain that is reached by helicopter or snowmobile, while to other's it's just the terrain immediately outside of resort-boundaries. Most can agree however that it's generally just terrain outside of resort-boundaries.


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## ShredLife (Feb 6, 2010)

freeriding is a style/discipline of snowboarding. if you're riding park all day you arent freeriding. freeriding is using the whole mountian; off groomers, natural jumps, perfect methods 

backcountry is an hour or more from life sustaining care. no patrolled areas are considered backcountry, but slackcountry or sidecountry access (using lifts to get up and then venturing outside of patrolled areas - off the resort) can turn into "backcountry" if you get yourself an hour or more from help - which isnt that hard if you think about it.

at least that's how backcountry was defined by a collegiate Outdoor Leadership degree.


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## Sudden_Death (Mar 23, 2011)

Backcountry is usually referred to as off-piste in Europe.Freeriding is just riding for the sake of riding.It can be done on resort property or in the backcountry.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

The definition of backcountry that I have always gone by is riding in terrain that is not controlled and/or maintained by a ski area or other entity. As far as I am concerned as soon as you are beyond a resorts boundaries you are in backcountry. It can literally be right above a road. There have been plenty of incidents where people have been killed by avalanches within a few feet of the road or other civilized things. 

This of course pertains to when you are traveling in avalanche terrain. In warmer times that 1 hour rule is not a bad rule of thumb.


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## ShredLife (Feb 6, 2010)

killclimbz said:


> This of course pertains to when you are traveling in avalanche terrain. In warmer times that 1 hour rule is not a bad rule of thumb.


the one hour thing was really just a way for instructors to try and quantify it. if you need a definition then hey, :dunno: it works. the only real difference between what you're saying is say you duck a rope, are still within sight of the resort, get buried in a slide.... theoretically ski patrol could be on scene or have you back in Mt. Medical on an AED within an hour. the AED, and viable cell phone access to heli evac (considering heli proximity) was a big part of the "hour to LS care deal"...

just a way for teachers to put a number on it i guess


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

Snowolf said:


> Dude...you forgot to add guns!....
> 
> Essentially, as has been said, in the U.S. Free ride is a type of riding versus freestyle. The free rider may or may not ride park in the course of the day, but generally spends the bulk of their riding time cruising on or off the groomed piste and may include steeps, trees, bowls, carving, back country and natural as well as man made terrain features. The freestyle rider is primarily a park rider who does minimal cruising the mountain but instead enjoys spending the bulk of their time in man made terrain parks.
> 
> Back country is really the pinnacle of free riding as it is done entirely outside of the permit area of a ski resort. The back country rider is primarily an explorer at heart and enjoys the hiking as much as the riding. In addition, many back country riders do so to get away from the shit show that resorts often are and many do so because they crave the solitude and quiet of the back country, not to mention that back country riding provides unlimited challenge to push the free rider beyond their limits.


Maybe one day I'll have a Heritage split and can live the dream....


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## danko (Apr 25, 2011)

thank you!!!! ) Then I will use word freeride for my book about safety skiing and snowboarding!!! :thumbsup:


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