Cover Photo by Jérôme Tanon (drone shots by Christoph Thoresen)
2025 NS Skier of the Year nominee Markus Eder is one of the best to ever do it. It's that simple. He's won the Freeride World Tour, qualified for the Olympics in slopestyle, put out one of the most-watched ski videos of all time, and you only need to ski with him for a couple of minutes to realise what a gift he has on a pair of planks. Last season saw him head to Alaska with Victor De Le Rue with the goal of putting all his wildest AK dreams to rest. Circle Of Madness is the result of their endeavors and the movie doesn't just raise the bar, it lifts the roof on what's achievable in backcountry freestyle, taking big tricks to the biggest of terrain. We caught up with Markus about the project and about what is coming this season, with both his own event and Natural Selection.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1100158/CIRCLE-OF-MADNESS---Markus-Eder---Victor-DeLaRueIn case you haven't seen it, here's Circle of Madness
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Hi Markus. In your movie Circle of Madness you said riding in Alaska is like a “little sickness in my head”, you need to do it and then you can let it go. Did this trip help you let it go or do you already know what you’ll do if/when you go back?
That project with Victor brought me kind of to my mental limit, I think. For sure there are a couple of tricks/things I didn’t get to do, or I’d have liked to do better but I’m kind of ok to not go back. We found plenty of new crazy spots out there too that we didn’t get to ride but I’ve had my fair share and was happy to get home more or less in one piece.
Victor and I are both quite competitive people and ended up helping each other out to get better shots than the other one! Haha, and with the super tight crew we had we were just super freaking quick. We ended up hitting all the stuff pretty much without any warmup. That was super intense actually, Adrenaline overdose! So, for now, I’m good and I’m so looking forward to a European spring season and enjoying the slush!
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In the movie, you talk about deciding between tricks or big lines. Now you can’t say both or ‘big tricks on big lines’, but what’s your priority for a shot?
I pick tricks on playful terrain over big lines for sure. I’m ok with heavy crashes where I might just end up tomahawking or something. Exposure definitely freaks me out more. The holy grail is obviously to do both together.
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Nice, what about that big booter you built? Had you ever done that in Alaska?
I’d never done it up there. We’d had a lot of ‘window-shopping’ days and that day particularly, it was clouded everywhere and quite dangerous as there were some slides happening, so we could only go to that one place and found the “slingshot booter”. It was such a cool spot and such a good jump. It was at the very beginning of our trip, so I kind of wanted to tick off the standard tricks. I was thinking we’d definitely find more spots to build jumps, but that didn’t happen.
Ok, so you could have pushed yourself harder there, but what’s your favorite trick you did in the movie?
Yeah, I wasn’t super stoked on any of the tricks on that booter, just because I’ve done them all before. The session was super good, and it was awesome share it with Victor, but I can’t really pick one favorite. Next time I won’t waste time on tricks I’ve done already, that’s for sure.
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Fair enough, what would you say was the highlight of the trip overall then?
Well, that wind-lip feature leading into the serac air was awesome. That’s kind of what I was searching for the whole time. That spot was on a fat glacier with big cracks, a place you wouldn’t really want to be in the summer but then the AK winter kicks in, puts a super fat layer of snow on it, and turns it into the dreamiest place ever. AK Magic. On these glaciers everything is so different each year so it might never work like this again which is quite special to me. Obviously riding the legendary spots was a dream come true as well, it’s like skate spot vibes. The dub backy at 3 Amigos and the 540 on B-Day Bowl I’m really stoked about. Not sure if that gap has ever been hit like that before.
The camping part was an absolute trip as well! Being up there, away from everything, and fully immersed is absolutely special. The couloirs turned out to be quite the gamble through with all those huge overhanging pillows. They would kind of fall off the walls and cause avalanches whenever they wanted. So, we stayed around the camp a lot which was super fun too! I wish though I was a bit better prepared for the camping itself. Everyone in the crew had so much experience when it comes to winter camping and I was definitely a bit of a noob there haha.
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Obviously, you’re both Freeride World Tour(FWT) champs, but what’s it like riding with a snowboarder like Victor De Le Rue?
I’ve known Victor for a while through The North Face [they’re both sponsored by The North Face], we met at the athletes’ summit and hung out a bit. We really got to hang out in 2019 on the FWT. We traveled together and helped each other scope out our competition lines. We both ended up winning the tour that year, so that was super unique. We’ve got similar paths, he came from the freestyle scene and so do I. We look at the mountain in a similar way. After that year, I was like: ‘if ever there’s an opportunity to do a film project with Victor, I’m super down.’
For this project, Victor just came off a season full of big lines and felt very comfortable there and I’ve hit the park a lot and was really down to do tricks so it was cool to challenge each other on both ends. I think that’s what made the difference.
Photo by Jérôme Tanon
In general, though, when you ride the mountains with snowboarders, do you find you see the mountain similarly?
That’s hard to say. Not necessarily. I grew up with snowboarders. The older group of friends who kind of adopted me into their crew, are all snowboarders. They took a skier kid under their wing.
Victor and I compliment each other super well. We had mostly ‘window-shopping’ days where we couldn’t really make a plan and we just had to go where the window is. Whatever we’d find, we were both able to do something. No matter how big or how small the face is, we’d always find something interesting.
Ok, so staying on skiing and snowboarding… you’ve skied in the X Games, the Olympics and won the FWT, so I can’t think of a better person to ask: Natural Selection Skiing. Have you been involved in any of the planning?
Basically, Travis [Rice] and the whole Natural Selection crew laid an insane foundation and then gave it to the ski community which is pretty awesome. As part of the riders council, we can give our input and feedback about pretty much everything and can make it ours, bringing in the right people and stay true.
16-year-old me would have never thought to be sitting in a call with these guys. They were a huge part in getting me hooked for freeskiing.
Been there, won that. Markus knows a thing or two about big mountain contests. Photo courtesy of FWT
Which other skiers are on the Riders Council?
Michelle [Parker], Sammy [Carlson], Candide [Thovex] —even though I haven’t heard anything from Candide, he’s definitely staying true to his myth—, Chris Benchetler, Kristi Leskinen and Mike Douglas is basically coordinating it.
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I’ve actually spoken to a few skiers and they were desperate for something like Natural Selection in skiing. Do you think there’s been a need for this?
Yes. I definitely think so. To me, the stretch between FWT and park comps is just really big. With Natural Selection, the format, the face and the riders’ field, to me, that’s all just super motivating for the future. I hope it’s going to make some kids dream and step out of their comfort zone —the snow park—and bring their skills to the backcountry! Because there’s so much talent and
passion out there and it would be a bummer if it ends when their slopestyle career ends.
[Markus was pretty evasive when I asked about whether or not he'd be competing himself...]
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You’ve kind of already said this, but how do you think it will be different from the FWT?
Well, the comp is happening in the Tordrillos, which is the sickest place in Alaska, on a super special face so most likely the conditions will be killer. The format allows the riders to step up their game during the competition bringing in the session vibes and the rider’s field is going to be completely different to the FWT, like Red Bull Linecatcher and Cold Rush vibes. The Linecatcher was so unique because all the film skiers would go there, and it was the comp that got me hooked to get out in the BC as well.
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Never mind other contests! Aren’t you organizing one of your own?!
Haha. Yeah, we’ve got something cooking over here in Europe as well. It’s been in the making for a while now actually. What exactly that is I can’t tell you yet though, but it’ll be quite different. I wish I could tell you more about it but we’re keeping it low-key for now. Lots of airtime is guaranteed though, and it’ll happen sometime in March. That's all I can tell you.
[Markus tells me he’s definitely got something exciting cooking, in the Alps, but it’s a little bit too early to announce anything. He says it’s exciting because it’s all different and unique.]
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So, I’m not calling you old, but you’ve been around the freeski scene for a while now! How’s it changed since you first came through?
Yeah, I feel super lucky to grow up in the time that we did, kind of in the second chapter of the “Golden Age” of freeskiing. Freeskiing just got a good hold in Europe, there was prize money at every small comp and you could finance your season with it. Every comp was different and creative back then. It was super nice to travel with a random group of friends from Austria, Switzerland, France and other places and just figure it all out together, film all the time and do those trip edits together. Such great memories. No coaches, no federations, no rules really and no guidelines. That was absolutely rad.
The level is so insane these days! I remember like ‘07 or ’08 at the X Games, like nine out of ten guys did switch 1080s, one guy did a switch 9. I remember people saying “Oh we reached a limit. It’s boring now, everyone’s doing the same stuff.”
Seeing how much that’s evolved and it keeps on evolving, it’s mindblowing! Now, the freestyle scene is taking the next step with all the bringbacks and stuff. I don’t think that evolution will stop very soon.
Of course, it’s all become more professional and if you do a discipline then you have to focus on it 100%. That’s quite different to when I started as everyone would do everything, you’d go to the streets, backcountry, park, do comps and filming was all part of your season.
Now you have to be so committed to the discipline you do as the level is so crazy. So, I’ve got the biggest respect for all the guys in the World Cup Scene that still bring it to the streets and into the backcountry in-between the craziest comp schedule! Chapeau!
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Speaking of the next generation, weren’t you skiing a bunch with some youngsters in Zermatt this summer?
Haha those were my young homies from home! I started shredding with those kids three years ago. Simon was 14 then and already a walking freeski lexicon. They know all the OG videos and the underground skiers from back in the day. All the edits that I watched when I was young.
It’s cool though, we just started a freestyle club at home. It’s not about performance, I’m not a coach or something. It’s about shredding and doing sick sh*t together! Premieres, cool events and parties with different music than all the traditional stuff we hear all the time, build skateparks and hopefully a small bikepark soon as well. I’ve learned so much in my career and I’m stoked to pass it on.
Do you want to give them a shout out?
Sure! It’s Simon Heinz, Valentin Auer and Elia Hofer.
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What does your future look like?
I don’t know, it was always clear like after a project was finished, that I could and wanted to do it better really, really bad. Now I’m at the stage and age where I’ve been going hard for a long time and It’s become quite heavy to up my game. I’m happy to be home more but what the future looks like, I have no idea. Shredding is still what gives me the most joy, so that I’ll keep doing for sure.
I can’t stop the ideas rolling in and yeah there’s some stuff coming up. We’ll see what happens after that. For now, I’m going with the flow.
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Ok, let’s finish with a big one: How does it feel to be in the conversation about being the GOAT skier?
Haha that’s actually insane to even think about!
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There’s obviously Candide, Tanner, Sammy, as well as some younger ones, how does it feel to be thought of in that group?
It’s crazy to be considered in the ranks of those guys. I grew up watching them year, after year, after year, the videos of all of them. Those guys made me dream, they made me want to do things better and it’s pretty unreal just to be considered.
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In your opinion who is the GOAT then?
For me personally I’d say it’s Candide and Tanner. I grew up with their segments in “Happy Dayz” basically till the DVD started glitching. They paved the way in so many ways, from filming to competing in every aspect of skiing. They showed the world how it’s done pretty much from day one, with such style and dedication, it’s crazy. So many riders came and went over the years but Skiboss and Candide stayed and keep pushing it! That’s so crazy to think about and true dedication to me. It’s such an inspiration to keep pushing myself as well! To me they’re floating somewhere above everyone.
With you Markus!
FWT2019 Champ. Photo courtesy of FWT
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