Markus Eder has followed the well-trodden path from the park to big-mountain.
Nowadays he’s making a strong case for being called the most versatile skier on the planet.
He competed in slopestyle at Sochi, yet just won the Freeride World Tour.
Markus, you finished 2nd on the Freeride World Tour in 2018.
Last month he went one better and claimed the mens 2019 ski title, so what made the difference?
I think I was just that little bit more focused, I really wanted to win.
Since the summer, my objective was to win.
I couldnt really think of anything else, I think thats why.
I dont really know, it just worked out.
Last year was my first time on the whole tour, before I only did six stops.
Understanding the system, and youve gone through all the emotions already, means you just know whats coming.
You had a healthy lead going into the final stop of the tour, in Verbier.
When did you know youd won the title?
I actually found out about it before dropping in for my run.
I was super-freaking stoked!
Definitely had some tears coming down, because it meant so much to me.
I also felt much more relaxed, confident and stoked about dropping in.
A champion’s smile
_
So Tanner Hall was on the FWT 2019.
What was that like?!
Every day he went out, skied crazy sh*t from early morning to evening, stacking shots.
Just so much love for skiing and he keeps pushing hard right now, in Tahoe.
I can’t wait for his movie to drop.
In Andorra, he seemed to live at the Sunset park, without ever taking his boots off!
You have to be consistent.
Thats pretty rough, having the inspection, without being able to touch the snow.
Its just hard to ski well consistently throughout the season.
Every stop, you had to go pretty hard, because this year the level was so high.
In slopestyle, in that Olympics, we had 5 practice days.
Completely different to the FWT.
In slopestyle, you know the speed and you just completely focus on the tricks.
On the FWT, its everything between the airs that you have to consider.
Where do I go?
How do I not lose myself in the line?
How big are the cliffs?
That all takes quite a bit of time.
Is it still important to add freestyle elements in to your run?
Yeah, for sure.
I like to stay on the mountain that bit longer and make a run at find them.
Theyre harder to find but definitely nicer to ski.
The skiing was dominated by Italians this year, did you already know Arianna Tricomi before?
It just seems that freeriding really sparked that fire in her.
So, aside from winning it, what were your highlights this year on the tour?
Seeing Kristofer (Turdell) ski, is always amazing.
It was also cool to see Leo Slemett laying down his run in Verbier.
That was a really sick one.
Pretty much the whole comp in Verbier was crazy.
Elisabeth Gerritzen, that was such a good line.
Just going so big, thats a bang out of line that I havent seen from a girl before.
Somehow the crew I hung out with, made it, me, Arianna, everyone!
The line from Mickael Bimboes, in Verbier, stood out to me.
Just going double the size off Hollywood cliff.
I actually filmed a bit withVolkl, for theVolklmovie.
We built some backcountry jumps in Austria, which was really sick.
Filming is what I have the most fun doing.
Growing up you were a racer, did the park or big mountain appeal more?
Freestyle, fully freestyle.
Racing just got stale, Its full of rules and you get shouted at a lot.
It was all about park, every day, whenever I could.
When did freeride become an option?
The Redbull Linecatcher,in 2011, was my first freeride comp.
I got 2nd atLinecatcher.
Riding with people like Sean Petit, JP Auclair, people Id always looked up to.
That really started the whole freeride thing.
Any favorites from those movies?
The vision he brings to the game just defies everything!
I met him at the Slopestyle World Cup, qualifying for the Olympics, he was super nice.
I love both aspects, but if I had to choose, I would definitely choose filming.
What was that about?
Everyone could take a stab at hit it and whoever makes it, takes 500 bucks.
It was so difficult, but it was pretty fun to try.
This year I just wanted to have something for everyone.
A few rails, from really easy to super difficult.
It was 4 rails, all in the same place and the beginners could shred with the pros.
Really good session, everyone saw what everyone did and when somebody stomped something it was just crazy cheering.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcXuwCwgwKn/
What do you do when youre not skiing?
Any plans for what youll do after your ski career?
I climb a bunch, I skate a bunch, biking of course.
This summer Im going to try some filming and do a little clip myself.
Id like to try filming, but I just dont know how good I am at it!
Youre Italian, but youre from the South Tyrol, a pretty German part of the country.
Do you do anything stereotypically Italian?
I dont think I do anything that is that Italian.
I make pasta and pizza, of course, but I dont do anything super-Italian.
Thanks Markus, congratulations on the FWT again.
Whats your next ambition in skiing?
Me, Sam Anthamatten and Leo Slemett went there withThe North Faceand just had Alaska-style heli-ski conditions.
Its a really cool culture over there.
Trick:Cork 3 over a cliff.
I listened to it the night before Verbier.
