Freeskiing
8 incredible tricks that prove Jesper Tjäder's a true freeskiing maverick
The features in these videos are as unique as the tricks themselves and Swedish freeskier Jesper Tjäder takes things to a whole new level. Prepare to be amazed.
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World firsts, world records and out-of-worldly is one way to summarise the collection of tricks Jesper Tjäder has stacked up in the last decade. Absolutely incredible is another. The Swedish freeskier has become known for pushing the boundaries of the sports further than anyone, creating rail features and tricks that are futuristic and bordering on impossible. His edits have gone viral, his competition tricks have earned him gold medals and he's even got himself a Guinness World Record.
Check out eight of Tjäder's most creative and ground-breaking tricks from the past decade below.
Can't get enough crazy rail creations? Then tune into Red Bull Unrailistic on April 25–26 and watch the world's best park skiers tackle a course full of never-before-seen features, most of which come straight out of Tjäder's own imagination.
01
Open Loop – 2024
3 min
Skiing the world’s first open loop
What to do when a ski loop isn't enough? Chop the top off! Jesper Tjäder takes on his crazy open loop in a world first.
A loop-the-loop, but with a gap in the middle? That's right. It's a never-before-done rail straight out of Tjäder's imagination. It's also a trick that'd been nine years in the making, "only" took 42 tries and two and half hours to complete. Now that's almost as impressive as watching the trick itself.
02
Backflip from Wallride – 2023
Whilst Tjäder has become famous for his edits, he often taps into his golden creativity during contests – like this Backflip from Wallride that saw him win the Best Trick prize at Red Bull Playstreets 2023.
Scroll to 0:23s in the video below to catch is from another angle.
1 min
Highlights from Red Bull PlayStreets 2023
Watch the highlights of Red Bull PlayStreets 2023.
03
The world's longest rail – 2022
9 min
The world’s longest rail
Watch Olympic freeski medallist Jesper Tjäder set a new world record by completing the world’s longest rail.
In 2022, Tjäder set out to do something he'd never tried before – to claim an actual Guinness World Record by attempting a world's longest rail grind on skis. The length he had to beat? 128.6m. Did he do it? Of course he did! Sliding exactly 154.49m on his 127th attempt, Tjäder becomes the new ruler of rails.
04
The Impossible Hole – 2020
What kind of skills does Tjäder possess to jump through that tiny hole?
© Adam Klingeteg/Red Bull Content Pool
Is Tjäder half human, half cat? That's a genuine question after watching him squeeze through the tiniest hole with ultimate precision. This idea didn't actually come from Tjäder himself, but from the production crew during the shooting of his The Japanese Game Show edit. They wanted to create an impossibly small hole for Tjäder to attempt, so that he would explode through the paper wall, creating a cool shot for the camera. Little did they know, Tjäder would nail the tricks in only two tries.
Watch him nail the tricks at 2m 30s in the player below and scroll forward to 9m 41s to get the full story behind it.
13 min
Jesper Tjäder's Game Show
Rail skier Jesper Tjäder tackles an obstacle course inspired by classic Japanese game shows.
05
The 7m high crane rail – 2019
Is that high enough for you?
© Emrik Jansson Red Bull Content Pool
Back with another masterpiece after his first Unrailistic edit, Unrailistic 2.0 had even more incredible rail features, all originating from the creative mind of Tjäder himself. Whilst once again jam-packed with ground-breaking riding, one of the most memorable features must be the 7m high crane rail, where he tries to rail ride as high up in the air as possible. Get the full story behind the rail at 13m 19s in the video below.
18 min
The making of Unrailistic 2.0
Most of the tricks in Unrailistic 2.0 look smooth and effortless. Don’t be fooled.
06
Rail Loop – 2017
3 min
Jesper Tjäder's world's first rail loop
Supervention II Behind the Scenes: Jesper Tjäder's loop rail.
After two years of trying and an unknown amount of crashes, Tjäder became the first person ever to rail a loop on skis. It came at a cost, with plenty of fails and frustration, but the end game was well worth the effort. Check out what went into the process in the video below.
07
Box-Flip-Box – 2015
Jesper Tjäder testing the limits of possible
© Red Bull
When Tjäder released his first Unrailistic video back in 2015 it went viral well beyond the realm of the ski world. It was described as being light years ahead of its time. Packed with incredible tricks it's hard to pick just one, but if we have to, it'll be the insane Box–Backflip–Box. Check it out at the 1m 21s mark in the video below.
3 min
Jesper Tjader's Unrailistic edit
Watch Jesper Tjäder redefine what's possible on rails in this mind-blowing ski edit.
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