Wei Tien Ho missed the Cut for last year's Freeride World Tour (FWT) finals. He squeaked into competition this year via wildcard berth, which he admitted to having "mixed feelings" about. With a tremendous array of talent in the field, including 2024 overall runner-up Marcus Goguen, Ho was not considered a podium favourite.
He saved his best for last, though: prevailing in March's season finale at the Yeti Xtreme Verbier.
"To be honest, I think it's only just starting to sink in now," said Ho about the most notable victory of his skiing career to date. "I got injured in the fall and I wasn't really sure what my season would look like. This moment I've been working towards for a long time and I feel like I've been close, but not all the pieces have fallen together. This moment kind of felt like that one time all the stars aligned."
Verbier is arguably the grandest event on the FWT calendar. It's quite a spectacle, with more fans and sponsors looking on than any other contest. The massive Bec des Rosses venue is also considered particularly intimidating by numerous athletes.
If you watch Ho's run, you wouldn't assume he was feeling much trepidation. The Whistlerite made his way through a steep upper part of the face before landing a backflip, a 360 and a creative double pop through the icefall. Judges rewarded him with 84.33 points, ahead of silver medallist Ross Tester (76.67) and Toby Rafford in third (72.67).
Goguen was relegated to fourth place (69.17), but still did enough to lock down the overall men's ski championship.
"My process around [Verbier] wasn't any better in any particular way, and if anything, it was maybe worse," Ho revealed. "I was kind of struggling to find a line and I was still looking at my line at 11:30 p.m. the day before the comp. That isn't a place I normally like to be. But, I think my whole mindset around Verbier was quite good because I didn't feel like I had any pressure on me the whole season.
"I was 10th overall and had nothing to lose, so I was just looking forward to showcasing the skiing that I've been wanting to showcase, having fun and putting on a show for the crowd."
'Always a dream in the back of our heads'
Fan adoration and judge approval are great, but in Ho's case nothing topped completing his run and giving his childhood pal Goguen a big hug.
"That's a memory I'll never forget for the rest of my life," Ho said. "Derek Foose, the commentator on tour, has been our coach since we were 12. It's kind of hard to explain all those feelings I had at that moment … we never really said it when we were young, but [winning the FWT together] was always a dream in the back of our heads. To know that was actually the reality in Verbier is pretty surreal.
"Marcus is definitely someone who inspires me every day, both inside and outside of the comps. He's cracked the code a bit better than I've been able to, so I definitely try and learn from what he's doing."
Goguen, too, had praise for his close friend.
"This title means the world to me; it's been a childhood dream, and achieving it alongside my friend Wei Tien Ho ... makes it even more special," he said in a press release. "I couldn't have asked for a better outcome."
Ho believes the current level of FWT competition is as high as ever, with virtually anybody capable of triumph on any given day. Weather and luck do factor in, but he intends to keep grinding to maximize his odds of consistent future success.
For now, though, it is time for Ho to dust off his mountain bike and get ready for a summer of Enduro World Cups, national downhill races and Crankworx outings.
"I just can't pick [between skiing and biking]," he said. "I continue to love them both, and this is a goal I set when I was young: to try and compete with the best in both sports. In terms of the mental aspect, I think they do complement each other because I'm constantly practicing ways to get in the zone and perform under pressure."
