Ross Tester is back on the Freeride World Tour and we're so pumped to watch him ski.

This is the athlete who’s been called “the future of freeride.” (No pressure, Ross.) So far this season, he's already racked up a fifth place and a third place at the first two stops, in Spain and France. 

In a new film from the crew at Pangea Collective, we go behind the scenes of Tester’s return to competition. The short film, called “Comeback,” follows the Tahoe native to Baqueira Beret, Spain; Val Thorens, France; Kicking Horse, BC; Tetnuldi, Georgia; Verbier, Switzerland; and Salt Lake City, Utah. It documents the tough decisions and in-between moments that define a skier’s life, both on and off the mountain.  

Tester, of course, is the Freeride World Tour competitor and Flylow athlete who’s a strong contender in any contest he enters. Mostly, though, he's just damn fun to watch.

As a rookie on the FWT in 2021, he earned Rookie of the Year status and second overall, and the following season, in 2022, he took third place overall in the men’s ski rankings. He took a year off from the tour to focus on film projects, but he returned in 2025 with a wildcard entry, ending the season in sixth overall, including a win at the Baqueira Beret Pro and second at the Xtreme Verbier finale. 

“I was feeling like it was time to try something different,” Tester says in the film. “It was time to take a break and reassess what skiing means to me and why I’m doing it, and make sure I’m taking care of myself.”

Per the FWT announcer..."He took a year off from the world tour but he didn't take any time off from being awesome."

If you ask Tester if this is the comeback, he'll say: No, it's just the beginning.