Cover photo by Nate Mattson courtesy of Ski Wallace
Each February, Wallace, Idaho, remakes itself into something no one expects: a snow-filled, high-velocity, urban slopestyle battleground. The quiet historic streets transform into a two-block terrain park lined with lights, cheering crowds, an ice bar, and enough adrenaline to power the town’s neon signs for a year. This is Extreme Skijor, the Silver Valley’s most extreme winter festival and one of the most unusual competitions in the Northwest, happening Feb. 13-16, 2026.
What started eight years ago as a quirky way to liven up a holiday weekend has evolved into a legitimate draw for high-level athletes. Riders now travel from across the country to throw down in front of thousands of spectators for a share of the $10,000 prize purse. They’re not just here to compete; they’re here to put their stamp on what may be the only event where big-mountain attitude meets urban rail-park creativity, all at 30 miles per hour behind a roaring, tracked ATV.
A Wild Idea That Became Wallace’s Biggest Weekend
Traditional skijoring involves a horse pulling a skier through a timed obstacle course. But Wallace didn’t have horses; it had snow, grit, ambition and a fleet of ATVs. The founders decided to do something radical: bring the competition downtown, close the streets and dump in hundreds of cubic yards of snow. The first year drew curiosity. The next year drew spectators. Soon, it became a phenomenon.
Today, Extreme Skijor is one of Wallace’s busiest weekends of the year, filling hotels, packing restaurants, and turning the quiet town into a shoulder-to-shoulder winter celebration. Families come for the sledding hill and kids’ zone. Adventurers come for the ice bar and nightlife. Riders come to push their limits in a competition unlike any they have encountered before. As Ski Wallace president Siobhan Curet puts it, “This event is for everyone: families, locals, pros and the brave souls who want to send it harder than they ever have. You’ve got to experience it for yourself.”
Friday Night Lights: The Rail Jam
This year’s festival kicks off Friday night, Feb. 13, with the rail jam, an event that has earned a reputation all its own. Under the glow of downtown lights, skiers and snowboarders drop into a rail garden built right in the middle of Cedar Street. The setup includes a mellow rainbow rail, a long kink rail, a user-friendly flat rail and a 20-foot fun box. But the showstopper for 2026? A fully repurposed Ford Pinto race car acting as a massive jib feature.
Riders throw spins, presses, taps and transfers while crowds cheer from the barricades. Creativity and style score big here. Winners walk away with medals, cash and a healthy boost of hometown glory.
Engineering a Downtown Terrain Park Overnight
Once the rail jam wraps, the real work begins. An excavator, a loader, a snowcat, and a hand crew take over Cedar Street, reshaping it into a slopestyle course capable of hosting X-Games-caliber tricks. By morning, the transformation is complete.
The signature format is simple—a tracked ATV tows riders at highway-offramp speed into a 30-foot money booter, sending them skyward. The landing flows straight into the rail garden, where judges are ready to score amplitude, trick difficulty, clean landings, technical rail execution and overall showmanship. It’s controlled chaos; the kind spectators love. Qualifiers run Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and finals launch Sunday at 1 p.m.
Big Mountain Talent Meets Urban Mayhem
Wallace Extreme Skijor has quickly become a stage where freeriders, freestyle skiers and snowboarders can show off their full skill set. Big-mountain athletes often arrive with the biggest airs of the weekend, applying their backcountry send-mentality to an urban park environment. Meanwhile, dedicated jib athletes clean up on the rails with tech-heavy tricks that make the crowd erupt. Corks. Switch 540s. Double flips. Disaster transfers. And, of course, the wipeouts, which sometimes earn just as much applause as the podium runs. Extreme Skijor offers multiple categories: youth (rail jam only), women, skier and snowboarder. There’s no age limit beyond the ability to hit the course safely.
A Weekend That Fuels a Town
Beyond the snow and spectacle, this event is an economic powerhouse. Wallace sees its winter population swell dramatically as spectators flood into bars, shops and restaurants. Lodging fills up months in advance. Locals plan their winter around it. Extreme Skijor reflects the attitude of the Silver Valley itself: scrappy, creative and always willing to build something wild if it means a good time.
Why Athletes Should Add Wallace to Their Competition Calendar
For high-end competitors used to the touring circuit, the Wallace Extreme Skijor offers a unique hybrid format; it’s part freeride, part slopestyle and part urban rail jam, with crowds lining the course and a festival atmosphere. Athletes compete to win big-air, best trick, rail-jam and crowd-favorite cash bonuses, all in a tight, supportive, rowdy atmosphere unlike anything else in the Northwest.
It’s the rare event where a backcountry charger can throw down alongside a terrain-park technician and both walk away heroes. If you’re a rider looking for a challenge, an audience and a reason to push yourself harder than you have all season, Wallace wants you here!
A Winter Tradition That Keeps Growing
In its eighth year, Extreme Skijor has become more than a festival, more than a competition and more than a weekend party. It is a celebration of winter, creativity, small-town energy and the pure joy of watching talented athletes do outrageous things on snow. And in the heart of it all stands a two-block stretch of downtown Wallace, proving that sometimes the wildest terrain isn’t found on a mountain. It’s found right on Main Street.
Extreme Skijor is organized by Ski Wallace! Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting winter activities in Wallace, Idaho. Funding for the event is made possible through generous donations and fundraising events. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, volunteering or exploring our other events, visit Skiwallace.com. (Article provided by Ski Wallace)
