The Cape Town teenager has claimed first place in the IFSA La Parva 2-Star Junior Freeride Competition in Chile, producing a confident run in the Andes to beat junior competitors on the international freeride circuit, Cape {town} Etc reports.
13-year-old Julia Whitaker, a student at the DSK German School, scored 34.47 points for her winning run at La Parva, one of Chile’s best-known ski resorts.
The result is a significant milestone for a young South African athlete whose chosen sport comes with the obvious challenge of there being very few opportunities to train on snow in South Africa.
Whitaker travelled from Cape Town to Chile during the South African winter to train and compete. She worked with Uthrive, a programme associated with Freeride World Tour winners Juliette Willmann, Drew Tabke and Reine Barkered, before taking on junior competitors from around the world.
Freeride skiing is a very different proposition from traditional ski racing. There is no marked course telling competitors exactly where to go. Instead, skiers select their own route down an ungroomed mountain face, with judges assessing factors including the difficulty of the line, technique, control, fluidity and style.
This gives athletes room to express themselves, but it also leaves little room for error. Whitaker made the most of that freedom at La Parva. Her run incorporated natural features in the mountain, using them as launch points for several jumps while maintaining speed and control. She also added freestyle elements to her descent.
Her strongest judging category was Style, where she received a score of 7.40 from all three judges.
The victory came only days after Whitaker had experienced a very different side of freeride skiing. At a 3-Star event at El Colorado, she chose an ambitious line and attempted three major natural features during her run. However, it didn’t go entirely to plan.
Whitaker suffered two significant crashes, including what freeride skiers jokingly refer to as a ‘yard sale’, a spectacular fall where equipment ends up scattered across the mountain. In her case, both skis came off.
However, rather than letting the crashes derail her trip, Whitaker got back up, completed her run and crossed the finish line with a smile. She later laughed about the incident with fellow young freeriders and friends from California, Clay Willett and Chloe Mahoney. This resilience may prove just as important as the medal itself.
Freeride is built around calculated risk and pushing the limits of what a skier can do on natural terrain. Falls are part of the learning process, and for a developing athlete, knowing how to recover and come back stronger can be just as valuable as a perfect run.
Whitaker’s path to international freeride competition is particularly unusual because South Africa has limited access to snow and ski training. Much of her preparation therefore happens off the mountain in Cape Town.
She also competes in downhill mountain biking, giving her another way to develop skills that can translate to a sport where balance, speed, decision-making and confidence are crucial. International travel then gives her access to the snow, coaching and competition experience she cannot easily find at home.
It is a long way from Cape Town to the Chilean Andes, but Whitaker is now beginning to establish herself on an international stage.
Her ambitions have also grown alongside a major development in her sport. On 7 July 2026, freeride skiing and snowboarding were confirmed for the Alpes 2030 Olympic Winter Games in France, meaning freeride will make its Olympic debut.
For Whitaker, the timing could hardly be more interesting. She is 13 now, meaning she would be 17 when the 2030 Winter Olympics take place.
During her journey from South Africa to Chile, she also had an unexpected encounter with the Springbok rugby team. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu encouraged her to continue chasing her dream of one day representing South Africa at the Winter Olympics.
South African winter athletes have already shown that the country’s sporting ambitions can stretch far beyond the traditional summer codes. At the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, South Africa was represented by five athletes across alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, skeleton and cross-country skiing.
Matthew Smith’s journey has been particularly inspirational for Whitaker, showing her that it is possible for a South African athlete to pursue a less conventional winter sport and reach the Olympic stage. For now, however, the focus is on the next mountain, the next competition and the next lesson.
Whitaker’s La Parva victory is only one result in what could be a much longer journey. However, for a 13-year-old from Cape Town, winning an international freeride title in the Andes is already a pretty remarkable place to start.
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