![Ski Queenstown](https://www.nzski.com/media/4348/dsc09580-lift-passes.jpg?crop=0,0,0,10.0&cropmode=percentage&quality=90&width=1920&height=1080&mode=crop)
Blake Marshall's road to freeride success
My name is Blake Marshall. I moved to Queenstown when I was 3 years old. This is also when I first learnt to ski, and I have never turned back!
I started off my skiing career racing in the Queenstown race team (QAST). After that, I started my adventure into freeskiing when I was 12. This was when I truly found my love for skiing.
I first started competing in freeride at The Remarkables in what was called the NZ Freeski Open back in 2015. After a few years competing, I was stoked to take the win in 2018. This catapulted me up the rankings from 850th to 1st! It was after this win that I realised I had the chance to make the Freeride World Tour, the pinnacle event of big mountain competitions. In 2019, I qualified 2nd on the qualifying circuit which gave me the ticket to compete on the Tour.
![](https://www.nzski.com/media/4586/screen-shot-2020-11-19-at-101047-am.png?quality=90&width=900&height=720&mode=crop)
2020 was my first year competing on the Freeride World Tour, where I finished in the top 10 in 3 events. Coming 4th in Austria was my best result.
I call The Remarkables home. I believe it has shaped my skiing to where it is today. I am very grateful to have such an amazing mountain to call home!