Estelle Balet and Victor De Le Rue Joins The North Face® Team

Published by Mountainblog on 04/11/2016.

The North Face® is excited to kick off the year by welcoming two new additions to the family— snowboarders Estelle Balet (Switzerland), and Victor De Le Rue (France).

Estelle is an electrifying talent and a fun-loving ambassador for the new freeride generation. She grew up in the mountainous Valais region of Switzerland, and started skiing at the age of two before switching over to snowboard at the age of 10. Her ascent to the spotlight of freeriding has been fast and furious. Unlike many others who traditionally turn to freeriding after gaining experience in other disciplines such as park and pipe, Estelle dove directly into freeriding. Within a short amount of time, she blazed a trail straight to the top, taking the overall world title for Freeride World Tour 2015 at the age of 20.

Victor has made a name for himself as one of the most exciting talents in freestyle snowboarding. Recently named one of Snowboarder Magazine’s Riders of the Year, Victor has stunned the snowboarding community with his attention grabbing roles in movies like Dopamine and Heavy Mental, and in particular with epic lines and one-foot tricks in Origins. While his creativity and prowess in freestyle are unattested, Victor is equally capable of holding his own in backcountry and big mountains. While Victor adopted his older brother and snowboard legend Xavier De Le Rue’s daring approach to freeriding some of the world’s most treacherous lines, Victor added his own freestyle colors and is clearly pushing boundaries to create something new and never seen before.

This season, Estelle will be featured in a brand new The North Face® web series and Victor will be traveling to Russia in search of powder to lay down fresh tracks on.

INFO: The North Face®

One day on a San Francisco beach, two men with a passion for hiking and the outdoors had a big idea. Who would have thought their dream would be realised; over the next 40 years, The North Face® would become the world’s premier supplier of authentic, innovative and technologically advanced outdoor apparel, equipment and footwear. The North Face® takes its name from the harshest, coldest side of a mountain. It was the sheer northwest face of Half Dome in Yosemite National park that provided the inspiration for The North Face® logo, paying tribute to the company’s climbing heritage and outdoor roots and quest to Never Stop Exploring™. Athlete Tested, Expedition Proven, The North Face® product represents the best in class, in terms of product design and athletic achievement. Tested in some of the toughest conditions on the planet by a world-renowned team of athletes, including legendary 8000m+ alpinists Denis Urubko & Simone Moro; mountain climbers Herve Barmasse and the Pou Brothers; free skiers and big mountain snowboarders such as Xavier De Le Rue; and ultra-runners Lizzy Hawker, Jez Bragg and Sebastian Chaigneau. About The North Face® The North Face®, a division of VF Outdoor, Inc., was founded in 1968. Headquartered in San Leandro, California, the company offers the most technically advanced products in the market to accomplished climbers, mountaineers, snow-sport athletes, endurance athletes, and explorers. The company’s products are sold in specialty mountaineering, backpacking, running, and snow-sport retailers, premium-sporting goods retailers and major outdoor specialty retail chains. Additional information about The North Face® can be found on the company’s website,eu.thenorthface.com