The evolution of women’s freeride has come a long way over the past several years: From a few dark horses who refused to take “no” for an answer—essentially any female freerider before 2019—to a field full of young girls shredding with sprawling industry support for many.

I can’t help but pinpoint one particular event and one particular athlete as game changing catalysts for this story arc: Hannah Bergemann’s Hangtime event, most recently held in Port Gamble, Washington. Like so many other women, Hangtime was a critical steppingstone for me to level up my riding. It was during the pandemic when I got laid off from my suspension tech job and joined the government mountain bike team, full time. I was finally free from the nine-to-five that bound me to normalcy, and I was able to focus on my game, baby. Within a year, I had managed to catch Hannah’s eye from a few states over, and she invited me out to her first attempt at hosting a freeride progression event for the ladies.

To understand this event a little better, one must first understand who Hannah, or “HB,” really is. For starters, we’re talking about one of the best freeriders in the world—someone who has dedicated her life to progressing mountain biking as a sport.