Forty thousand US dollars—not a bad haul for posting a few clips! But that’s exactly how much cash Spanish freerider Adrià Millan took home in the Line Of The Winter contest.
Spanish freerider Adrià Millan's extensive experience in the Andean backcountry paid off in the GoPro Line Of The Winter contest.
courtesy of Adrià Millan
Stories
Cashing out
Adrià Millan won $40,000 in the GoPro Line Of The Winter contest. Here’s how he did it.
With monthly $10,000 prizes from January through April and an overall champion’s purse of an additional $20,000, GoPro put some serious money on the line. Entering the contest was simple: Just post a POV clip filmed with a GoPro using the #GoProLineOfTheWinter and upload the clip to GoPro’s submission page. Then, wait with bated breath while the judging panel—which included GoPro team riders like Tom Wallisch, Hedvig Wessel and Kai Jones—debated who would win each month’s prize.
Adrià Millan got off to a solid start in the contest, winning the January prize with an epic freeride line that he filmed the previous summer in South America. Then the 32-year-old from Val d’Aran, Spain doubled down on his winnings, claiming the February prize with another breathtaking line from the Andes—cheeky 360 and mandatory straightline included.
1.
This exquisitely featured zone near Las Leñas provided the "wow" factor for Adrià's winning clip.
Courtesy of Adrià Millan
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Adrià on the approach.
Courtesy of Adrià Millan
In March and April Millan laid low, letting other riders share the spoils. Josh Daiek snatched up the March prize with a heavy line in the Sierra Nevadas, while Colby Stevenson joined the party with a wild Alaskan spine line to bag the April prize.
At the end of the contest, though, Millan swept back into the spotlight as the jury crowned his January video as the overall winner. That added an extra $20,000 to his winnings, bringing his total to a cool 40 grand.
It was so difficult to judge all the amazing videos every month. Sometimes my favorites weren’t the winners and sometimes they were. We saw so many varieties of skiing and beautiful POV shots. Adrià’s POV was so long, such a gorgeous line that only got more and more technical as the line progressed, and ended in some beautiful tight rock formations and a mandatory air exit. It’s just one of a kind.
That’s quite the haul for any skier. So we decided to catch up with Adrian to find out how he feels about his win, and how he made it happen.
Downdays: Congratulations Adrià! How does it feel to win the overall GoPro Line Of The Winter prize?
Adrià Millan: I can’t believe it yet. That prize money is something I never thought I would earn just by skiing. That shot is one of my favorite of all times, so that means a lot for me. I’m proud of myself, and more proud of all the people who support me and share this passion with me.
Where and when was your winning line filmed?
The video was recorded on the 26th of September, 2023 in the backcountry of Las Leñas, Argentina.
Your lines and skiing are insane, but your GoPro shots also look amazing! What settings do you use?
I’m using GoPro Max, so I film in 360 mode at 5K, 30fps.
Any travel tips for someone who wants to go ski the Andes during the summer in the Northern Hemisphere?
For traveling around the Andes for skiing, you should know that winters in Argentina and Chile are more irregular than what we have in the northern hemisphere. Conditions can be not that good for long periods, so you have to be patient to get what you came for, and try to get to the spots before storms because the roads are not the best. Distances between ski spots are very long, so it’s hard to reach all of the different locations in a short trip.
$40,000 is a lot of money! Got any plans for the cash?
I don’t have any concrete plans for spending the money yet, but I’m pretty sure I will do something related to skiing in nice places. Obviously with my GoPro!
