Nahli Curtis Is Carving Her Line

Meet the 13-year old star of barrier-crushing snowboard documentary, ‘Counter Methods’

By Kierstin Gunsberg | Jan. 10, 2026

Much to the chagrin of cooped up Michiganders, the skies have been steadily dumping snow since Thanksgiving week. But that’s just the way Charlevoix teen Nahli Curtis likes it. For the freeriding snowboarder (meaning she carves out her own runs on ungroomed backcountry, following a ton of safety checks), the more fresh snow, the better the chance of finding the perfect spot to catch some air.

For anyone who’s followed her family’s “RADFAM” YouTube channel, you already know that life on the slopes is part of the Curtis family culture, with Nahli locked into a board since she started walking.

“I don’t remember a time when it wasn’t my thing,” says Nahli, who loves to warm up with Indian or Chinese takeout and pal around with her Newfoundland and Russian Bear pups.

At just 13 years old, she is coming off the world premier of her snowboarding documentary, Counter Methods: Evolution, which debuted at Traverse City’s Opera House on Dec. 13 with an audience of over 200 people.

Filmed by her dad, John, and sponsored by both national gear brands and local names Boyne Country Sports and Nub’s Nob Ski Resort, the doc follows Nahli’s adventures along the U.P.’s Keweenaw Peninsula and the cliffy, technical terrain of Mount Bohemia before heading out West for a crash course in big-mountain snowboarding, all with a crew of coaches and mentors along for the ride.

“My dad’s a filmmaker, so making videos has always been something we do just for fun,” Nahli says. Growing up, watching snowboarding films was also a point of bonding between her and her dad. Something that stuck out to her though, was how nearly all of them featured guys. That sparked an idea between the two: “How cool it would be to make one from my perspective, as a younger girl.”

Representing on the Mountain

Though it’s still early to map out just how much snowboarding will define her future—Nahli says she could see herself helping people in the medical field one day, maybe even as a backcountry search and rescuer—the documentary’s coming-of-age snapshot shows how she’s held her own in a historically male-dominated sport, even as most of her on-screen coaches and the people she credits with her success are men.

“I hope that the content I’m putting out shows that young women have a space in this culture,” says Nahli, noting that even with growing support for boarders like her, there still seems to be some lingering gatekeeping from male counterparts, especially the older ones. “On the hill it’s all high fives and heck yeahs,” but when it comes to public support like social media shoutouts for her film, “it’s crickets.”

One thing the industry could do to invite more young women to the proverbial freeriding table—especially those who want to progress beyond casual recreation—would be creating more programs that help get them there, says Nahli.

And though she doesn’t run into many other girls her age on the hill, she’s found a community of them online where they share their own stories of the sport, including disparities between how male and female boarders are acknowledged in competitions, which skew anywhere from 75-85 percent male in participation and where being awarded a gift basket in lieu of the money men receive for the same contest is all too common.

For her part, Nahli’s not actually that interested in competing with anyone except herself. “My focus is riding powder and steep lines.” Partly because there’s also plenty of barriers to freeriding contests besides gender, she explains, from high entry costs to travel logistics.

Schooled by the Slopes

Logistics, like when she can take off for a cross-country adventure, are a little less of an obstacle for Nahli though; she’s been homeschooled most of her life.

“It’s been awesome for snowboarding because I don’t have to plan everything around a school schedule,” she says. “We can just go for it.”

And as most homeschoolers will tell you, life itself becomes an education, and so too has snowboarding for the middle schooler. “Especially while traveling,” she notes. “It teaches you to just push through and focus on what needs to be done.”

Sometimes that means taking inventory of what’s already been accomplished and knowing when to back down even when you’ve worked so hard to get up a mountain—literally—something she learned when (major spoiler alert for Counter Methods) about midway through the doc, Nahli and her dad both find themselves short of breath and nauseated out in the winter wilds while riding in Colorado.

“I honestly thought I was dying,” says Nahli, explaining that with Colorado’s elevation being so much higher than what she’s used to here in northern Michigan, it’s already hard to breathe there on a good day.

And on that day, as it turns out, she and John were both down bad with pneumonia, something they found out after abandoning their original riding plans to head back down the mountain for medical care.

That kind of lesson in trusting intuition along every step of a goal is one of many Nahli says she’s found in snowboarding. “It’s really taught me how to prioritize and listen to myself, both on and off the mountain.”

Learn more about Nahli’s journey and where you can catch the next screening of the documentary at countermethods.com.

Know Before You Go

Freeride snowboarding isn’t your average day on the hill. Instead of hitting the same groomed runs as everyone else, Nahli’s going off-piste to forge her own, something that comes with its own set of rules and hazards. Here are five things she says every newbie freerider needs to know before heading out:

Avoid hitting trees at all costs. As Nahli puts it, “they don’t move when you hit them.”

Since freeriding happens off the beaten path and sometimes far away from ski patrol, “stick with a group” when learning to ride.

Take an intro to avalanche safety class “at minimum,” especially if you’re headed out West. Last season, data collected from national avalanche watch groups reported 23 avalanche deaths, with the majority of them attributed to winter sports. Backcountry recreation, like freeriding, comes with an increased risk of encountering an avalanche or even starting one, since boarding on unstable snowpack can trigger one.

School yourself on snow science and the 5 Red Flags of snow safety—recent avalanches, new snow, wind, collapsing or cracking snow pack, and rapid temp changes—says Nahli.

Finally, find a safety-conscious, trustworthy mentor and “use every session as a learning experience.”

Lightning Round Q&A with Nahli

Before jumping back out on her board, Nahli shared her rapid-fire responses to our not-so-pressing questions:

What are your top must-haves to throw in your board bag before heading out to find fresh powder? “Snacks, water and proper layers.”

And the song that leads your boarding playlist? “‘Crushing’ by Sombr.”

It’s been a long day of runs and now it’s time to refuel. What’s on the menu? “Curly fries and a chicken salad sandwich. Nub’s Nob has the best food of any resort.”

Which is better: bluebird day or steady lake effect flurries? “Lake effect is always the answer.”

Coolest, scariest, or most surprising trick you’ve landed? “Not running into trees in the woods!”

Something you’re still working on? “Rails.”

If you could do a freeride session anywhere in the world tomorrow, where are you flying? “Japan! It’s one of the snowiest places on the planet. Within the snowboard culture, we call it ‘Japow.’”