[Secret Garden Snow Park] Across continents and onto Olympic ground, Ashton Salwan navigates a compressed 2025 World Cup stop in Beijing — advancing to finals and earning his first World Cup podium.
Competing on Olympic Ground
Some trips mark more than distance.
Secret Garden, China — the 2022 Olympic freestyle venue — sat on the far edge of the early season, both geographically and mentally. For Ashton Salwan, it marked his first competition in this part of the world, and an early test of what competing on the World Cup circuit demands at the highest level: adaptation, patience, and trust in work built long before arrival.
This stop wasn’t about chasing outcomes. It was about meeting the environment as it was — unfamiliar, compressed, and exacting — and responding with intention.
Two Days to Lock In
The 2025 Secret Garden World Cup offered only two official training days before competition began. There was no extended ramp-up and no margin for excess repetition. With the individual event scheduled for December 20 and Team Aerials the following day, athletes had to move quickly from familiarity to commitment — finding speed, line, and timing through preparation rather than volume.
It’s a format that rewards clarity and discipline well before arrival.
A Different Judging Environment
Judging at Secret Garden returned to an on-site format, shifting the competitive feel of the event.
Landings were assessed live. Takeoffs were evaluated without delay. The rhythm of competition felt more deliberate than a typical early-season stop — fitting for a venue that once hosted the Olympic Games. For athletes, the difference is subtle but real.
FIS Ski World Cup 2025/26
- Dual Role: 2026 Olympic Qualifier
- Discipline: Freestyle Aerials (Men)
- Dates: December 20–21, 2025
- Location: Zhangjiakou, China
- Venue: Secret Garden Snow Park
- 2-Day Format:
- Dec 20: Individual Competition
- Dec 21: Team Competition (3 athletes)
Ashton moved through qualification and into the Top 12 round, finishing 10th overall — one of only two U.S. men to do so at this event.
He opened with a bFFF in qualification, scoring 108.54, then stepped up the difficulty in Finals 1 with a bFdFF (88.05). While the jump didn’t carry him into the super final, the performance reflected something more durable this early in the season: composure under pressure, adaptability across continents, and the ability to execute when conditions narrowed.
Not everything shows up in a placement.
“Every venue asks something different. This one required patience and commitment early, and that’s something I’ll carry forward.” ~Ashton Salwan
Mixed Team: USA-2
The Mixed Aerials Team event unfolded without a qualification round — a single final of ten teams, followed by a medal round of four. There was no easing into the day.Competing as part of USA-2 alongside Connor Curran and Kaila Kuhn, Ashton helped the team advance into the medal round and secure a third-place finish, earning his first World Cup podium.
Team events rarely tell a clean story. They ask athletes to show up for one another under pressure, commit fully in shared moments, and keep moving forward even when execution isn’t perfect. This one did all of that.
Looking Ahead
With two early-season World Cups complete, the competition tour turned back toward North America.
Secret Garden now sits as part of the foundation — another unfamiliar venue navigated, another competitive environment absorbed, and another data point added to the season’s arc. Performances like this don’t announce themselves loudly. They accumulate quietly, shaping what comes next.The road doesn’t announce itself.
It just keeps moving.
