France are out of the World Cup. Spain ended their run with a 2-0 win in the semi-finals, bringing the last remaining Ready Steady Slope mountain nation’s World Cup title hopes to an end. So no World Cup final for France. No final twist. No blue, white and red charge all the way to the trophy. And yet, in our own very unofficial Ready Steady Slope League of Mountain Nations, France are champions.
When the tournament began, five countries from our skiing and snowboarding card game were involved in the World Cup.
France🇫🇷. Switzerland🇨🇭. Canada 🇨🇦. Austria 🇦🇹. Scotland 🏴.
All five are represented in Ready Steady Slope through real mountain destinations. Some are Alpine giants. One is a North American icon. One brings Scottish grit and Cairngorm character.
For a few glorious weeks, this gave us a perfect excuse to follow the World Cup through a mountain lens.
By the end, France were the last one standing.
In the FIFA World Cup, they may have gone out against Spain, but they still win the League of Mountain Nations.
France: League of Mountain Nations Champions 🏆🇫🇷
France arrived in this mini-league with the deepest resort list in Ready Steady Slope.
Chamonix. Alpe d’Huez. Val d’Isère. Tignes. La Plagne. Val Thorens. Courchevel. Méribel. Avoriaz. Les Arcs. Les Trois Vallées. For us that wasn't a squad list but rather a full-blown Alpine mountain dynasty. 🏔️🏔️🏔️
From the mountaineering history of Chamonix to the huge linked terrain of Les Trois Vallées, France carries some of the most famous names in skiing and snowboarding. If Ready Steady Slope had a “resort depth chart”, France would be stacked.
France beat Sweden in the Round of 32, edged past Paraguay in the Round of 16, then knocked out Morocco in the quarter-finals. That win over Morocco felt especially fitting for our League of Mountain Nations, because Morocco had already ended Canada’s run.
For a moment, France looked like they might carry the mountains all the way to the World Cup final. 🌎
Spain had other ideas.
A 2-0 semi-final defeat last night ended France’s campaign, but it did not change their place at the top of our table. They outlasted every other Ready Steady Slope nation and took the mountain crown.
France finish as World Cup semi-finalists and League of Mountain Nations champions. 🥇
That is a strong return.
Switzerland: Precision, Penalties and a Quarter-final Run
Switzerland finish second in our League of Mountain Nations.🥈 Their Ready Steady Slope connection is Verbier, a resort with proper mountain attitude. Big terrain, steep lines, off-piste reputation and the kind of alpine confidence that makes it one of the great names in winter sport. Switzerland brought a similar energy to the World Cup. They reached the knockout stages, beat Algeria, then survived a tense penalty shootout against Colombia in the Round of 16. For a while, Swiss precision under pressure was one of the stories of the league. Argentina finally ended their run in the quarter-finals. That result stopped Switzerland from challenging France for the mountain title, but their performance still deserves a lot of credit. A quarter-final finish is a serious World Cup campaign. Verbier can hold its head high.
Canada: Whistler Flew the Flag 🇨🇦
Canada finish third in the League of Mountain Nations.🥉 Their Ready Steady Slope resort connection is Whistler, one of the most recognisable ski and snowboard destinations on the planet. Whistler brings scale, snowfall, bowls, forest runs, village energy and that huge North American mountain feel. It is exactly the kind of resort that belongs in a game about building your dream ski or snowboard trip. Canada’s tournament had real adventure in it. They reached the knockout rounds and gave our mountain league a North American storyline. Their run ended against Morocco, but Canada still made it further than Austria and Scotland, earning a podium place in our unofficial standings. A bronze medal for Whistler in the League of Mountain Nations? We’ll take it.
Austria: Alpine Pedigree, Early Exit 🇦🇹
Austria finish fourth. In Ready Steady Slope, Austria are represented by St. Anton and Mayrhofen, two resorts with serious alpine character. St. Anton is one of the spiritual homes of skiing, famous for challenging terrain, deep snow and legendary après-ski. Mayrhofen brings energy, variety and the famous Harakiri piste, one of Austria’s steepest groomed runs. As mountain credentials go, Austria are right up there. Their World Cup run, however, ended earlier than France, Switzerland and Canada. Spain knocked them out in the Round of 32, which became more interesting later when Spain also ended France’s run in the semi-finals. Austria did not go deep in the football tournament, but in any skiing and snowboarding conversation, they remain elite.
Scotland: Cairngorm Spirit 🏴
Scotland finish fifth, but that does not tell the whole story. Their Ready Steady Slope connection is Aviemore and the Cairngorms, a place with a very different kind of mountain magic. The Scottish mountains may not have the height of the Alps or the scale of Whistler, but they have character in abundance. Anyone who has skied or snowboarded in Scotland knows how quickly the weather can change. Wind, snow, sunshine and cloud can all arrive in the same day. When it is good, it is unforgettable. Scotland’s World Cup ended in the group stage, but the Cairngorm spirit still belongs in the game. Not every mountain story needs to be about the biggest resort or the longest run. Sometimes it is about where the love of winter starts. The Scots brought the vibes to the World Cup in Boston. No Scotland, No Party.
What Did We Learn From the League?
This started as a bit of fun.
Five countries from Ready Steady Slope happened to qualify for the World Cup, so we created our own mini-league inside the tournament.
Then it became a surprisingly good way to follow the action.
Scotland gave us early jeopardy. Austria gave us alpine pedigree. Canada gave us a knockout story and a Whistler connection.
Switzerland gave us penalties, precision and a quarter-run. France gave us the deepest resort list, the longest campaign and a semi-final finish.
The final table feels about right.
France had the strongest mountain hand, and they played it the furthest. 🏆
Why It Fits Ready Steady Slope
Ready Steady Slope is a skiing and snowboarding card game built around real mountain energy.
Players collect the cards they need to complete their mountain. Equipment. Resort essentials. Pistes. Weather. Form. Special cards. A bit of luck. A bit of strategy. A bit of chaos.
That is why this World Cup tie-in worked so well.
Tournament football and mountain life have more in common than you might think.
You need a good start.
You need to adapt when conditions change.
You need to recover from setbacks.
You need the right cards at the right time ...or less cards in the case of the World Cup!
France may not have won the World Cup, but they did win our mountain version of it.
And for a game called Ready Steady Slope, that feels like a result worth celebrating.
Congratulations France 🇫🇷
Congratulations to France, winners of the Ready Steady Slope League of Mountain Nations.
They carried Chamonix, Alpe d’Huez, Val d’Isère, Tignes, La Plagne, Val Thorens, Courchevel, Méribel, Avoriaz, Les Arcs and Les Trois Vallées all the way to the semi-finals.
That is some mountain squad.
The World Cup goes on, but our League of Mountain Nations has its champion.
France take the title.
The mountains take the bragging rights.
And Ready Steady Slope gets one more story from the slopes to the stadium.
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