The main bulk of the game is the World Tour mode, in which Team SSX attempt to conquer the nine deadly descents across the world, including the Himalayas and Antarctica. During each location, players will train a specific rider to tackle the descent via a series of events which generally involve either defeating opponents in a race or obtaining the highest trick score. These culminate in a Deadly Descent stage in which the player is tasked with safely making it to the end of the level with a limited number of rewinds. Each of these descents features a dangerous obstacle, such as trees, avalanches, large drops, low oxygen, freezing areas and darkness. To face up against these threats, the player can equip various gadgets designed to help them. These include body armor to defend against rocks and trees, wingsuits to clear large gaps, pickaxes to aid turning on icy surfaces and flashlights to light up dark areas. Playing through this mode unlocks new areas and characters for use in other modes.