Skiers were literally reaching new heights at the Yukon Freestyle Ski Championships over the weekend at Mount Sima.
Competitors were launching off a 50-foot jump in Sunday’s big air competition. It’s the biggest jump, in terms of snow used to construct it, the hill has ever seen, Sima has confirmed.
“If we can keep that, that’s going to make us national level,” said Steven Harlow, a coach with the Yukon Freestyle Ski Team. “We have an awesome park, but with a jump like that we can move into ... bigger spins and all these variations of super high-level tricks.
“Not only can we have high-level athletes, we can have pro-level athletes. There’s not a single doubt in my mind we can have that.”
The big jump raised Harlow to new heights. Harlow landed a switch misty 1080 - the most difficult trick he has ever stuck - to finish first in the masters 19-and-over division for his first Yukon title.
“I’ve never tried that trick in my life before,” said Harlow. “The first time I brought it to 900 and the second time I thought I had to go bigger because I landed on the knuckle the first time and it just came perfectly to 1080. I stomped it pretty darn hard.”
There were only two skiers in the masters division, but competition was fierce. Harlow beat out former Yukon team member Miguel Rodden, who has been competing in Whistler, B.C., this season. Rodden almost landed a switch double rodeo 1080 with a safety grab, a trick that would have set a high-water mark at Sima.
“That’s a pretty crazy trick,” said Harlow. “You see guys in the Olympics do that.
“I got the trophy, but I’m so stoked to see someone else try that. If I got second, that wouldn’t change how I feel right now.”
It was a close one in the male 16-18 category as well.
Etienne Geoffroy beat Yukon teammate Josh Harlow by just one point for first in big air.
Geoffroy, who placed second in Saturday’s slopestyle, performed a switch bio 1080 with a grab for his big trick, outdoing Josh’s corked 900 with a blunt grab.
“I’ve never landed it before in competition,” said Geoffroy. “And I haven’t done it in a super long time, so I’m happy I could pull it off.”
The 15-year-old recently won the Yukon team its first gold on the Timber Tour - a nationwide competitive ski series - last month, a month after winning silver at another Timber Tour event.
“I’m having a great season,” said Geoffroy. “Hard work pays off. All the training, all the trampoline training and all that, is paying off. It’s been showing in our comp results.”
Yukon ski team’s Kyran Allen decided to compete up a division in Saturday’s slopestyle. He showed the older boys how to do it.
The 15-year-old took first the males 16-18 division.
“It feels good,” said Allen. “It’s the Yukon champs - there’s no pressure or anything.
“Hopefully I’ll get more podiums at the B.C. championships and the junior nationals.”
Allen placed first ahead of Geoffroy in second and Josh Harlow - last year’s champ - in third.
Allen gave the judges a mixed bag with a flat 540 to a switch 540 to a corked 900 in his winning run.
“I guess I won mostly because of the variety,” said Allen. “I was spinning different tricks, a more inverted spin to a straight spin to a corked spin. They’re all different tricks.
“The flat 540 was a trick I learned that day.”
Members of the Yukon Freestyle Ski Team will soon be packing their skis for the Canadian Junior Freestyle Skiing Championships in Quebec in a couple of weeks.
Six members are set to compete at the event including Josh Harlow, who won the team its first medal at the nationals last year with a bronze.
Results
Slopestyle
Males 16-18
1st Kyran Allen
2nd Ettienne Geoffroy
3rd Josh Harlow
Masters 19-and-over
1st Miguel Rodden
Female
1st Lyndsey Boorse
Males 14-15
1st Evyn Dinn
2nd Milan Lapres
3rd Jacob Finton
Super youth
1st Logan Krause
2nd Cole Beaman
3rd Anthony Barteaux
Under-eight
1st Axel Anderson
2nd Konrad Simpson
3rd Sarah Auoda
Big air
Males 16-18
1st Etienne Geoffroy
2nd Josh Harlow
3rd Dylan Reed
Masters 19-and-over
1st Steven Harlow
2nd Miguel Rodden
Female
1st Lyndsey Boorse
Males 14-15
1st Milan Lapres
2nd Argus Huggard
3rd Cole Sinclair
Females under-13
1st Sarah Auoda
Males under-13
1st Evyn Dinn
2nd Jacob Finton
Males under-13 (halfpipe)
1st Logan Krause
2nd Cole Beaman
3rd Anthony Barteux
Under-eight
1st Sebastian Paredes
2nd Kemper Murray
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com