These are the hard-working skis of a young and talented freestyle skier, Mavik MacKinnon. At age 12, he is already on his seventh pair of skis (at age 5, he rode his first twin tips!). A seasoned Sima local, he has been ripping around the hill since he was two (his training started earlier in life, while he was still in diapers). I was fortunate enough to spend an afternoon at Mount Sima, last spring, following Mavik around with my camera and discovering the passion and energy that he channels into freestyle skiing.
If you have ever been in Takhini North on a winter afternoon, you have probably come across Mavik’s “freestyle playground.” A neighbourhood of industrious kids are constantly building jumps and rails where tricks are fine-tuned. Mavik is persistent in his pursuit of improvement, both on the rails and in the air, and dedicates hours of practice to his sport. His biggest spins include 540°s, 720°s, 900°s and even switch 900°s (with some added grabs for extra style). He landed a few 1080°s last year and plans to improve those this year.
A strong cross-country ski background, in his younger years, developed Mavik’s strength, endurance and agility. During the winter season of 2018/2019, at age 8, Mavik learned how to 360° whilst training at a Freestyle Yukon Christmas camp. He loved the camp, and he has never looked back. Driven by a passion to improve in the park, his tireless efforts won him two gold medals in Yukon Freestyle competition events that same year. Also, competing at the B.C. Freestyle Championships in Silver Star that year, Mavik became the highest-ranking Yukon athlete, based on his results in Moguls and Slopestyle (4th and 10th). The season closed with recognition from Freestyle Yukon, with Mavik being the “Most-Improved Athlete” of the year. The 2021 Yukon Freestyle Championships won 10-year-old Mavik two more gold medals in the U12 events.
Last season’s goal for Mavik was to rank as high as he could in the B.C. Freestyle Ski Championships in Whistler (April 2022). While the rest of us were saying goodbye to the last of the Yukon’s winter snow, Mavik headed south, to ride rails and spin in the air, in pursuit of his freestyle dreams. After a fantastic winter season and thanks to the great terrain parks, features and grooming at Mt. Sima, Mavik won three silver medals—one in each event entered in Whistler at the B.C. (Provincial) Freestyle Ski Championships for 2021/22. After two years of cancellations, the opportunity to compete at Whistler (and as a member of the Whistler Club) was like a dream come true for this young skier … and those three second-place provincial podium finishes didn’t hurt either!
Keep your eyes peeled for Mavik at Mt. Sima, this season (you’ll know where to find him now). He’ll be working on this season’s goals, which include:
- Working toward certification for doing inverted tricks in competition
- Competing again at the B.C. Freestyle Ski Championships
- Representing the Yukon at the Junior Nationals (or at least doing the tryouts)
- Improving grabs during spins like 720°s, as well as the number and scale of “unnatural” rotations that he can do (meaning rotating in the direction opposite his natural direction of spins).
Ski you out there!
