WHITEFISH – When Peter Costain first put his two young sons on skis he never imagined it would eventually result in front flips and 360-degree turns in the air. And especially not anything called a “Rodeo” – a twisting backflip.
But thanks to TJ Andrews and the freestyle program at Big Mountain, the Costain boys, 12-year-old Parkin and 10-year-old Ladd, are now fearlessly flying, flipping and spinning around the mountains on skis every winter.
“It’s crazy,” Peter says. “I think it makes a lot of parents wish (the freestyle team) existed when we were younger. These kids are definitely living the dream on the mountain, especially the ones committed to this program.”
With more than 40 members signed up so far, the Whitefish Mountain Resort Freestyle Ski and Snowboard Team is gearing up for another winter of competition. Depending on snowfall, the season is scheduled to start on Dec. 10 and run through March, with local events all winter including the annual Corn Cup.
Under Andrews, the program’s 22-year-old supervisor and head coach, the freestyle team continues to evolve with the sport and grow its reputation as one of the best around. The “new school freeride” program, with five young coaches from different disciplines and backgrounds, has helped develop a talented homegrown group of young up-and-comers like Parkin Costain who continue to emerge from Big Mountain with realistic dreams of professional or Olympic careers.
Last winter, Parkin Costain, who is sponsored by Line Skis, won big mountain freeskiing competitions across the Northwest and in Canada, often against adults almost twice his age.
Fellow teammate Maggie Voisin has been generating buzz in the freestyle world for a couple of seasons already and is widely considered one of the best around.
Last spring, the 12-year-old Whitefish middle schooler won the national championship in slopestyle skiing at the United States of America Snowboard Association event at Copper Mountain in Colorado. Her scores beat out every male competitor in her age bracket.
Voisin, who is sponsored by Armada and on its development team, has previously landed a 900 – spinning two and a half revolutions – while racing downhill on a slopestyle course. With that rare feat accomplished, Andrews says Voisin is now working on a Rodeo 5 – a blackflip 180. Not many girls at any age, especially 12, are attempting that anywhere, Andrews says.
Voisin’s ultimate goal is to someday compete at the annual Winter X Games. Others in the freestyle program have hopes of making the U.S. national team, or qualifying for the junior Olympics. Some members just want to learn a few tricks to use on a powder day or in the terrain park.
“We’ll help the kids any way they want to go,” Andrews says. “Our program will take you to the next step if that’s really where you want to go. It’s a program that offers a little bit of everything for any kid that wants something out of it.”
The Big Mountain program is one of the only and oldest in the state. Founded in 1992, the program began with a focus on traditional freestyle skiing — aerials, moguls and ski ballet. Since then, the sport has evolved enormously to include a wider scope of riding, from terrain parks to half pipes to all-mountain “freeskiing.”
Freestyle skiing has grown substantially over last few years, especially among young riders. Validation came via the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board, which approved the addition of men’s and women’s halfpipe skiing and ski and snowboard slopestyle in the last year. The events will be featured for the first time at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
One of the sport’s innovators in the last decade who is often credited with shepherding in the new wave of competitive skiing is Kalispell native Tanner Hall, one of the most decorated and renowned freeskiers ever. Hall took his first turns on Big Mountain and went on to X Games glory. He is currently training to qualify for the 2014 Olympics.
Another local talent at the forefront of the freestyle ski movement with his sights on the Olympics is Mitch Gilman, a 15-year-old Whitefish native who now lives in Colorado and competes in well-known events throughout the year. Gilman was a member of the Big Mountain freestyle team for a few years before gaining sponsorship from a number of companies, including Smith Optics and Spyder, and entering a ski academy.
Gilman, who can often be seen riding in magazines such as Powder, has said he’s working to qualify for the U.S. Slopestyle Team and continue a professional skiing career.
Andrews remembers helping coach Gilman into the skier he is today, and hopes the current crop of team members can follow his tracks.
It all starts with building confidence. If a new member has shown they can maneuver on skis or a snowboard well enough, they get their first shot at flying off jumps. A three-foot starter jump is built at the team’s private training site with a high soft landing, making that first attempt as simple as possible. Once they land that, it progresses from there, to a switch 180 and then “pretty much once a kid learns he can do a 180, he can do a 360,” Andrews says. “And once you can do a 360, it just grows exponentially.”
“It gives the kids the time to build that confidence without hurting themselves,” he says.
Andrews grew up in Polson and began working with the team almost five years ago when Steve Knox was the supervisor. Andrews, who took over as head coach last year, credits Knox with growing the program to its current size and stature, and hopes to build upon that. The team finished first in the Northern Division from 1996-2000 and was named the USSA Freestyle Club of the year in 2001. In 2009, team member Danielle Hammett was the USASA national champion in the halfpipe.
“My goal with the program is focusing on the needs of each individual kid,” Andrews says, adding, “We want the kids to be here. It’s something that the mountain knows is a good thing. We want to keep these kids skiing for the rest of their lives.”
Peter Costain says his sons are hooked on the sport and excited for another season on the freestyle team. In fact, keeping their enthusiasm reined in has become the hardest part.
“We’re trying not to let it get in the way of school and academics,” Peter says.
“We don’t need a 12-year-old ski bum yet.”
The freestyle program is still adding members. For more information email [email protected].