Standing a ways off from the action, but not so far as to be completely removed, Etienne Geoffroy-Gagnon visualizes his run as the downtempo trip-hop Flume plays out of his headphones.

As the top qualifier at the Canada Open Tour at Vernon, B.C.’s Silver Star Mountain Resort, Geoffroy-Gagnon has the priviledge and the curse of dropping in last for the final run of the competition.

He’s already put down a solid run, twisting, turning and tricking his way down the course over a down rail and a cannon rail – pointed up towards the sky instead of downhill – and the three jumps created despite a low-snow year to score an 89.

It was the same run streaming like a highlight reel through his head that he’d aced in qualifications the day before to become the event’s top qualifier, of more than 60 of the country’s top slopestyle freestyle skiers with a score of 95.

Now, with the field completing their own final runs, Geoffroy-Gagnon decides to change up his routine and add a level of difficulty on one of his three jumps. Already in second place, he has nothing to lose.

He drops in to the competition course, crowds lining the perimeter of the park. He focuses from feature to feature, and lets the training take over.

He lands the jump, one he hasn’t been able to complete before. The 92 he scores isn’t enough to overtake first, but he secures the runner-up podium position.

“I was not planning on changing my run at all,” said the 19-year-old from Kelowna Tuesday morning, where he was on his way to Whistler. “The biggest thing for me is to not watch the other competitors do their runs, just do my own thing.”

But with nothing to lose, he thought he might as well go for it. The gamble paid off.

“It’s the best score I could have gotten without doing any doubles.”

A double involves the skier’s head inverting twice while in the air. With the competition’s smaller jumps and flatter landings, Geoffroy-Gagnon opted to stay away from doubles, saving those more difficult jumps for a bigger venue, he said.

He’ll get a chance to practise them in Whistler, where he plans to train for the coming weeks before taking on the next level of competition at the FIS NorAm competition in Calgary at the end of February.

He expects he’ll be able to bring out his more difficult tricks there, where the jumps are larger.

“I was really happy to be able to put a run down and not choke,” he said.

Coming back from an injury sustained two years ago, Geoffroy-Gagnon is enjoying a break-out season this winter. He started it off by posting the Yukon’s best result at Mount Sima’s Canada Open Tour stop in November, finishing 8th.

Last weekend the Icycle Sports-sponsored skier reminded himself how fun competitions could be, winning the Silver Star Rail Jam before posting this past weekend’s career-best second at a Canada Open Tour and booking spots at a few FIS NorAm stops.

“Etienne coming in second was huge for the Yukon,” said coach Graham Pollock.

Pollock had four athletes competing last weekend: Niko and Miguel Rodden, Kyran Allen and Geoffroy-Gagnon. They all made finals.

People came up to Pollock all weekend wondering where these Yukon athletes had come from.

“They were pretty baffled,” said Pollock. He told them the competitors are “just super talented athletes that are super committed.”

Pollock said that with Geoffroy-Gagnon’s recent performances, his goal of making the national team is within sight and achievable.

“I know he can put down very competitive runs,” said Pollock. “It’s huge for him to just get into those events.”

Pollock is thankful for the support Yukon Freestyle sponsors have offered this season. Mount Sima, the team’s home base was the home of the season’s first nationally-sanctioned slopestyle competition last November. Freestyle Canada officials were so pleased with the venue that the event is likely to return later this year.

Until then, the Yukon Freestyle team gets to train on the park, designed by Tyler Nichol, which is the envy of other teams, said Pollock.

A few more competitions will be attended by the team’s athletes, as they split up to attend the events across the country. They will next be in action at home at the end of the season, when Mount Sima will host the Yukon Championships sometime in April.