Despite suffering a leg injury that will sideline him for the forseeable future, Steven Boyd was in good spirits yesterday.

The 27-year-old was voted King of the Hill after Saturday’s Uphill Challenge event at Mount Sima.

Racing head to head with Ross Mercer in the 800 stock class early Saturday afternoon, Boyd crashed his sled on the course’s largest jump – leaving him down for the count with a broken tibia in his left leg.

Boyd said he and Mercer have enjoyed a healthy rivalry over the years – and this time he was determined to win.

“I wanted to beat him really bad,” he admitted. “I pretty much went off a jump too fast, missed the landing and landed flat. My foot came off the running board and landed on the snow. My leg absorbed a lot of the impact.

“All hell broke loose when I landed. I completely destroyed that sled.”

The bone broke just below his knee. Boyd has since undergone surgery after being medevaced to Vancouver, and faces more reconstruction ahead of a long recovery.

Boyd said the afternoon sun changed the course conditions just enough to alter his landing.

“The first couple of races, the course was still icy,” he explained. “But as it got farther on in the day, it got softer, so we got a lot more traction on the jumps.”

Meanwhile, Boyd lauded the efforts of the ski patrol and emergency responders who came to his rescue.

“Every one of them was awesome,” he said. “They took amazing care of me. Within a minute, they were there.”

The incident caused a half-hour delay before racers once again hit the course. Boyd was carted off the hill on a sled, and received a rousing ovation from the crowd on hand – a moment the injured racer acknowledged with a wave of his hand.

Boyd, who has been on a sled ever since he could walk, said this was the first injury he has suffered in the sport.

“It’s all good,” he said. “It’s all part of the game. If I’m grumpy about it, it’s not going to change anything.”

Boyd, who works as a powerline technician, said one wrinkle is the fact his wife, Jessica, is six months pregnant and is currently taking care of their young son, Levi.

He vowed to be back on a sled next winter. “No question.”

After a one-year hiatus, the Uphill Challenge was once again hosted by Yukon Yamaha.

Organizer Jason Adams said hundreds of people came out to watch the event, which saw more than 40 snowmobilers race head to head up an obstacle-filled course on Mt. Sima.

Adams estimated the course took an average of 45 seconds to complete.

Spectators were even able to watch from the ski lift for the first time in the event’s history.

Adams said a variety of new classes were created this year in an attempt to even out divisions between competitive and backyard racers.

Because of that, the event featured some new faces and new winners, each of whom got a share of a $5,000 purse.

While Boyd took home the trophy for King of the Hill, his lone podium placing was in the 600cc modified class, where he finished third.

Jake Jacobs was the big winner on the day, earning four division titles – 600cc stock, 600cc modified, open snowcross and open modified.

Jason Vance also won multiple categories – 800cc stock and 800cc modified – while Jarrid Davy won the 250cc open category.

Other victors included Mark Dubeau in mountain-cross and Jesse Malloch in the open snowbike category – which featured eight riders.

Adams said Yukon Yamaha is a proud supporter of Mt. Sima, and is happy to host the event at the ski hill.

“We used to have a very strong race community here in the North,” he said.

“It’s a passion of mine and everybody that works here. It takes a lot of work ... we worked on that course for a week.

“Everything was covered by sponsorship money ... except the flowers that I had to send to Steve’s wife.”