Skiers, boarders ride the rails

Local skiers and snowboarders hit the rails at Mount Sima Alpine Adventure Park Saturday during the third annual Icebreaker Rail Jam.

Local skiers and snowboarders hit the rails at Mount Sima Alpine Adventure Park Saturday during the third annual Icebreaker Rail Jam.

Sponsored by Sandor’s Clothing Ltd., the event saw 35 athletes compete for a variety of monetary prizes.

The event featured more skiers than snowboarders, said event co-ordinator Brittni Waddington. 

“It’s definitely competitive for the kids,” she said of the annual rail jam.

For the more competitive athletes, the event serves as a warm-up exercise for the season.

“It gets them used to competition, but it’s also fun,” Waddington told the Star. “All the younger kids get prizes and the open category athletes get cash to help them with their snowboarding or skiing.”

Top snowboarder Max Melvin-McNutt took home $500 from Sandor’s after his first-place finish.

Top skier Josh Harlow won $300 from Yukon Yamaha in the open ski competition.

A small crowd was on hand for the event, which included music and plenty of excitement.

Waddington said the rail jam event will continue to improve in the future.

Top ski results are as follows: U-12 Division: 1. Matthew McBride, 2. Jack Blair, 3. Hunter Organ-Wood. U-15 Division: 1. Etienne Geoffroy, 2. Niko Rodden, 3. Shayla Hamilton. Masters: 1. Miguel Rodden, 2. Steven Harlow, 3. Joaquin McWatters.

Open: 1. Josh Harlow, 2. Calahan Guidolin, 3. Etienne Geoffroy.

Top snowboarding results are as follows: U-12 Division: 1. Asher Brault. U-15

Division: 1. Esa Suominen. Masters: 1. Alex Chan. Open: 1. Max Melvin-McNutt, 2. Gabriel Rivest, 3. Adam Waddington.
–––

There’s still time to join a Snowboard Yukon team.

Interested boarders have until Jan. 12 to join Sandor’s Shredders and get a taste of freestyle and snowboard cross under the guidance of coaches.

For more information, visit snowboardyukon.com/snow_programs.
–––

A national ski hill safety campaign was launched over the holidays at Mount Sima.

The Whitehorse ski hill is one of five locations across Canada to launch SNOWSMART, a national campaign to reduce injuries on the hill, primarily among youth and children.

The program combats three risky behaviours – excessive speed, loss of control, and collisions. On SNOWSMART days, patrollers award prizes to those following the Alpine Responsibility Code.

Children are provided bright-coloured bibs to make them more visible on the slopes.

The campaign also includes a youth-targeted video competition accessible via http://www.snowsmart.ca.

Parachute, a national charitable organization dedicated to preventing injuries and saving lives, partnered with Canadian Ski Patrol and Snowboard Canada on the initiative.

The program launched Dec. 27.