A crowd of skiers, snowboarders, and fans braved the cold on Friday night, flocking to Mt. Sima after-hours to take part in Sandor's Icebreaker Rail Jam.

The event brought some of the best local talent out to the slopes, including Max Melvin-McNutt, who is currently training with the B.C. provincial snowboard team.

Melvin-McNutt placed first in his field while Dylan Reed took home top honours on the skiing side.

Sandor Elek, one of the judges and the main sponsor of the competition, said that events like the Rail Jam are essential for developing competitive snowboarding in the Yukon.

"These events help bring out the best,” he said. "You saw that tonight with Max, who came up from B.C., and Mary Binstead, our head snowboard coach came over from Team Ontario. We're really just trying to push snowboarding in the Yukon.”

Stu Robinson, Yukon Freestyle Ski Coach, was impressed with the evening's event, noting the skill level had noticeably improved from last year's competition.

"The Yukon skiers are super dedicated,” he said. "When I'm not there, they have to train on their own so they have to be really dedicated to keep up the practice and even to just get out in the cold.

"I know a lot of the skiers in B.C. would have a hard time going out all the time, they are tough Yukon kids and definitely talented.”

Adam Waddington, who placed second on the snowboarding side, said the cold weather wasn't a factor once he was able to get a few runs down the hill.

"You get your heart pumping and your adrenaline going and you're just focused on the rail,” he said.

Rounding out the top three snowboarders for the evening was Tim Schirmer, who was a crowd-favourite due to his high-flying theatrics.

Schirmer says he draws inspiration from his favourite snowboarder, Seb Toutant, a French Canadian boarder who rose to prominence through his trick innovation and individual style.

The influence was apparent as Schirmer consistently attempted some of the most exciting tricks of the evening, at his body's expense.

"I bailed on my head pretty hard on my last trick, but I still won some cash so it was worth it,” the 15-year-old said, who took home $100 for his third-place finish.

Melvin-McNutt said it was refreshing to take a break from training in B.C. and compete in front of a hometown crowd.

He's currently training on the snow four to five days a week and increasing his strength in the gym two to three days a week.

Melvin-McNutt is focused on the upcoming Nationals and the Canadian Open, where he's hoping to place near the top of the competition.

"I was particularly impressed with Max,” said Elek.

"He nailed a backside-blind-lipslide and anybody who understands what I just said knows it's very technical and the way he performed it was so clean. That's why he won tonight.”

For that trick, Melvin-McNutt approached the rail, turned his body 180 degrees so he was facing uphill and then slid perpendicular along the rail, before jumping off and sticking the landing.

Despite the skill he displayed on the rails, Melvin-McNutt considers himself to be more of a big-air rider.

"Soaring through the air and going really fast and doing flips is just much more exhilarating than anything else,” he said.

Reed said the crowd motivated him and that gave him an edge to reach a little deeper into his bag of tricks.

"I tried some things I'd never attempted before and it went really well,” said Reed, who debuted a frontslide-lipslide.

"Dylan was killing it and deserved the win, he threw down some tricks he's never done before so props to him,” said Josh Harlow, who placed third amongst the skiers.

Aiden Allen, who finished in second place, said he also felt motivated by the crowd.

"For some reason I do better under pressure,” he said.

"In warms ups I wasn't doing too well but once the competition started I started landing my tricks.

"Everyone had a lot of fun and I really liked the set up this year,” he added.

"We'll still be back here tomorrow.”

And Allen won't be alone, as many of the spectators in attendance were local riders themselves and eager to get back on the hill.

"It's all about community,” said Elek.

"It's really nice to have everyone support each other; however you slide, whether it's on two or one.”