Local freestyle skier takes bronze, gold at Timber Tour double-header

The Muskoka Ski Club hosted Freestyle Ontario’s Timber Tour Slopestyle double-header at Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area on January 20-22, 2017. The Timber Tour is Ontario’s provincial competition series that includes three disciplines: Moguls, Slopestyle and Half Pipe. It’s designed to be an athlete-centred, safe and fun competition circuit.

Athletes travelled from across Ontario to compete on the course, which consisted of a 40-foot jump followed by a 35-foot jump and then a choice between two features at the end of the run: a whale tail or A-frame. The judges were looking for the most variety of turns and degree of difficulty in the athletes’ jumps.

Friday, January 20 was a training day for all of the athletes to get a feel for the terrain and to test their skills on the slopes.

Saturday, January 21 had the athletes battling warmer temperatures, thick fog and wet snow consistency but this did not stop them from entertaining the crowd with crazy tricks, flips and slides despite the weather.

An aerial shot of the Timber Tour course at Hidden Valley Highlands Ski Area (Photo: Alex Spiers)

In the M18 Division, Huntsville had two local legends competing, Alex Dubé and Ethan Murdy, who are both well-known on the circuit. Alex had a rough first run as he did not stick the landing on the first jump, but managed to kill his second attempt with an awesome trick on the 40-foot jump. He placed 10th overall.

Ethan showed his talent with two successful jumps and a balanced slide on the A-frame. He almost made it to the podium by placing fourth in the M18 Division. Awesome tricks, boys! Good luck at your next event.

In the M14 Division, Huntsville’s hometown hero and crowd-pleaser, Kyle Mattice, had a great run. A spectator, Lauren Hooey, was impressed that he entertained the crowd with his first Cork 9 trick ever performed in competition on the 35-foot jump. No stranger to the podium, Kyle earned a bronze medal in the M14 division on Saturday. Way to ‘cork’ it, Kyle!

Sunday, January 22 started off with thick fog in the early hours, but the skies cleared and snow conditions were much faster than the previous day for the athletes. The day was full of tricks, turns, and flips that showed all of the athletes’ talent.

Kyle Mattice wowed the crowd once again with his best jumps of the weekend, earning him the top spot on the podium with a gold in the M14 Division. Well done, Kyle!

See the full Timber Tour results here.

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