Pre-season training draws world-class athletes to Whitehorse's Mount Sima

At night, when the ski lifts are closed, snowboarders from around the world take to Mount Sima's Big Air jump to practice their tricks. 

Among them Laurie Blouin, 2018 Olympic silver medallist and a two-time world champion in slopestyle snowboarding.

Hundreds like Blouin, from elsewhere in Canada and around the world, are flocking to the Whitehorse ski hill to make the most of a shortening winter season. 

"It's been winter here for awhile, so the snow is … like it would be in the middle of winter," she said. 

I think we're extremely lucky, because most people go to Austria [to train]. But we get to stay … close to home, and that's really fun." 

The small mountain, with only one chairlift and roughly 10 kilometres of trails, is now a well-kept secret for professional athletes and their coaches from around the world because it's a rare spot to access hard, good snow so early in the season. 

Good enough, even, to get Blouin ready for her competition season — and a possible run at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

'Validation' 

Staff at Sima have welcomed international athletes for the last five years in a little known pre-season program, according to Devin Wittig with Mount Sima. Anywhere between 80 to 90 freestyle athletes take advantage of a world-class jump and local rail park while another 120 are focused on the mountain's alpine ski trails. 

But the interest is starting to pick up steam. This year, the mountain saw athletes from several Canadian provinces and some faraway places, like Alaska, Oregon and Japan. 

"It's good to see our team get some validation for the work they've done over the years," Wittig said. "There's been a lot of people ... building this program up."

The revenue from these ski teams "generates revenue that helps with the rest of the season," Wittig said. 

It also gives their team a head start in blowing snow over the mountain — creating an extra six weeks of work for staff, and an early kickstart to local ski and snowboarding season. 

More 'good athletes' likely to come

David McNeil's athletes, all between the ages of 16-21, travelled more than 4,300 kilometres from Quebec to take advantage of Mount Sima's facilities. 

Winter is starting later and later in Quebec due to climate change, McNeil, the head coach of Quebec's elite Estrie Team, told Radio Canada.

That means those extra training weeks in the Yukon is a gift for his athletes, whose sports demand precision. 

"In November, everyone goes to western Canada — to B.C. or Alberta, but more and more people are getting to know [Mount Sima]," McNeil said.

"It's not well known but within a couple years I think there's going to be a lot of good athletes coming here."