Whitefish Mountain Resort Freestyle Team marks 25 years
WMR Freestyle Team member Anders Soyland takes a run down Central Avenue terrain park during the Presidents Park slopestyle competition at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Feb. 14. Soyland took second place in the Boys Ski 14+ division. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Ethan Karvelsson with the WMR Freestyle Team throws a trick on his first run down Central Park during the Presidents Park Slopestyle competition at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Feb. 14. (Whiteney England/Whitefish Pilot)
WMR Freestyle Team member Liam Byrd throws a front flip during the Presidents Park slopestyle competion at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Byrd competes in the 8-13 age group of the upper division. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
WMR Freestyle Team member Conner Byle takes first in the Open Mens division at the Presidents Park Slopestyle competition at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Feb. 14. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
WMR Freestyle Team member Emmet Donaldson reaches for a grab during the Presidents Park slopestyle competition at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Feb. 14. Donaldson competes in the upper division of the boys 8-13 snowboard category. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish Freestyle Team competitors celebrate atop the podium during the Biggie Banks Banked Slalom competition at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Jan. 23. (Courtesy photo)
The aspect of “freestyle” was nearly foreign in the world of skiing and snowboarding in 1996 — and definitely not a common practice at Big Mountain — but when the Whitefish Mountain Resort Freestyle Team got its start there was a growing need for a new approach for skiers.
At the time, skiers who needed an outlet after advancing past ski school only had the option of joining the race team, but with developments in the emerging sport the need was escalating quickly in the Flathead Valley to create the resort’s first freestyle team coached by Steve Knox...
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