Although he's only 18 years old, local skier Sean Pettit celebrated last week with two honours: the cover shot for Powder Magazine's "Minor Threat" issue, and first place at the annual Red Bull Linecatcher competition.
Linecatcher is a unique backcountry skiing competition that combines park skills with big mountain freeskiing. Pettit excels in both types of skiing, and according to Red Bull, he didn't miss a thing.
In his first run he did a double drop off some cliffs at the top, followed by a corked 720 off a jump in the middle section, then another 360 over the final jump.
His second run was not as clean, but he came back with a backflip on his third trip down the run at Vars-La Foret, France to seal the win. He also hit every box on the course, showing a comfort level on park features that other competitors couldn't match.
"I had a good time," Pettit told Red Bull organizers. "I just went out there to have some fun and that's what I did. We all had a lot of fun out there today, and if I had to use one word to sum up the contest, that's what I'd say: 'fun.' I just managed to put my feet down and land my whole run. That was key out there today."
Pettit's win at Linecatcher wasn't a complete surprise. He finished second in the event in 2010 at the age of 17.
Other Canadians at the event include JP Auclair in eighth, Anthony Boronowski in 12th and Rory Bushfield in 15th.
Rounding out the podium were Markus Eder of Italy and Tim Durtschi of the U.S.
