Tag Archives: skiing

“You’ll see a party in Calgary on Snapchat, but you’re also sitting at the bottom of the Matterhorn. It’s not the worst trade-off.”

Thomas Burnyeat, 19, hasn’t had the most typical high school experience. He attended Bishop Caroll High school while provides “individual learning environments” with “no master schedule, regular classes or school bells.”

“I went to less than 35 days of school a year,” said Burnyeat.

That number could potentially be a cause for concern, if it wasn’t for the fact that Burnyeat is an internationally ranker freestyle skier for the Alberta mogul team. 

During the winter, Burnyeat participates in a carousel of intense training regiments and the competitive circuit. If he’s not at the gym, he’s at the trampoline park. If he’s not at the trampoline park, he’s at the ski hill. If the ski hill has no snow, he’s on a water ramp.

In the fall of every year, just prior to the commencement of competitions, Burnyeat and other skiers from all over the world meet in Zermatt, Switzerland for a final training camp. 

This camp runs from late September into the end of October and is one of the only available moguls course available in the world during that time. Teams flock to the glacier from dozens of different countries.

“It’s essentially like a World Cup for two weeks,” said Burnyeat, “those are some of the coolest time [because] you’re skiing with the best in the world.”

Burnyeat himself is currently ranked 357th in his discipline by the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Burnyeat first experience with skiing was when he was 8 years old and he would visit his grandparent’s house in Panorama, BC every weekend. Like most kids, he liked the jumps — but he always held the racers in high regard.

“I like learning about the technical stuff [but] then I also like jumping, and moguls was the only ski discipline where you don’t leave one behind,” said Burnyeat.

In the following years Burnyeat would continue to hone his skiing skills before joining the Alberta Freestyle mogul team in 2016. He came with an arsenal of aerial tricks, and in the second year of the program he learned what he now considers his favourite trick- the cork 1080.

The “cork” part signifies that the trick is being done off-axis, and the “1080” denotes how much he spines. So, a cork 1080 means Burnyeat is completing three full rotations in the air, while sideways, before landing back onto his feet.

Oh, and it’s done in the middle of a race down a mogul field.

Burnyeat says he loves to end his run with the cork 1080.

“You’re just kind of gambling on the last jump,” says Burnyeat.

“Either everything goes wrong or right on the jump, and it’s a good feeling to land the [cork 1080] and end the run with a little bit of a statement.”

Burnyeat is correct when he calls it a gamble, and the stakes are obvious. There is a serious risk of injury inherent to skiing in general, let alone mogul events. 

According to a 2003 report from the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, “nearly half of the responding FIS freestyle World Championship skiers had previously sustained one or more major knee injuries”, and a quarter of participants had previously ruptured their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at least once.  

Burnyeat himself has had three knee surgeries, all on the same leg. Three years ago, he also broke his back although he says the recovery process was “fairly straightforward”.

“I definitely know right now I have one season left of bump skiing if I want to actually enjoy yeah my body,” said Burnyeat.

Chris Mavin, who works the program director and head coach for Freestyle Panorama and was Burnyeat’s first moguls coach, spoke to his drive when facing injuries.

“He’s a fighter, but he’s got his head switched on and that helps him take rehabilitation programs better than anybody that I know,” said Mavin.

“[Burnyeat] is an incredibly hard worker. He was the guy that would be the first one to training and the last one to leave, he would never give up — no matter how hard it was getting.”

While his freestyle career may be wrapping up soon, skiing will continue to be a big part of Burnyeat’s life going forward. Already, he is following in the footsteps of the greats such as Mike Douglas, JP Auclair, Cody Townsend, and countless other ex-freestyle skiers.

He’s heading to the backcountry.

Backcountry skiing, or ski touring, has grown exponentially in the past few years — mostly due to technological advances in the gear as well as more wide-spread access to avalanche education. 

While his time during the peak winter season is already committed, Burnyeat has still managed to put in about 30 days a year in the backcountry during the so-called “shoulder seasons”. 

In that time, he’s already learned a few important lessons.

In 2017, Burnyeat skied a line on Mt. Bourgeau, a 2930m peak in the aptly named “Massive” mountain range. He called it “the gnarliest thing I will ever ski in my entire life”.

Burnyeat says he did everything right. He researched the line, he evaluated the snowpack, he assessed the temperature changes at different elevations — but it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“At the end of it I was just like, I got the call right, and I did everything right, but I didn’t have the experience to make that call,” said Burnyeat.

“That’s a lot to gamble— My life, let alone the other two guys that are actually trusting me to make this call.”

Since then, Burnyeat has found a new, much more experienced, touring partner, one who he can learn from — an ACMG mountain guide by the name of Jeff Bollock. 

Skiing understandably defines Burnyeat’s life, but there’s still a lot more to him.

“I’m a carpenter, not ticketed or anything, but I operate and own part of a landscaping company with a friend in the summer.

“I mostly manage logistics [but] anytime there’s a saw involved, usually I’m there.”

Burnyeat honed his craft while taking those ski trips to his grandparents’ place. They built their house themselves and Burnyeat says he acted as the de facto foreman as a kid, by running around and telling his family what to do. 

Later, he learned some woodworking skills as well as the finer aspects of joinery and similar crafts. He says he learned to appreciate working with his hands.

“I think everyone’s a little bit too quick these days to just take it to someone before you actually try and fix it yourself,” says Burnyeat.

“Whether it’s your car, bike, skis, everything — things are not as complicated as you might think [they are].”

His manager at the ski shop Mountain Cultures, Kevin Press, holds this mindset in high regards.

“He’s been awesome,” said Press.

Between carpentry, freestyle skiing, and his current job as a ski technician, you would think Burnyeat might be satisfied. However, he has still more ambitions.

“I’m in University right now,” said Burnyeat, “but just one [class] a semester while I’m skiing to keep it light.”

While he is currently studying kinesiology, Burnyeat admits he still unsure exactly what he routes he wants to go.

“Maybe something involved in sports development… but definitely skiing.”