Utah produces its fair share of pro skiers and boarders, so it’s no surprise that our little ones are stepping up their game in hopes of hanging with the big boys and girls. We thought it would be fun to feature a couple kiddos who you may have seen whizzing past you on the mountains recently. You know the ones…kids who make you do a double take, and then find yourself rushing after to ask how old they are. So here they are, Utah’s cutest and toughest, ready to steal the thunder!
Full Name: Landon William Adams
Age: Almost 9
Home Mountain: Alta
Years on the hill: 7
Sponsors: Mom and Dad
Gear: Blizzard race skis, forefront twin tips, Technica boots, POC helmet, and Scott poles
Favorite Run: Eagle’s Nest and Yellow Bear Trail at Alta
Discipline: Alpine Racing and Free Skiing
Favorite Food on the Hill: French fries at Watson’s
Worst Wipeout: A somersault in Eagle’s Nest on a powder day.
Top tip for other skiers: Keep your hands in front of you.
Favorite ski word/phrase/jargon: I like to “gap” things when I jump.
Best part about skiing: I love skiing deep powder!
I rip because: I ski and ice skate a lot. I go to school at the school at Alta, so I get to ski almost every day. I am on the Alta race team and I have learned a lot from my coaches. I chase my Mom and Dad around and hit lots of jumps. I play hockey and take power skating lessons year-round.
Full Name: Carter William Budge
Age: 10
Home Mountain: Snowbird
Years on the hill: 8
Sponsors: Budge Bros. (Carter’s older brothers and dad and mom)
Gear: Atomic Bent Chet’s, Rossignol boots, Burton, Oakley and Smith
Favorite Run: Baldys and Door Knob (Snowbird)
Discipline: Big Mountain
Favorite Food on the Hill: Cup o’ Noodles and fries
Worst Wipeout: Unexpectedly dropping onto the catwalk in Mineral Basin.
Top tip for other skiers: Get good googles.
Favorite ski word/phrase/jargon: Dude
Best part about skiing: I get to hang out with my older brothers who are awesome skiers; they teach me lot’s of stuff. I feel like I can fly when I ski!
I rip because: My family has always loved skiing and made sure it was a part of my life. I was always just trying to keep up with my dad and my older brothers. When I was three I could ski off the tram to the bottom of the mountain. My dad says everyone would point and laugh in amazement because I was so small on such a big mountain.
Full Name: Caden Brehm Gennerman (The HurriCaden)
Age: 8 1/2
Home Mountain: Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons
Years on the Hill: 8, yes, I started when I was 1.
Sponsors: Dynastar, Lange, Look, and Dad
Gear: 686, TNF, Marker, Oakley, Bern, Dakine, Atomic Mini Bent Chetler/ Dynastar Sixth Sense Skis, Lange JR Boot
Favorite Run: Main Bowl (PCMR) and Northside 9990 (The Canyons)
Discipline: Big Mountain Free Ride
Favorite Food on the Hill: The Fondue at the Lookout Cabin at the Canyons. I only had it once, but it was the BEST!
Worst Wipeout: At PCMR, I found a non-park jump and the first time I went off it, one ski ejected and I tumbled down the rest of the run and lost all my other gear. YARDSALE!
Top tip for other groms: Never give up, even if you don’t like it when you start, because you will always get better.
Favorite ski word/phrase/jargon: Radical and awesome!
Best part about skiing: You never know everything and you can always learn.
I Rip Because: When I was little I never wanted to listen to my dad so he said, “I’ll teach all your friends and they’ll be better than you.” That made me mad and I let him teach me.
Full Name(s): Luke and Alex Mallen (The Twinners)
Age: Almost 5
Home Mountain: Snowbird
Years on the Hill: 3.1
Sponsors: Viice Skis and parents
Gear: Viice Skis, Scott Goggles, Giro G9 Helmets, Obermeyer Kids outerwear, Spyder & The North Face mitts, Hot Chilly’s, and Trespass baselayer.
Favorite Run: The Cirque, Mineral Basin, Mark Malu, Road to Provo (and of course we love the tunnel and the terrain park!)
Discipline: Bumps, jumps, steeps, and pow.
Favorite Food on the Hill: Hot chocolate, Fruit by the Foot, Cutie oranges, fruit snacks, string cheese, mini turkey sandwiches, and an occasional famous Snowbird Kobe beef hot dog….mmmmm.
Worst Wipeout: Luke: Attempting a “daffy”. Alex: Forgetting to check speed before heading into a mogul field.
Top tip for other skiers: Have fun and laugh a lot! Tell mom and dad to bring “pocket snacks”, hand warmers, and a lot of patience.
Favorite ski word/phrase/jargon: Alex: “Oh yeah! Oh yeah! pow-DAH baby”, “Cowabayyya!” Luke: “Follow me dude!”, “Look! There’s jumps over there!”
Best part about skiing: Luke: Big jumps Alex: Big air Both: Cute girls to hang with (preferably cougars), and not being inside watching lame TV.
We Rip Because: We ski on Viice kids skis– they help us rock the mountain, making it easy-especially in the pow! And our parents ski with us A TON!
Full Name: Mary Lowrey Bocock
Age: 9
Home Mountain: Snowbird
Years on the Hill: 8
Sponsors: My parents
Gear: Rossignol skis, boots, and bindings. POC helmet, Scott goggles and poles, Spyder jacket and pants, Smartwool socks.
Favorite Run: In powder: “Bookends” at Snowbird. Groomed: “Big Emma” at Snowbird during early morning training.
Discipline: Alpine Ski Racing
Favorite Food on the Hill: Cup-o-Noodles, clementines, and M&Ms.
Worst Wipeout: I was skiing at Snowbird early this season and the visibility was bad. I hit a bump and landed really hard on my head. My skis fell off. It really hurt because the snow was hard.
Top tip for other skiers: Have a really fun time! Go fast! Keep your hands forward and up, and do NOT lean in!
Favorite ski word/phrase/jargon: “J-Fast Rules!”
Best part about skiing: Racing, training, being with friends and coaches. Being on snow.
I Rip Because: I started skiing at an early age, I really love to ski. I listen to my coaches, and I want to get better.
Full Name: Tristan Griffin
Age: 11
Home Mountain: Solitude and Snowbird
Years on the Hill: Been shreddin’ for 9 years. Spent 4 seasons on the Solitude Devo Team, and now I ride with the Snowbird Freeride and Big Mountain Team.
Sponsors: The best Gram in the world…and of course mom and dad!
Gear: K2 Bad Seeds, Dalbello Menace 4’s, Line poles, Volcom, Electric , Pro-Tec, and Swany.
Favorite Run: Headwall Forest (Solitude) and The Cirque (Snowbird)
r Discipline: I am a rippin’ big mountain freeskier!
Favorite Food on the Hill: Hands down the burger at Solitude and the sausage at Snowbird. And of course hot chocolate! I also snack on GU Chomps or Clif shot Bloks for energy.
Worst Wipeout: This season at Snowbird, I was skiing the Cirque with my team, I caught an edge and had a complete yardsale. I tumbled all the way down the hill and when I stopped I felt kinda dizzy….everyone was laughing and so was I. They said it was the funniest crash of the year.
Top tip for other groms: If you really, really have to go and can’t hold it…….then go!
Favorite ski word/phrase/jargon: Get Da Pow Pow and Steezy
Best part about skiing: The feeling on a great pow day that I am floating or flying through the snow getting face shots and snow is blowing over my head.
I Rip Because: I started out early and have been taught really well, plus I love it and someday I want to be a professional freeskier.
Full Name: Noah Larsen Hodson
Age: 10
Home Mountain: Solitude/Alta
Years on the Hill: 9.1 (Not even kidding)
Sponsors: Anyone who will send my mom free gear & Utah Water Sport’s payroll (Thanks dad!)
Gear: Bern Helmets, Hestra gloves, DC Clothing Co., Oakley, K2, Volkl Gotama, and Lange
Favorite Run: The Guild Line (Solitude, Don’t ask him where it is, he won’t tell you.) and Gunsight (Alta)
Discipline: Big Mountain and Park
Favorite Food on the Hill: Cheeseburgers from Sunshine Grill.
Worst Wipeout: A double summersault BLOWOUT at the finish of a bump race I was in.
Top tip for other groms: “When you stop making pizzas, skiing gets fun. Pizzas are no good unless you are eating them at Stone Haus!”
Favorite ski word/phrase/jargon: “It’s Pow Pow time!”
Best part about skiing: Mostly it’s just super fun, but also knowing I can point my skis down anything and ski it well. Skipping school sometimes when it dumps is an added bonus!
I Rip Because: I have been skiing since I could walk and my mom is crazy. My dad taught me how to ski, but my mom taught me to love skiing. She is the one who taught me how to handle Big Mountain terrain and gets me into places where I can really step up my game. I also learned a lot from my DEVO coaches at Solitude Mountain.
Full Name: Kosten Curtis Ruff
Age: 10
Home Mountain: Brighton
Years on the Hill: 7.5 years on my board, but riding in my dad’s backpack since I was 8 months old!
Sponsors: The Levitation Project, Milo Sport (Josh Roberts), Tonino Copene, Timmy Ostler, and my mom and dad.
Gear: Nitro board, boot, and bindings; The Levitation Project goggles, beanies and face masks; Celtek gloves; Volcom coat and pants.
Favorite Run: Pioneer Ridge hike
Discipline: Skating a ton on my ramp and at the skate park, jumping on my tramp, riding my dirt bike, and snowboarding every chance I get!
Favorite Food on the Hill: Pepperoni pizza
Worst Wipeout: I missed the airbag off the Monster kicker at High Cascade snowboard camp in Mt. Hood and got the crap and wind knocked out of me.
Top tip for other boarders: Just have fun and keep on trying and trying until you get it.
Favorite ski word/phrase/jargon: Dad can I stay home from school and go SHREDDING?!
Best part about snowboarding: The powder!
I Rip Because: My family goes snowboarding a lot together. I want to get better and better so I keep on trying until I get what line or trick I’m focused on. When I see people trying hard, I want to learn whatever tricks I see them doing. My dad was a pro snowboarder for 15 years, and I want to be like him and jump off huge cliffs like he did, he RIPS!! I skate a lot when it’s warmer out and my dad built me a mini ramp in our garage. I go to the skate park TONS! Skating makes me better by pushing me to learn tricks, and it’s a lot like snowboarding. I LOVE to snowboard and to ride in the powder. It makes me feel like I’m floating, and it’s super fun!
