Logan Clarke sets his alarm clock for 7:30 a.m. on the weekends because he doesn’t want to miss out on precious time.
Clarke springs out of bed at the sound of the alarm, every Saturday and Sunday of the winter, because he wants to be one of the first people on the slopes at Marble Mountain ski resort in Steady Brook.
The 11-year-old Corner Brook native has been on skis ever since he could walk, and was just two when he put on his first pair of skis, and pencilled in for his first ski lesson at Marble’s ski school at the age of three.
“I’m at school all week long, so I don’t get to get up (skiing), so the earlier I can get up and get on the hill the better,” Logan said earlier this week.
The Grade 6 student at Corner Brook Intermediate is involved in a number of sports, including taekwondo, baseball and basketball, but it’s no secret that he’s in his comfort zone when he’s on a pair of skis.
He got his first taste of the sport by participating in the kids camp before moving on to the Krunchers program as he got older. He spent the past two years as a member of the alpine ski racing team at Marble.
This winter, he decided to make a change.
He traded in his racing skis for a new pair of twin tips because he wanted to try his hand at freestyle skiing.
His mom, Deanna, has watched him develop as a skier and witnessed his enthusiasm for racing down the hill. However, she believes her boy has a renewed interest in being on skis now that he’s got a taste of freestyle.
“He’s up and ready before anybody else moves in the house because he wants to be at the hill,” his mom said.
Logan attended a weekend technical clinic for freestyle last winter and realized it was something he could get used to.
He was quick to sign up when Marble Mountain ski school decided to offer a 10-week freestyle program this season to see if the sport could be brought back to life after being dormant on the west coast for a handful of years.
Logan had a confession to make while talking about his love for skiing. He said when he was coming up through the various alpine ski programs at the hill there were occasions where he and a few buddies would venture onto the side trails to hit the jumps and try some tricks.
The program, which has four recently certified coaches to oversee the development of 13 athletes registered for it, is entering its fourth week and Logan is having a blast.
“You get to try new tricks and push yourself to the limits,” he said.
How high can you go in the air is what really makes the sport exciting for him. While he pushes for a vantage point high from above, he also finds it somewhat scary to be suspended into freedom high above the snow.
“I don’t look down. I just look up or to the side. I just look at my landing.”
He’s hoping the numbers do the talking in due time. He wants others to join him on the hill because he hopes a freestyle team will be formed at Marble so he can come up with his own bag of tricks for another early morning rise without any motivation required.
