MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Winter 2019

72 ML BLUE WINTER 2019 If you’ve been up Blue Mountain’s Orchard chair, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed Stefan Mortveit; he’s the guy rocking the old-school Pro-Tec skateboard helmet and no poles or goggles. He’s also one of the guys skiing fast, throwing tricks with style and generally making it all look way easier than it is. The 27-year-old grew up racing at Blue Mountain but as the years went by, he transitioned into freestyle skiing. Now, with his brother Erik, he’s turned skiing into a career with the Sterik’s Freestyle Ski & Snowboard Team. Mountain Life: So how’d you get into skiing? Stefan Mortveit: I started skiing when I was two. My dad was a Norwegian ski racer back in the day. We’re second-generation Canadian. It was kind of passed down from our grandfather and my dad was on the Southern Ontario Division on the club level racing team. My mom was skiing all through her pregnancy, so we were in it from the beginning. We grew up doing the classic Escarpment racing series. I was pretty successful there, I went all the way to the Ontario team, did IN IT FROM THE BEGINNING Stefan Mortveit was born to ski and pass it on words :: Colin Field ATHLETE PROFILE Skateboard-infused skiing. ALEX TRKULJA