After skiing multiple years at smaller resorts in Europe it was easy to think my skiing had reach the top level. It took a move around the world and to Whistler to realize that I had lots to learn. The average standard is so much higher in Whistler than anywhere else I have skied; it seems that every second chairlift has a sponsored local on it. With that in mind I decided to showcase a few locals who rip. I ran into Brett Crabtree in a local ski shop and soon realized he competed at the highest level, becoming world champ a few years back. You can check him out skiing in the movie, “Out of The shadows” Next on my list of getting schooled was a chance encounter with Kye Petersen. I was in the Whistler Blackcomb Terrain park and lining up to hit large spine when a small kid (This was a few years back) poached the line up, straight lined the jump and float a huge 540 over the whole spine. He landed switch, smoothly and without hesitation rode into the next jump. I thought he was not heavy enough to clear the landing! Wrong. Kye has now growna lot, is winning competition and staring in movies. Ian Cheddar Watson is another local you might meet on the chairlift, he lives in Pemberton but Blackcomb mountain is his home turf. His blog recounts his recent first descent on Mount Currie, the huge peak that dominates the Pemberton view. He has made numerous magazines and has skied some of the best lines around the North West.