Having competed in the Junior Olympics for the past two years, sophomore skier Mitch Forsythe hopes to carry on in freestyle skiing, both in competition and for fun.

Forsythe has been skiing for six years, and competing the last two years. “I ski freestyle, which is on rails and jumps, for a team called Nybora,” he said, “I’m also on the alpine ski team for BSM.”

Forsythe typically skis in Minnesota, at his favorite park, Hyland Hills, where his team is based and where he can ski on nicely groomed paths. “I like skiing on groomed paths at parks because they’re better, but powder is more fun,” said Forsythe.

Although he loves skiing, his parents were not always crazy about the idea of him taking on the sport. “Skiing was my choice,” said Forsythe, “my parents get nervous with all of the tricks and don’t like all the flips, and they also don’t like all the medical bills.”

With freestyle skiing, injuries are very common and often unavoidable while competing at a high level. Mitch has had his share of injuries, “I’ve sprained my shoulder and also broke my thumb,” said Forsythe.

His biggest accomplishment has been going to the Junior Olympics the past two years in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, where he competed with a team of midwest skiers. “I can compete in them until I’m eighteen, so I’ll compete for as long as I can,” said Forsythe.

At the last event, he completed in aerials, which consists of a single jump, and slopestyle, which is performed on specifically made trails at ski mountains. The goal of skiers that participate in a slopestyle even is to perform the most difficult tricks while also achieving the highest amplitude of the jumps. “I fell on one, and the events didn’t go as well as I hoped,” said Forsythe.

This summer, Forsythe will be traveling to Mount Hood in Oregon to practice and hopes to continue to improve his impressive skiing skills throughout the years. “I’ll continue to ski for the rest of my life,” he said, “right now I’m just having fun.”