World Cup freestyle skier Étienne Geoffrey-Gagnon started the season on a ‘high’ note in Switzerland recently.

The Yukon freestyler just missed out on the big air final.

The Star reached Geoffrey-Gagnon Thursday in France, where he was taking part in rock-climbing and visiting relatives (his mom Sylvie was born in France). The rock climbing was part of a course that involves doing multiple activities, including kayaking.

Geoffrey-Gagnon was heading to Austria to resume training in a few days.

He’s looking to make his mark after a so-so season last year.

“Last season I got a few good results, but maybe not exactly what I was looking for. I think a lot of people were taking the season off right after the Olympics. I had just come back from my knee injury from the season prior so it was interesting. I skied a decent amount and I got some results, but I feel like I maybe didn’t ski my best and I was maybe a little bit more timid than I have been in the past. So I was kind of easing back into it.

“And now we have a couple of new young guns that are going for it and I feel like I spent a good summer skiing and kind of just doing what I usually do. So I feel pretty good going into this season, and strong and mentally ready, so I’m pretty excited to get things underway.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon was suffering from a bone bruise on his meniscus two seasons ago in January.

“I did what I could but I felt like I wasn’t at the level that I had been prior. Maybe not so much physically but more mentally.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon said he got a lot of skiing in this past summer, including skiing on a glacier at Whistler, B.C. until the end of July and at a big training camp in New Zealand in August.

“Definitely a lot more skiing than I’ve been doing the last three seasons and a lot more preparation … so it feels good.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon was thinking he wanted to focus more on slopestyle, but then his perspective changed a little bit in Chur, Switzerland at the first event of the season Oct. 19-20.

“People are starting to kind of branch out a little bit and give it more focus on one more thing to put more effort into it and just to try and get some some better results.

“But I was with the team, and there was a big air event that they went to in Switzerland and I’ve been doing some air bagging with the team. I guess one of the athletes that was gonna compete ended up getting a concussion on the air bag, so a spot opened up last-second. I’d been training some new stuff. So I took the opportunity to jump back in there.

“I got to work on some new stuff on kind of a scary jump that we’re not so used to, the scaffolding jumps, kind of the city big air that they do, a little bit more on the sketchy side and a little bit different than what we’re used to. But I’ve done that event a few years prior so I kind of knew what to expect. And yeah, planted my tricks, landed some new stuff that I was working on and ended up getting a pretty decent score.

“Unfortunately for that event, they were only taking five people per heat into finals and I was sixth in the heat. So I ended up getting 11th, which was one spot out of making it to finals. And then they ended up canceling the finals because of rain. So I guess those results kind of stuck around.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon listed landing his big air trick as an early-season highlight so far.

“That’s my best big air result I think I’ve ever had. So that’s definitely a huge kind of momentum builder going into the season.”

He said it was a good result for his team ranking.

“Just proving that even if it’s not my specific strong suit, I can still perform, so it definitely feels good.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon said training on a new air bag in Austria has been a big advantage for him.

He said it “definitely gives us a huge bonus in terms of training. We’ve spent a lot of time this summer training on it compared to other years. I think that’s going to be a huge key for the season.”

Despite his success with big air, Geoffrey-Gagnon wanted to focus on slopestyle.

“I wanted to just spend a bit more energy towards something I’d be able to maybe get a podium in. But it turns out that we’re a pretty competitive team, and that the spots just aren’t that readily available. So at this point, I kind of just have to take whatever opens up.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon doesn’t have a spot yet for an upcoming World Cup in Stubai, Austria in three weeks.

“But I’m going to be around, I’m going to be training really hard and then if a spot ends up opening, I’ll do that and then if not, I’ll just continue to train. I should be getting some more spots for some slopestyle events starting January. Just because we’d have most of the tour coming around then.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon said the coaches have a little bit more say in who skis than they have in previous years. It’s not all based on ranking anymore.

“All I do is train hard and then prepare myself and when they give me the green light, I go for it.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon said they’re doing the big air events prior to Christmas, and then the slopestyle events start in January. He’ll be training until the start of December and then coming home to Whitehorse to train at Mount Sima.

“Lots and lots of skiing,” said Geoffrey-Gagnon. “And that’s been kind of a big boost compared to the last couple of seasons. I think we’ve kind of mixed up the trips a bit more, had a bit more time and it was a bit more leisure. Whereas I feel like I’m pretty focused this season and I’m pretty driven, so we’ll see where it goes.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon has also been doing some coaching with Yukon kids like Mavik McKinnon.

“I’m trying to help the local club as much as I can whenever I’m home.”

He said unfortunately, he won’t be there for the Yukon Canada Cup slopestyle/big air event at Sima in late November.

“I got to help out last season with that and that was pretty fun. And it was pretty cool to be able to give my way of doing things to the kids and to the other coaches and to show them what I see from my side. I definitely am going to come home and try and coach the team again. I think they definitely can use the help. It’s just good for everyone at the end of the day.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon does private lessons as well.

“There’s a few guys that have asked to to get some private skiing with me and then get coached and get some tips. So in between all of the madness that I do, it’s nice to be able to kind of tone it down and be a bit more observant and a bit more on the coaching side of things for sure. A different perspective.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon sees himself coaching full-time in the future.

“In the last few seasons I’ve completed all my my coaching courses to be able to have that opportunity. We’ll see. One of the big things that has been making me not like (the World Cup) as much recently is all the travelling and all the madness. So I wouldn’t mind coaching but it’d be more of a local thing on the weekends rather than being on the road all the time in coach mode, but I think that it would definitely be worth my time to be able to share my knowledge.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon is in his sixth World Cup season. However, COVID-19 put a damper on two of those seasons, along with his knee injury.

“It’s kind of been pretty messy. So it’s nice to get a bit more consistency this year. And then in terms of the future, kind of taking it season by season and seeing what happens. I don’t know if I’m going to try and go for the next Olympics that’s in three years in 2026. So for now, it seems pretty far away and there’s definitely a lot of other things that are kind of opening up for me. Six years on the tour is pretty good. I’m pretty happy with what I’ve done already. Obviously there’s some more goals.”

When asked if this is a make-or-break season for him on the World Cup, Geoffrey-Gagnon replied, “Yes and no. I think definitely if I don’t get the results that I’m looking for I’m probably most likely be moving on to either coaching or going to school, or doing some other stuff or making most likely ski projects and being a bit more on the film side of things.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon explained that athletes on the World Cup tour build a social media platform and get sponsorships.

“Once they’re done competing, then they can go into the filming a bit more.

“I’ve really enjoyed that side of skiing throughout my career, I’d say. I think obviously competing takes away a lot of time away from that. But I think that’s a big part of the sport. It’s kind of what I’m leaning towards a little bit more nowadays.

“If I get the result that I’m looking for to continue getting my funding. I could see myself doing another season. But if not, I’ll be going a different route.

“At the end of the season I guess I’ll see what I think about it all and if I still want to push, then I’ll continue pushing.”

Geoffrey-Gagnon gets most of his funding, which is results-based, through the freestyle team.

His local sponsors include Icycle Sports, Yukon Built, Total North and Ryanwood Explorations Inc.

Geoffrey-Gagnon was asked if he still feels like he’s representing the Yukon in his sixth season on the World Cup circuit.

“Definitely being on tour, wearing a bunch of Yukon Built stuff, I think is pretty cool. Definitely get a lot of questions. And it’s always been a huge boost to be able to tell people where I’m from.

He said it’s super cool. to be able to come home. and get another perspective of what everyone does in his home town.

“Obviously, when you first start out there’s a lot of hype around it. People are talking about it a lot and as you move along, if you don’t improve what you’ve been doing it kind of just kind of fades out.

“I feel like I’ve been at a point in my career where I’m getting pretty consistent in getting top 15s or top 20s but the thing I’ve really been looking for is the podium. Until I can get that podium, it’s kind of remained static. It’s cool to come home and obviously share everything but for me, it seems like if I’m not going for that podium, I don’t feel like I’m pushing.

“Obviously going for a podium is is a whole other level than getting a top 15, so I feel like at a certain point, you got to really give it all. You can only do that so much until it’s too much. So that’s kind of the point I’m at, is really giving everything I’ve got, pushing for those, and then if they don’t come, then maybe it’s time to move on to other stuff.

Geoffrey-Gagnon added a shout out to “everyone that’s at home supporting me and just a big thank you to everyone that still is interested in the story.

“It’s my sixth year. Not much has happened, I’d say, but when I come home and ski with with all the kids and stuff, that’s really what kind of brings me joy now. Hopefully, I can pursue some more of that.”