22-year-old ski-cross racer Mikayla Martin passed away on the evening of October 1 following a mountain bike accident in her hometown of Squamish, BC. She was riding in the Slhaney Trail system behind Stawamus Chief Provincial Park.
“We wish to express our most sincere condolences to Christine and James, Mikayla’s parents, as well as her entire family and circle of friends,” said Vania Grandi, President and CEO of Alpine Canada in a
release. “Mikayla embodied a love of skiing and passion for ski cross that were boundless and words can’t express how sorely she’ll be missed.”
Mikayla grew up in Squamish B.C and developed into a promising alpine ski racer as a member of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club. She switched to Ski Cross following the 2016-2017 alpine racing season and quickly made a name for herself in her new sport, joining the national team in 2017.
In the summer of 2018, Mikayla was crowned FIS World Junior Champion in Cardrona, New Zealand. Proving that she was among the best up-and-coming athletes in North America and internationally, Mikayla was given the opportunity to make the jump to the World Cup circuit last winter. She achieved two top-10 results at the beginning of the 2019 season including a career-best 6th place at the World Cup in Innichen, Switzerland. Her successes earned her a spot on the Canadian team for World Championships at Solitude, USA last February.
She was poised to race on the World Cup circuit during the 2020-21 season.
"The death of Mikayla is a huge loss for the community of Squamish and an immense loss for her family and friends and our thoughts are with them," says Sergeant Sascha Banks. "It can't be stressed more that adventuring in Squamish comes with inherent risks. We can only ask that you take that one more risk assessment, one more second to check the geographics, one more look at your equipment, and one more conversation about what the plan is. We all want people to live doing what they love."
The full statement from the Squamish RCMP can be found
here.
Squamish Mayor Karen Elliott had this to say.
“In a town that celebrates mountain adventure, we are heartbroken to hear of the loss of this young life, so filled with talent and promise. On behalf of the District of Squamish, I wish to extend our sincere condolences to Mikayla’s family and friends, and to all Squamish locals who will mourn for her in the wake of this tragic outcome.”
Our thoughts are with Mikayla's friends and family.
[video--holy shit this is insanely exposed riding]
www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1925310530910533
Pure love to Mikayla--Spinning 26" at Winter Park bike park for you today. You wont be forgotten--we will shred in your honor. No limit. We were born unicorns
@formula411: not the time or the place.
Condolences to friends and family
This is something the BASE jumping/wingsuit community does very well. Whilst showing proper respect to the vicitm, analysing and publishing what occurred so others may learn.
www.blincmagazine.com/forum/wiki_index.php?title=BASE_Fatality_List
We don't know what happened here, but I will say based on where this accident took place it involved a high-consequence piece of trail - not much in terms of "equipment" would have changed the situation once it started. Emergency planning maybe, but it's all assumptions. What is not up for debate is that it is an absolute tragedy.
www.google.com/amp/s/vancouversun.com/news/local-news/world-cup-ski-cross-racer-dies-in-squamish-mountain-biking-accident/amp
Also, ditto the comments about being prepared and having the things you might need, our group had to backboard out a member of our party earlier this summer, in fading light, only a couple of us had jackets and all had left headlamps at home...luckily we were really close to town to be able to get some gear quick and help with the extraction, but it was a stark reminder of how quickly things can go wrong, and how even being close to town is still really far away from getting someone to help.
Condolences to friends and family, such a terrible thing to happen.
So while we constantly endeavour to make mtb’ing safer through gear, trail building, whatever, the main of aspect danger mitigation is the rider.
Condolences to her family.
But the on a nihilist note... some people run out of talent, some run out of skill, then everyone runs out of luck at some point. DO NOT FORGET THAT. BEcause I assure you, if you have her death in the back of your head next time you ride a trail she rode... you are more likely to crash. Doubt is a program running in the back of your head messing up your ability to act efficiently. A person that is confident is far more likely to execute complex movements correctly with right timing. If you are unsure where to break, guess what, your hesitation costs you a couple of valuable meters. Ability to put aside worries of everyday life, particularly existential angst and fear when intending to do something potentially dangerous, using fear related anxiety to focus, to visualize what you are about to do (and if you can't then spend more time on easier fatures until it feels like it's easy), is the single most important lesson we take from our and others misfortune.
Take care folks of Squamish. Ride safe - ride confident.
You said it well, we take this risk on board and act accordingly. Myself today, not on steep trails but very narrow as f gorge single tracks which are off camber and loose as, being wary and letting off the brakes when I know I have a reasonable chance of not flying over the edge.
Mikayla, may you be riding and skiing and loving what you did in life in the next. Condolences to those who have lost this bright star in their life.
I personally know details of the accident and the deceased so it pains me to see people paint Mikayla in a way that does a disservice to her riding ability or risk management skills. Many of the people posting are speculating on what happened and that is a very hurtful thing to do.
Again, this is a dangerous sport and shit happens. I’d rather ride on the edge of a cliff than be an a*shole telling other MTBers to be careful, because I doubt anyone goes: what’s the worst could happen, hold my beer unless they had 4 beers already.
I am in no way encouraging censorship. Rational discourse is always beneficial. What is never beneficial is name called (for example calling someone a communist). As I mentioned above, I have absolutely no problem talking about the dangers of sport. There are a few things I do take issue with. Among those are people claiming they know what happened and where it occurred when they do not. The details have not been released, speculation by those who do not know the intimate details solves nothing.
I understand the primal need to make yourself feel more secure by justifying how something this terrible could happen to somebody else, and why it won't happen to you by labeling their actions as wreck-less or unreasonably dangerous. You are remiss if you think I will allow you to do so with without recourse on a thread where others are grieving the death of a young woman gone too soon. I am sorry you have allowed your own insecurities and fear to color you views of the world and have allowed yourself to stoop to the sophomoric level as indicated by your post above.
What a shame this story is. Mikalya was well known in the area, and this loss will be felt deep. Far too young to RIP
My condolences to Mikalya's friends and family...
We are going to ride again at Blue Mountain and I am super worried for him this time around. These accidents have ruined his confidence as well and he never wants to go out riding anymore and doesnt want to ride downhill again (this is the last time he is going).
When I ride behind him in trails, I see so many mistakes hes making (mostly he sits down too much on downhill sections, and gets bucked around), but its difficult to tell him hes doing something wrong as he is stubborn and i don't want to discourage him.
Fitness also helps a lot, cross training by running the same trail he rides. A skills course couldn't hurt.
The reason he wants to try downhill again even after his serious crashes is because he HATES climbing. He doesn't enjoy it one bit. I am trying to get him into an ebike (don't flame, he has two bad knees and walks every uphill section) so he can keep up with us in our local XC trails. He likes the opportunity to ride downhill without pedaling. So I hope learning the trails at a slower pace will allow him to ride downhill more and give him back his confidence.
He regrets not getting into mountain biking at my age. He spent his whole life being grumpy and sitting on a couch after work. Mountain biking is our Father son bonding time that we didn't get as much when I was a kid. So "selling his bike because he's old" as one person said isn't an option.
I appreciate all the positive feedback!
My dad likes to be out in nature though so I have been working on getting him on a gravel bike. There are lots of fun ways to enjoy life in nature on two wheels with a bit lower risk.
It was a learning experience for both of us since I hadn't road downhill in 10 years and him ever. This time around we have complete body protection and full face helmets. Again, our mistake.
Remember with the natural blue trails at Blue, (Embryo, Fresh, Raisin, Ridge) the mellow stuff is East and the farther West (closer to the lift) you go on the hill the steeper the trail. Tell your dad, good luck from another 55 year old and next year he can join the seasons pass club.
Main thing is he has to learn to get his ass off the saddle going down and use his body.
Maybe also sit down with him and watch some YT vids on skills, be it Skills with Phil or Tom Cardy teaching his girlfriend how to ride. You can learn a lot from what is up now days.
BTW, being in your 50's isn't old. 60 and 70 year olds are sending it down Whistler or on Motorcycle Race Tracks. Just have to have fitness and flexibility behind you to keep going. With bung knees, I'd also recommend the eBike option - something like a Commencal Meta Power 29
Anyway, it's distressing to see the same issue crop up in MTB. I figure the lower speeds would lead to maybe some injuries (obviously), but the life and death nature of making mistakes compared to going 60 MPH on a road with other cars, two way traffic, various hard things that won't budge would be less severe.
From Miki's Aunt, Julie:
"The loss of Mikayla has left a huge hole in our lives. Our hearts are devastated. Her Mom and Dad and younger sister are desperately trying to figure out a way to navigate this new world that no longer has this beautiful young woman in it. We all are. It was our older brother who came up with the idea of this Memorial Fund. It is our intention to fund a scholarship to give to another promising young athlete who displays those same qualities of passion and exuberance and dedication and friendship and camaraderie. To help ease the financial burden that goes along with being an elite athlete in Canadian sport. Equipment, coaching, training and traveling along with other associated costs can be a tremendous strain on the family of athletes rising to the highest level in Canadian sport. We, her family, would love to see this become a permanent endowment to help young Canadian athletes, and any amount you can donate would be greatly appreciated.
...James & Christine asked Ollie to write down his account of the day so that we could share it with you, in the hope that it will do for you what it did for us; take away the questions, provide some closure, and allow us to focus on our happy memories of her amazing life.
What follows is Ollie's accounting of their day, from beginning to end. We thank him for his bravery in retelling this story so many times, and we hope it will comfort you the way it has us."
#RideLikeMiki