Trevor Kennison – Inspiring The Crew at Buller. Video
Mountainwatch | Video
Trevor Kennison is a sit skier who now lives in Winter Park, Colorado and one of most inspiring people you’ll ever meet. In 2014, at the age of 22, Trevor suffered a T11-12 spinal cord injury while snowboarding in the backcountry in Vail, leaving him paralysed from the waist down.
Trevor’s love of the mountains and passion for snowboarding gave him the motivation to get back on snow and through the assistance of adaptive foundations like the Adaptive Training Foundation and the High Fives Foundation he did just that and has been pushing what is possible on a sit-ski.
Mt Buller was stoked to welcome Trevor to the resort this spring , a trip that was in part inspired by his role with IKON Pass which he took for a spin both at Mt Buller and at Thredbo. It was also about sharing an Australian ski adventure with his partner Kelly who was coaching mogul athletes in NSW this southern winter, in a change of scene from their usual home in Winter Park.
Trevor brought his special brand of positivity and good vibes when he rolled into the village and joined us on the slopes for a few slush-bumping, sun-soaked days. While the snow may have been low tide, Trevor was happy have the opportunity to go skiing during his summer share his joy for skiing with like-minded Buller locals.
“Skiing makes me whole and it makes my heart very happy just sliding on snow. Whether we’re doing moguls to jumps or just skiing it doesn’t matter, ” Trevor explains. “Just being out there it gives me that freedom just like anyone else and for me that’s it’s super powerful.”
The freedom Trevor unlocks on his sit-ski is next level, as the local crew in Skyline Park discovered when he joined them for a few morning laps. After scoping out the features Trevor pulled out a backflip and the shout that went up from the crew could be heard up and down Baldy.
“After seeing all the socials of Trevor backflipping terrain parks, I really wondered if there was going to be an opportunity to capture him doing one here on Mt Buller,” Harro said. “On his run through the Skyline Terrain Park he simply sent a straight air on the biggest jump and gave it the tick approval for a back flip, so that’s what he did!
“The rest of the day was spent ‘exploring’ Buller with Hannes Grimus,” Harro adds. “Not that there was much terrain open but we found some semi bush-whacking lines for his sit ski to charge down off the side of the Summit and onto the Howqua Extension. Trevor just loves going skiing and has such a good time while he does. It was such a fun day.”
If you’re not already following Trevor on social media or are one of the three people in the world who missed that jaw-dropping moment when he dropped in Corbett’s Couloir during the King & Queens event back in 2019, click on the links above and learn more about this rad skier and inspiring human.
“Trevor is of the most focused, passionate, committed athletes I’ve ever been fortunate to meet,” is how Harro describes Trevor. “He has overcome massive hurdles to fuel self-belief, inspiration and hope for what is possible in not only himself, but many others – both able and disabled persons.”
