‘Age is not a limit’: Canadian freerider leaving mark on, off hill

BANFF (660 NEWS) — Snowboard freeriding is not for the faint of heart — taking on ungroomed powder on steep, mountainous slopes at ridiculously high rates of speed.

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How about taking on that colossal challenge on a daily basis as the oldest female on the 2020 Freeride World Tour?

“I hope I can inspire and motivate other women that age is not a limit. It’s a state of mind,” Banff’s Michelle Locke recently told 660 NEWS. At 41, there are riders half her age on tour, but Locke is currently the world number five and is the second-highest ranked Canadian.


FULL INTERVIEW: 660 NEWS’ Sandra Prusina catches up with Canada’s Michelle Locke


As the oldest competitor, male or female, she credits her vast experience for helping her along the way.

“I was 12 when I started snowboard in Newfoundland,” she recalled. “Back then, there wasn’t such a thing as snowboard parks. We were hand-building quarterpipes. We had snowboards with duct tape running and Sorel boots. It was very primitive at that stage 30 years ago.”

READ MORE: ‘People are ready’: Dayna Spiring’s journey to Grey Cup history

Her snowboarding prowess has taken her across the globe, and Locke says she has no plans of slowing down.

“I’m 41, but I don’t feel that,” she admitted. “I feel like coming from Banff, where age is just a number, and people are getting out there every day and crushing. I feel like I’m not that old.”

She also credits her sponsors for believing in her.

 

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