Mountain People Episode 20

Jeff St. Aubin reached out to Boyne Mountain on social media to let us know that Dan Turcott's biggest fan, daughter Emma, was coming to Boyne Mountain for Canadian Week. The St. Aubin Family has made the annual trek from Thorold, ON (Niagara Region) to Boyne Mountain for the national break since 2015. Emma was 11 years old when they first visited and had never skied before.

"My hockey coach had been coming here and had told us about it," said Emma. "I picked skiing because it's a lot like hockey in terms of how you move." Emma's mother, Amy, had skied in high school, but hadn't been on the snow since; her father, Jeff, had skied once before. "We all enrolled in lessons right from the beginning," said Amy. "We found that was the right fit for us. Every year we've seen the improvement."

Emma has been an avid viewer of the Boyne Mountain Buzz sharing the videos with her parents on a weekly basis. "I found the Boyne Mountain Instagram, started following and watching the Buzz," Emma explained. "Now Dan [Turcott] is a household name." Amy added, "We're at the dinner table and Emma will say, 'Mom, Boyne got so many centimeters of snow this week. It's been the whole progression of knowing what the weather has been like then making our way here."

"The Clocktower feels like home - nice and relaxing then I can go skiing all day," smiled Emma. Amy noted that Jeff and her take shifts on the slopes just to keep up with Emma.

Undeterred by a surgery in December 2018, Emma took her road to recovery seriously to ensure that she'd be in peak condition for her ski vacation. Patience and hard work paid off as she took first place in the intermediate and adult groups for the Canadian Race Competition. The St. Aubins plan to return in 2020 with more Canadian families in tow.

Emma assisted Dan Turcott with an episode of the Boyne Mountain Buzz.