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Marcus Goguen and WeiTien Ho check out a day's work in the BC backcountry. | Photo: Jeremy Allen
It may have appeared that this lethal freeride duo out of British Columbia popped onto the Freeride World Tour scene overnight. For those of us paying attention, their paths have been a decade long journey built on friendship, progression, and podium finishes. Buddies since their ski school days, Marcus and WeiTien share a backyard playground (Sea to Sky), competitive spirit, and endless laughs. New additions to TGR’s Global Optics Team, get ready to track the meteoric rise of these two freeride ski talents. Watch their episode of Legends In The Making.
What was it like growing up in the Sea to Sky?
Marcus (M): I used to live in Vancouver and my family had a cabin up in Whistler so we’d come up every weekend. We moved up to Whistler full time when I was eight and the Sea to Sky raised me. I love living here, skiing and biking pretty much whenever you want. I don’t think I could ever return to a city lifestyle.
WeiTien (W): I was born in Vancouver and grew up in Whistler. The Sea to Sky has been my home ever since I was four years old. It’s pretty much paradise on earth. Both of my parents are into the backcountry and getting out in nature. They got me on skis at two years old, my dad would ski behind me and hold onto me with a little rope.
Tell us about what makes Sea to Sky extra.
M: It's pretty awesome being in these big mountains, having the ability to just walk out your back door and go biking, skiing and exploring these cool zones. It’s super unique because we have the mountains up in Whistler where we can shred, and then come down to Squamish to bike, with the ocean right there. You can do everything. It’s so full of life.
NORAM CHAMP WeiTien Ho (centre) topped the IFSA North American Junior Freeride Championships in Golden on April 12, 2019 while teammate Marcus Goguen (second from left) was the runner-up. | Photo courtesy of Pique News Magazine
So you two met when you were eight years old?
M: I've been skiing with Wei my whole life, ever since Ultimate Eights (a local ski school program). We’ve been shredding and pushing each other, pushing the limits together. It's been a great time.
W: So Marcus’s basically my brother from another mother. We both love to do the same things. We feed off of each other. I definitely would not be in the same place without him. We don't even have to talk about what we're going to do. We just know the other person is going to do something that's going to push our limits.
W: Oh, sometimes it can be annoying. There’s been times on a comp run where we might not share any beta, but we know we're looking at the same line, the same features.
#BFFs for life. | Photo: Jeremy Allen
What’s your favorite thing about each other?
M: My favorite thing about Wei? Oh, that's a hard one. There's so many things I love about him. I love that we can just shred around and piggy back off each other, figuring out lines together. And Wei’s always the one to do the thing that's super sick. It's always going to be a good time when I'm out with Wei.
W: We ski together all the time. We bike ride together. We go to school together. We spend a lot of time together. It’s pretty cool to see Marcus’s progression. He’s riding the wave right now.
Marcus charging in the BC Backcountry. | Photo: Jeremy Allen
How’d your winter start?
M: I'd been shredding locally around the resort in Whistler. TGR called and we headed to Grand Targhee for IPRW (International Pro Rider Workshop) in December. We did a quick film trip (in the Sierra) to get some powder. For the rest of the season, there was Junior Worlds in Austria and a whole bunch of competing. I was just trying to jam as much filming in as I could between comps.
You headed into the British Columbia backcountry with Nick McNutt. Tell us about it.
M: This is my first backcountry film shoot with TGR. I'm super excited and looking forward to getting into some new zones and just have some fun sending it.
W: I haven't spent much time in BC backcountry which is kind of crazy since I grew up here. I'm super excited to check out some new zones and line up some cool lines.
M: It’s pretty surreal. Hard to wrap my head around it because not that long ago I was looking up to him (Nick McNutt) on a screen, and now to get the chance to actually ski with him. It’s definitely pretty cool. I know that he does a little big of everything. He’s good at switch skiing and often has a different view on sizing up features. I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes through his process, figuring out what he's going to do throughout each line.
W: I got one day in the resort with Nick last year, we had a good time given the pretty crappy conditions. I couldn’t wait to do more skiing with him. There was one shoot day when we skinned up from where we parked the sleds. Alex (Armstrong) spotted this kind of alleyway with a pretty dreamy stair staircase. Nick just bee-lined it up to the top and sent it, landing switch in powder. Pretty mind blowing stuff.
W: I remember watching his videos when I was a kid with his notorious switch skiing. It was cool to see him do it in person, I still don't know how he really does it. Then another thing, Nick’s on it until the last light of day. Like I'm thinking I’m done for the day and he's just right back to the top. He pretty much lapped us. It's pretty impressive to see that he's still going so strong.
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Putting the sky in "Sea to Sky". | Photo: Jeremy Allen
What was the zone like?
M: It was a bit of everything. Good tree skiing, good pillow lines, lots of fun side hits. As you moved up the alpine, there were spines, big cliffs and lots of ridge lines. So much great terrain to train and play in.
W: I was most excited about skiing pillow lines. I think I've always just seen segments of pillow lines and on the resort you can't really find that many big pillow lines that set up nicely.
Wei finds the pillows soft and fluffy. | Photo: Jeremy Allen
Some good lessons?
W: Definitely some takeaways from this trip: in the backcountry, there’s no patrol, you're not in the resort anymore. I had a steep learning curve around sledding. The whole crew had to dig me out a few times. My sled caught on fire. Getting pelted with ice chunks while skiing behind the sled. Basically it’s not as easy as it looks. Going into next season, I’ll be stronger on the sled.
Wei vs. Snowmachine | Photo: Jeremy Allen
Who are your ski legends?
M: I’ve been looking up to Logan Pehota and Markus Eder since seeing their videos. Logan’s a local and Markus with “The Ultimate Run”, that show just blew my mind. I want to be able to make a project like that one day when I'm older. I also strive to be like my coaches from the Whistler Freeride Club. They're always there to help, on and off the ski hill, and I can't thank them enough for all their support. More personally, I’ve always looked up to my uncle Thomas Grandi. He's in the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame for alpine racing (GS, Slalom). You could say that ski racing is in my blood and genes.
W: Early on, I watched Nick when I was younger. I've watched Sammy Carlson and Candide (Thovex) to this day. Logan (Pehota) lives close to Whistler, and has come out with the ski club a few times. It was pretty cool to have him show us around as kids.
W: At the resort, I remember when Julian Carr and Stan Rey simultaneously hit Air Jordan. Julian just gapped it with a massive front flip, and Stan was close behind skiing the classic route with a back flip. Probably one of the most legendary stories growing up
Marcus celebrating a year filled with highs.| Photo: Jeremy Allen
Are you living your dream?
M: I’ve wanted to be a pro skier ever since I started skiing, on the hill or just skiing the driveway. Right now, I want to get onto the Freeride World Tour and film in-between. It’s a bit to manage, they’re such different and unique experiences, I’d love to see if I can make both possible.
M: As for the future, I’m still deciding. It’s pretty sweet that I'm able to get out here and film with one of the biggest ski film companies in the world. It’s so amazing. I want to ski, bike and just have fun. The main goal is just to have fun.
W: I've always taken skiing seriously. Then it kind of progressed and I started to realize: Oh My God, maybe I could do this for real. I mountain bike in the summer. I graduated last spring and decided to take a gap year to really hone in and focus on skiing and biking. I plan on going back to school, but finding a school where I can pursue my skiing and biking is a little tricky. I’ll keep grinding, keep progressing. I’m most at peace with myself when I'm outside. It takes away from the stress of life, of school and stuff. I just love being in the mountains.
