Caleb Mullen

Mullen finishes 7th at World Freeskiing Championships

SANDPOINT — Sandpoint resident and long-time freeskier Caleb Mullen finished seventh out of 70 competitors last weekend at the Subaru Freeskiing World Championships in Alyeska, Alsaska.

Mullen, 31, works as a groomer at Schweitzer and has been competing in the niche sport of freeskiing for 11 years. Much like its name suggests, it’s an extreme form of skiing, often on steep slopes and surrounded by rock outcroppings, free of any artificially set limits or boundaries.

“Pretty much flowing down the mountain,” explained Mullen on Monday. “You get to choose your own line.”

Mullen counts winning the prestigious “Sick Bird” award at a competition in 2002, given to the most spirited skier, and finishing third at the 2006 Canadian Freeskiing Championships among his biggest achievements. He said just going to a new area and checking out the terrain was the highlight of last weekend’s championships.

Sadly, the competition was marred by the death of 27 year-old John Nicoletta, from Aspen, Colorado, who tumbled down the steep Headwall below Alyeska Peak. It was only the second in-competition death in the 17 year existence of the sport. Mullen said the death couldn’t help but have an effect on everyone involved in the sport, which is inherently dangerous by nature.

“We obviously push it to the limits, but we have an idea of what is beyond our limits. He wasn’t beyond his limits, just tumbled in the wrong spot,” said Mullen, noting the tragedy could have happened to anyone. “I like to believe when it’s your time, it’s your time. We love what we do, that’s why we keep doing it.”

A thrill-seeking nature is a family trait for Mullen. His twin brother Teague was recently a world class wakeboarder and competitive snowboarder, and his father Owen Mullen was a professional mogul skier in Steamboat Springs back in the day.

“He was sponsored by Jose Cuervo and wore a bright yellow suit,” said Mullen of his father, a real estate agent in Sandpoint. “They called him ‘wrong way Mullen’ because he would always fly off his course and end up in the wrong one.”