Luke Van Valin plans to give voice to the fearless

Sometime this winter, if you’re watching the Winter X Games or another professional skiing event, you might hear a familiar voice.

Luke Van Valin, 22, originally of Hayden, recently signed on as an announcer.

It’s the latest stop in the professional career of the Utah-based freestyle skier, who started out at Mt. Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park when he was 4. Skiing has taken him to Switzerland, France, Sweden and Norway. It has landed him in two movies. His clothing, skis, goggles, sunglasses and boots are all paid for by sponsors, and he has a travel budget for competitions.

“All the time, I’m just like, ‘Wow, here I am doing this,’ ” said Van Valin, who is based at Alta Ski Resort, near Salt Lake City. “I think about it all the time.”

Van Valin remembers a definitive turning point when, as a teenager living in Sandpoint, he saw the ski video “13.” It featured French and Canadian freestyle skiers doing crazy tricks on twin-tipped skis.

“I was just glued to the screen. It was just over from that point forward,” Van Valin said. “I tried to learn every trick.”

He spent his days learning tricks and jumps at Schweitzer Mountain Resort in Sandpoint. After graduating from Lakeland High School, he thought of heading to college in San Francisco to be close to Lake Tahoe ski resorts, but his mother encouraged him to give his dream a try. So he moved to California and began skiing at Mammoth Mountain on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range.

“I started picking up sponsors, and people started to film me,” Van Valin said.

His big break came when Powder magazine held its annual Superpark event about a year after he moved to California. The event was held in early May at Mount Hood Meadows Ski Resort.

“A friend called me and said, ‘Dude, you gotta get down here.’ I went down and skied for like three days and tore it up and ended up getting a ski sponsor and a full-page spread in one of Powder’s magazines,” Van Valin said. “After that, I was pretty set with sponsors.”

This area has talented skiers and boarders, Van Valin said. But taking it to the next step requires perseverance.

“It’s all you hoped it would be, but you’ve got to want it. You have to work your little tail off to get it,” Van Valin said. “Moving to an area where there’s a big scene and a lot of eligible photographers is a huge part of making the next step.”