WILMINGTON — Freestyle skiing is a young dudes sport that continues to progress rapidly. About 15 years ago, Tanner Hall was the entire rave at the professional level for his Switch Cork 720s. Now, that 12-year-old at your local mountain is holding down the park with that trick.

Blame it on social media, online videos, the XGames, or easy-to-use film equipment; everything is more tangible than it ever was and probably will be even moreso come next month. Young skiers on twin tips are paying close attention to the complicated tricks being thrown by the pros and they’re doing their homework.

“It’s way out past the deep end,” said Justin Perry, the Head Freeride Coach for the New York Ski Educational Foundation.

A former competitor on the national level who now makes his own ski films, Perry introduced The Enterprise to some skiers who were practicing for the Empire State Winter Games Slopestyle event last weekend at Whiteface Mountain. Perry was the head judge for Sunday’s competition.

Devin Willis, of Chateaugay, said that freestyle skiers train hard, but there is nothing aggressive about the sport. “Basically, we’re hanging out and having fun with our friends,” he said. “We’re all having fun. It’s not that serious.”

Freestyle skiing has grown and evolved through friendly battle.

“Whether an event is sanctioned or not, skiers are competing with each other all of the time,” Perry said. “When one person lands a trick, that’s not enough for the next person — they have to do something different or add a 180, a flip, a grab — do something unique and make it their own.”

Avery Higgins-Lopez, of Ithaca, and Tyler Desmond, of Allendale, New Jersey, agreed on their hopes of pushing skiing to the highest level possible.

Andrew Bickley, a transplant from Michigan attending the Northwood School In Lake Placid, says that terrain parks are a main element at ski resorts. “It’s the new, creative cool. You can bring anything to the table and be completely innovative,” he said. “That’s the coolest thing about park riding — everyone is different and there is no normal. Anything you want to do, you can do it. You’re looked at for that.”

The term “cool” is thrown around a lot in society. What makes a freestyle skier cool?

“It’s about doing your own thing,” said Gavin Fritz, of Plattsburgh. “Developing new ways.”

Landing the most difficult stunt could make a skier be deemed cool, but Bickley says that is not always the case. “Some people can’t double flip, but they’re still known as great skiers because they’ve been in awesome films,” he said. “You don’t have to throw triple [flips] to be noticed. There’s so many different aspects now.”

^{_{Superman? Devin Willis, of Chateaugay, throws a front flip during practice for the Empire State Winter Games slopestyle competition at Whiteface Mountain last Saturday. Willis, 20, was the oldest skier in the event, and he scored 1,010 points. The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael}}

Perry said that freestyle skiing has the invention element, too. For example, if Whiteface puts a brand new rail in its terrain park, “every skier wants to hit that new rail first and be original,” he said. “They want to break ground and take ownership of something new by tweaking something that’s already been done.”

Freestyle skiing was an underground revolution that became fully realized as an Olympic sport in 2014 with a slopestyle competition in Sochi, Russia. Some of the original rebelliousness has been regulated, which Bickley finds to be somewhat of a contradiction.

Perry watched his first ski movie in 1998 and didn’t know exactly what to think when those future legends on twin tips started sliding sketchy rails and hitting hand-carved jumps, but he did know that he wanted to participate. “It was raw; they had the inspiration to do it, and they did it,” he said. “They made something happen. They took an idea and made it real.”

At the 2013 XGames, Henrik Harlaut had a perfect score of 50 when he landed a Switch Nose Butter Triple Cork 720 off of a 70-foot jump. Since a Cork is a 360 flip, Harlaut did the equivalent of an 1800. Starting with a Nose Butter, Harlaut sprung off the jump with the front tips of his skis, did three flips with a grab, and landed backwards.         

Higgins-Lopez didn’t need much more inspiration after watching that, saying, “It blew my mind.”

“That’s where the sport is these days,” Perry said. “It’s insane.”

^{_{Andrew Bickley leans forward while grinding down an S-rail at Whiteface Mountain last Saturday during practice for the Empire State Winter Games. Bickley, 16, who attends Northwood School in Lake Placid, scored 760 points in the slopestyle competition on Sunday. The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael}}

^{_{All crossed up: Gavin Fritz, of Plattsburgh, spins off of a jump last Saturday at Whiteface Mountain as snow blankets the sky in a wintry haze. During the slopestyle event on Sunday, Fritz, 16, got third place with a score of 820 points. The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael}}

^{_{Behind the back: Tyler Desmond, of Allendale, New Jersey, crosses his ski poles behind him while grinding a rail last Saturday at Whiteface Mountain. Desmond, 16, won his slopestyle group on Sunday with a total of 1,040 points. The Enterprise — Jordan J. Michael}}