COLWOOD -- Beyond the bustle of the tube rides and chairlifts, on the backside of Mt. Washington is where J.R. claims he and his friends first saw it.

“I thought it was a bear at first. I was like, ‘We need to get out of here!’” J.R. says, before showing me a video of a creature with dark fur moving behind some trees. “Then all of a sudden this sasquatch comes barrelling through the trees.”

But rather than being confrontational, J.R. says the creature seemed curious about their skis.

“Then it breaks off two branches, straps them to its feet and starts throwing itsself down the mountain like us!” J.R. smiles.

Cue that old chewing gum TV commercial: “The taste is going to move you...”

Perhaps because there was no gum to “sniff” or “pull-out,” the Sasquatch’s branches made him look like the exact opposite of the effortless skiers in the Juicy Fruit ad.

“We were like, ‘No, no, no!’” J.R. says. “We need to get this sasquatch fitted for some skis.

So, with skis shined-up, they hit the slopes together.

“He skied with us the whole way,” J.R says. “He even passed one of our best skiers at one point!”

Although the creature they named Sassy looks like somebody wearing a Sasquatch costume, J.R. and his friends aren’t saying that. Instead, they are recording their escapades in the snow and sharing them on the ‘Sassy The Sasquatch’ Instagram page.

Most of the videos show the sasquatch jumping and flipping before crashing spectacularly in the snow.

“I think he’s the best at wiping out!” J.R. smiles.

Which brings us to the day I discovered J.R. and the creature – wearing skis – training on a grassy slope in Colwood.

“The conditions may not be the best here,” J.R says, before pushing Sassy down the hill and watching him tumble at the bottom. “But he’s never afraid I to try.”

Although I tried to secure an exclusive with the elusive beast, my camera mysteriously couldn’t record the interview. Our IT guy says it’s an ‘ID10T user’ error. Luckily, Sassy’s cave has Wi-Fi and he agreed to tell his story over Skype.

“I came to Canada after I was captured by the C.I.A. and spent time at Area 51,” Sassy says in a gruff, yet enthusiastic voice.

He says that — after being named World Hide and Seek Champion — he started pursuing his new goal of spreading joy on skis.

“When you go down the mountain it’s so fun!” Sassy says.

Sassy has released videos of himself sharing that fun by helping who he calls “little human friends.” There’s also pictures of the hairy beast offering respite to his feathered friends; the real birds are sitting on his head.

The only thing that’s not so fun is mistaking a human skiing in a banana costume for a slope-side snack. The video shows Sassy pursuing the banana down the run, before grabbing on to him and crashing together into the snow.

“It doesn’t matter if you fall down, make a goal and get back up!” Sassy says, when I ask what the greatest lesson he’s learned from skiing is. “No matter what, have a good time!”

No matter how big your feet — Sassy seems to show us — if you believe in yourself, you’ll find the best is Yeti to come.