In the lead-up to this month’s Winter Games, television viewers have been inundated with NBC commercials touting Shaun White, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in men’s halfpipe snowboarding.

But the best American snowboarder in the halfpipe this season — based on results — is Ben Ferguson, of Bend. He finished on the podium in three of the four Olympic-qualifying contests, and he was the first U.S. men’s halfpipe rider to qualify for the 2018 games, which start with preliminary events Thursday in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Still, Ferguson will enter the Olympic snowboarding halfpipe event next week as an unknown underdog, at least to casual viewers. Those who follow competitive snowboarding will know that the 22-year-old who grew up riding Mount Bachelor has been one of the most consistent halfpipe riders this season and could win a medal.

“I think I have a decent chance, but other riders are really, really strong,” said Ferguson, reached in Colorado last week before leaving for South Korea to make his Olympics debut.

“It’ll be tough for sure. It would be awesome to get a medal, but who knows? It should be a heavy contest. I think I’ve kind of always been an underdog. But it doesn’t bum me out or anything — it’s kind of cool. I don’t know if it’s an advantage … maybe a little. I’ll come in under the radar.”

Ferguson started snowboarding at age 6 at Mt. Bachelor ski area, and he remembers his first time riding the halfpipe.

“It was pretty wild,” he recalled. “The thing was big. I didn’t really know what I was doing. It was exciting and intimidating at the same time.”

But he said it was riding the slopes at Bachelor that really sharpened the skills that brought him a pro career.

“I spent a lot of time up there for sure,” Ferguson said. “I have a lot of good memories. Mainly just the free-ride days, riding the mountain and having fun with boarding. That really taught me how to be a real snowboarder and use the board the way you’re supposed to — taught me how to use my edges.”

Ferguson played soccer and was a wrestler as a youngster, and he played one year of football at Bend’s Mountain View High School. But snowboarding was always his true passion.

While Ferguson spends much of each winter training in Colorado, where many of the resorts feature 22-foot halfpipes every year, last year it was a return to his home mountain that put him on the path toward an Olympic berth.

Crews at Bachelor built a halfpipe last spring near the Rainbow chairlift for Ferguson and his younger brother Gabe, also a competitive halfpipe rider, to use as their personal training ground. With that part of the mountain closed to the public that late in the season, the Fergusons used snowmobiles to get to the top of the pipe after each training run.

“It took a lot of hard work last spring and summer, so I’m super stoked,” Ferguson said of his Olympic qualification.

Ferguson said he did not really start thinking about the Olympics in earnest until those training sessions with his younger brother.

“That was awesome,” he said. “That was the best. They did a good job with the halfpipe, and it was awesome sleeping in my own bed and getting to ride a halfpipe.”

It was the same for Gabe Ferguson, now 18, who failed to qualify for the Winter Games this year but should be a contender again in 2022.

“When Bachelor built us a pipe, it was like, holy moly, we’re actually doing this,” Gabe Ferguson said. “I’m super stoked for him (Ben). He’s riding so consistent. He’s been working hard, and he’s had this goal set. His mind is in the right spot, and he just went for it and got it done.”

The Bend brothers have long pushed and supported each other in pursuit of their goals in halfpipe snowboarding, a sport in which riders are judged on the creativity, amplitude, and execution of tricks performed as they soar in and out of the pipe. The Fergusons say they are more than brothers — they are travel buddies and riding buddies.

“The key to success is having fun and doing it with your buddies,” Ben Ferguson said.

Ben Ferguson grew up idolizing halfpipe snowboarders Danny Kass (Olympic halfpipe silver medalist in 2002 and 2006) and Danny Davis (a two-time X Games gold medalist who did not make the U.S. Olympic team this year), but not so much White, the biggest name in the history of competitive snowboarding.

“It’s just another competitor, you know?” Ferguson said of White.

Ferguson arrived in Seoul this past Sunday, while his brother traveled to Europe to “go ride powder.” Ben Ferguson said his parents and two uncles are planning to travel to South Korea to watch him compete against the greatest halfpipe snowboarders in the world. His U.S. teammates, including White, Jake Pates and Chase Josey, could be among his strongest competition. Japanese rider Ayumu Hirano and Australian Scotty James are also among the medal favorites.

“There’s a lot of good snowboarders and kind of on any given day it depends on who’s riding the best,” Ferguson said.

To win a medal next week, Ferguson said he will have to execute to perfection the run he has been performing this season, and possibly even add a new trick. His current run includes a cab double 1080 (three rotations and two inversions), a double crippler (two inverted 540-degree spins), and a switch McTwist (a flipping backside 540).

He said he hopes to attend the opening ceremonies in Pyeongchang on Friday night, but because of early practice in the halfpipe the following day he was unsure. He does hope to attend some Olympic hockey games while in South Korea.

“Just to get the experience of the whole thing and land a run I’m super stoked on, really, is the goal,” Ferguson said.

While the Olympics are the pinnacle of sport for many athletes, the Ferguson brothers view them as more of an addendum to what they strive to achieve in their snowboarding careers.

“I always thought if I got to the Olympics, I might not really worry about going again,” Ben Ferguson said. “There’s other things in snowboarding I would like to do. The Olympics are not necessarily the No. 1 goal in my book.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com