Bend freeskier plays the waiting game

Published 10:00 pm Saturday, December 19, 2020

Unable to compete until February this winter, if at all, Hunter Hess is trying to stay positive.

The halfpipe skier from Bend on the U.S. Ski Team has been training with his teammates in Switzerland and Colorado this season, honing his skills and technique for the next time he can take part in a contest.

Most halfpipe skiing World Cup events have been canceled this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including two in China and one in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Hess, 22, and the rest of the U.S. Freeski Pro Halfpipe Team have been training at Copper for the past few weeks.

“It’s been kind of rough with COVID, just kind of figuring out what we’re able to do,” Hess said this week from Copper. “But we’ve been super fortunate to be able to ski. It’s been super good, and really beneficial for me. Normally this time of year we would have already competed two or three times. Everything is being pushed back and maybe won’t even happen. It’s just a lot of training time, which is super needed for me.”

The first potential World Cup halfpipe ski competition would be at Mammoth Mountain, California, Feb. 3-6. The Winter X Games are set for Jan. 29-31 in Aspen, but fewer athletes were invited this year due to the pandemic. Hess will not take part in the X Games after competing there in January 2020 and being an alternate in 2019.

Hess posted three top-10 finishes in World Cup events last season, but he is looking for more as he hopes to make the U.S. Olympic team for the Beijing Winter Games, set for February 2022.

“I’m trying to figure out how to keep up with these guys, do my thing, and start winning contests instead of just getting top 10,” Hess said.

“I had a lot of momentum going into this season, but … I needed to learn a lot as well. So it’s nice being able to take a step back and get away from it for a little while, and then get back into it with new ideas and a new mindset, and really find what’s going to work for myself.”

While freeskiing World Cup competitions have yet to start due to COVID-19, World Cup alpine skiing is well underway, with all the races taking place in Europe this season. The pandemic has wreaked more havoc on the freeskiing schedule because events were scheduled in both North America and China.

“They’re able to quarantine more efficiently in Europe,” Hess said. “The U.S. Ski Team for racing is fully based out of Europe right now. For us, we’re kind of all over the place. It’s an odd situation for sure. Everyone is learning and trying their best. It’s a hard process for everyone.”

If and when competitions resume, Hess is hoping for some top-three placings to put himself in better contention for a spot in the Olympics next season.

“As of right now, that’s what everyone wants and what we’re striving for,” Hess said.

A 2017 graduate of Bend’s Summit High School, Hess grew up skiing at Mt. Bachelor and competing for the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation. He started ski racing when he was 6, but converted to freeride when he was 9.

Now he is pushing the limits in the halfpipe with U.S. teammates such as David Wise, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in halfpipe skiing, and Alex Ferreira, the 2018 Olympic silver medalist.

In freeski halfpipe, skiers are judged on the style, execution and amplitude of the aerial tricks they perform as they soar in and out of the pipe.

Freeski halfpipe did not become an Olympic event until the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

By the end of last season, Hess was perfecting a doublecork 1620 in contests, a trick that include two flips and 4.5 revolutions.

“A lot of the guys are aiming for that trick,” Hess said of this training season. “It’s a competition at the end of the day. Everyone is pushing it. In the halfpipe, it’s kind of an unopened box. I think the next few years we’ll push it to a whole new level of skiing. There’s a lot of room to grow for halfpipe skiing.”

Hess said he has goals beyond halfpipe skiing, but he plans to compete as long as his body holds up. He knows he still must prove himself in the sport.

“I don’t feel like I’ve done that yet,” Hess said. “So in my eyes, it’s just starting.”