Aspen halfpipe skier Torin Yater-Wallace battles back from accident

“Interesting” is how Aspen’s Torin Yater-Wallace describes the past couple of years. While the 20-year-old freeskiing phenom might be one of the most explosive skiers to ride a halfpipe, he’s muted when recounting his final teenage years.

“I’m hopefully looking to put that in the past and be done with it,” Yater-Wallace said of fluke injuries and illnesses that altered his superstar trajectory. “It’s not been the most fun situation to deal with at a young age.”

When Yater-Wallace turned 18 in early December 2013, he was on a three-year burner as the hottest skier in the halfpipe.

He had six X Games halfpipe medals, including back-to-back golds in France’s Winter X Games. He had five World Cup podiums and won the Olympic test event in Sochi, Russia, in 2012, shortly after landing the first switch 1800 — that’s five full rotations — at the Mammoth Grand Prix.

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