Colorado native Aaron Blunck represented the U.S. at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games, finishing seventh in halfpipe skiing and thus cementing his name in freeskiing history. Since the 2014 Winter Games, Blunck has struggled with some injuries but he has also been racking up finals and podium appearances, including a win at the Park City U.S. Grand Prix in February of 2016.

A freeskier from day one on the slopes, that first day came at just 18 months in Crested Butte, CO. He began competing at 8, and by the age of 15 in 2012 Blunck put the freeski world on notice with a bronze medal at the innagural Youth Olympic Games and a third-place finish at the North Face Open. In 2013 he earned his first X Games invite and his performance in the 2014 Grand Prix Olympic qualifying series had him packing his bags for Sochi to represent the U.S. in the first Olympic ski halfpipe event. 

After suffering a shoulder seperation in early 2014 and then a debilitating bulged disk in his lower back in 2015, Blunck returned with an exclamation point in 2016, taking third at the Mammoth stop of the U.S. Grand Prix and then going on to win the second stop in Park City. He also finished fifth in the 2016 AFP halfpipe rankings.  

FIRST TRACKS
It’s no secret that skiing runs in Blunck’s blood. He started out on skis at 18 months old in Crested Butte, Colorado. Both his Mom and Grandpa were ski instructors. Blunck says, “My Grandpa started the ski school in Crested Butte, which got my mom into skiing (as well as) me and my brother. My parents put me out on snow and there I was.” Blunck, a graduate of the Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy, was a member of the U.S. Freeskiing Halfpipe Rookie Team for a short while before quickly earning a spot on the pro team.

OFF THE SNOW
When Blunck’s not making turns, he likes to hang out with his friends, play soccer, play baseball and bounce on trampolines. He says, “I also like to try and play basketball, but I am not very good at it.