Steamboat Springs local Arielle Gold has made a big impact in halfpipe snowboarding in just a few short years. A consistent podium threat, Gold has a strength and style that set her apart from the field. With a huge win at the LAAX Open in 2016, Gold has proven that she's one of the best in the world. 

Early in 2012, at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, Gold erupted with silver medals in slopestyle and halfpipe. Not long after, she won gold in halfpipe at the FIS Junior World Championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain. She then closed the season with a couple of fourth-place finishes in halfpipe at the U.S. Grand Prix in Mammoth and the Burton US Open, competing alongside the world’s best riders.

The 2013 season was Gold’s breakout year, as she consistently pulled out top results, including gold at the FIS World Snowboarding Championships and bronze at her first-ever X Games in Aspen, where she was originally invited as an alternate. She continued her upward progression with a win at the 2013 Burton European Open and then bronze at X Games Tignes.

Gold came into the 2013-14 season as a strong contender to make the U.S. Olympic team. She all but clinched her ticket to Sochi with a second-place finish at the U.S. Sprint Grand Prix at Copper Mountain, which she followed up with a fourth at the Breckenridge Dew Tour stop. She officially earned a spot on her first Olympic team in January at Mammoth Mountain. She then went straight to Aspen to pin down a fourth-place finish at X Games.

Gold’s Olympic experience proved to be bittersweet when she dislocated her shoulder during pre-qualification practice, just moments before she was set to drop. The injury forced her to withdraw from the 2014 Sochi Games as well as sit out the rest of the season. 

Gold came back strong in 2015 with a podium finish at almost every contest she entered. Her 2016 season was equally as solid; in addition to winnning the LAAX Open, she doubled up on X Games medals, earning silver in Aspen and bronze in Oslo. 

FIRST TRACKS 
She began shredding on skis first, learning the ropes from her parents at age three at Steamboat Mountain. Gold looked up to her older brother Taylor (who is also a U.S. Snowboarding athlete), and he inspired her to try snowboarding when she was seven. “Taylor made it look like so much fun,” she says.

OFF THE SNOW
In the offseason, Gold likes to spend as much time as possible with her horses, Sparky and Bugs. She also enjoys playing soccer and hanging out with her friends.