BIOGRAPHY:
The hometown of many a winter sports prodigy, Steamboat Springs has yet again produced an athlete making his way up the ranks of professional snowboarders: Taylor Gold. With the mountains of Steamboat Springs in his backyard,  Gold honed his riding fundamentals in his youth, the very same foundation that got him a spot on the FIS World Championships team in 2011 in Spain. Add to that his silver medal in halfpipe at the Junior World Championships at the end of the season, and Gold is now a member of the U.S. Snowboarding rookie squad, with the last name that's on everyone's mind.

TAYLOR SAYS:
2011 was a busy and exciting year. I traveled to more competitions and more countries than ever before and progressed my riding to new heights. Some places and events yielded better results and experiences than others, but every season has its highs and lows. I enjoyed riding with many different people throughout the year. After some time off, I'm looking forward to learning some new tricks, meeting new people and chasing the snow to new destinations.

FIRST TRACKS:
Like so many others in his hometown, being a resident of Steamboat Springs was reason enough for Gold to spend his time honing the techniques of riding. But it wasn't until seeing the sport during the 2002 Olympics that Taylor decided he wanted to be a snowboarder, when he was just 7 years old.

OFF THE SNOW:
When he's not on the snow, Taylor loves to jump on the trampoline, skateboard and mountain bike.