Every sport has its "next big thing," and halfpipe skiing may have found its own in 17-year-old Torin Yater-Wallace. By 2011 (at 16) the Aspen native had nabbed a silver in his X Games debut, a bronze at the European X Games and a win in his first World Cup. It’s safe to say his style, amplitude and raw talent are well beyond his years.

The high school sophomore made even bigger waves in 2012 with his first X Games gold in Tignes, France, a bronze medal at X Games Aspen, two Dew Tour podiums and the AFP halfpipe World Champion title. The multi-talented Yater-Wallace also tried his skills in slopestyle, proving he’s a double threat with a podium at the Aspen/Snowmass Open and an impressive fourth at the VISA U.S. Grand Prix World Cup in Mammoth Mountain, CA.

Yater-Wallace made his 2013 season debut at the opening World Cup in Cardrona, New Zealand to kick off the Olympic nations qualifying period. After minor shoulder surgery, Yater-Wallace took silver at X Games Aspen, second at the U.S. Visa Freeskiing Grand Prix in Park City and then won the World Cup at the Olympic venue in Sochi, Russia. He continued his podium streak with silver at World Championships in Voss, Norway and a repeat of his gold at X Games Tignes, closing out a phenomenal season that saw him on the podium in every competition he entered.

TORIN SAYS
This season was my best season yet. I’ve never been as consistent as I have been this year, which is one of the most important things in skiing to me. I want to go to the Olympics and then I want to have some fun. 

FIRST TRACKS
Yater-Wallace started skiing when he was one-and-a-half years old on a harness with his mom at Aspen/Snowmass Resort. That didn’t last long. Yater-Wallace joined the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club at age seven, where he finally got to fulfill his urge to hit jumps. Harness-free, the young skier started his rapid progression with the team and kicked off his halfpipe career.

OFF THE SNOW 
During the summer you can find Yater-Wallace in the skate park and jumping on trampolines with his friends in order to progress his skills for the snow. He also attends Aspen High School, which can be tricky for a young star that balances skiing time with school time.