Progressive Freeskiing

Talk about progression: in less than a quarter century on the planet, Tanner Hall has gone straight from “freeskiing phenom” to “winter sports icon.” One of the young innovators who made skiing fashionable again, Hall has been hailed as the “best skier of his generation,” and a host of gold medals, including the first-ever World Superpipe Championship, attest to his dominance. Hall’s innovation goes beyond his insane amplitude and slopestyle genius. He helped to launch a new ski design and manufacturing company as a teenager, and he took the reins as a co-producer of ski films soon after. If his no-holds-barred approach to skiing sometimes extends to the opinions he voices; well, that just adds to the legend. Besides, in competition, Hall always lets his skills do the talking.

A Natural on Twin Tips

Born in 1983, Hall grew up in Kalispell, Montana. By the time he was 3, his mom was taking him up the local hill, and by age 7 young Tanner landed his first 360. When he started flipping before he hit middle school, his parents realized that they had a prodigy on their hands: a prodigy with solid, old-school skiing technique, but a full-on, progressive mindset.

Hall started training seriously. With the advantage of twin-tipped skis, which allow both backward and forward movement, his initial work on moguls and upright aerials started translating into never-before-seen tricks and amazing jibbing. Within two years of turning pro at 15, he was recognized as one of the world’s best twin-tip freestyle skiers.

It was the 2001 season that brought Hall to the public’s attention, when he scored three victories in major U.S. contests, including Big Air gold at the Winter X Games. Those wins were a harbinger of things to come: the following year, 2002, he won just about everything in sight, including Slopestyle at the Winter X Games and at the U.S. Freeskiing Open, and Big Air at the World Skiing Invitational. There was no stopping Hall in 2003, either, as he again took Slopestyle golds at the X Games and the U.S. Freeskiing Open (among a blizzard of other medals) and capped everything off by becoming the first World Superpipe Champion.

In 2004, Hall kept the pressure on, locking a three-peat in Slopestyle at the Winter X Games, and finishing on the podium in major pipe contests like the World Skiing Invitational (gold), the World Championships (silver), and the U.S. Open (another silver).

The year 2005, however, proved that even icons can be vulnerable. At the Winter X Games, Hall put in some of his best performances ever, only to finish a close second in both the Halfpipe and Slopestyle events. Just a few weeks later, as was filming for the Teddybear Crisis video at epic Chad’s Gap, he had a crisis of his own. Hall is one of the few athletes in the world to have stomped the 100-foot monster; but in one run, softening spring snow slowed his takeoff. Hall slammed into the wall, breaking both ankles and ending his season.

Good Times Every Day

Hall came back in 2006 with a heightened sense of his body and recaptured gold at Winter X; and as if to make his intentions clear, he marked his return to competition by dominating a strong field to win the Superpipe contest in January’s U.S. Freeskiing Open. Insiders say that what makes Hall so extraordinary is a cool head in competition combined with unparalleled style. His smooth edging, tight rotation, and clean lines in the air create a presence far larger than his 5’6” frame would suggest. For this skier, it’s not enough simply to land the best trick – he wants it to look huge, spectacular, and effortless.

Such attention to detail is evident in Hall’s work off his skis. A veteran of videos, in 2004 he upped his involvement by co-producing WSKI106. That film was such a success that in 2005 Hall collaborated with two other skiers to start a ski movie production company called The Bigger Picture, which recently released the hit Pop Yer Bottlez! And back in 2002, he gave up a lucrative endorsement contract with one of the world’s biggest ski manufacturers to help launch a progressive, rider-owned equipment company called Armada. “I think it’s a good thing for the industry,” he notes. “It’s about making great gear that will get kids psyched about the sport.”

Although Hall may get kids psyched up, there are times when he gets other skiers worked up, as when he famously referred to downhill racing as “easy.” But even the resulting controversy had its upside; while media pundits debated the issue, they brought attention to the incredible skills necessary for both disciplines.

Anyway, Hall is over that media storm, just like he’s over his injury. He’d much rather train, which is one of the reasons he makes his home in Utah. “The nice thing for me is that training is basically having fun,” he acknowledges. “Depending on the type of event coming up, it might mean hitting jumps, or working street handrails.”

“For me,” he says, “skiing is just good times every day.”