With the 2014 Winter Olympics approaching, Kalispell native and freeskiing legend Tanner Hall is attempting a comeback in the sport he helped launch into the mainstream.
Tanner, 28, is trying to qualify for the first-ever ski halfpipe competition at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, after suffering a string of serious injuries in recent winters. He recently returned to competition for the first time in fours years and won the halfpipe ski contest in New Zealand at the North Face Freeski Open in Wanaka.
According to his agent, Tom Yaps, Tanner will be competing at several major events this winter, including the X Games and the FIS World Cup in Sochi.
In January 2011 I wrote a story, titled “The Once and Future King,” just as Tanner was setting his sights on a comeback in time for Sochi.
The latest update on Tanner’s road to recovery can be found in Freeskier Magazine, which just published a great profile story on Tanner, written by Christopher Jerard. The article catches up with Tanner and explains where he’s at today and how far he’s come as a person and a skiing icon.
Here’s an excerpt from the story:
Over the course of the next decade, the rising star would become first a hero, then an icon. His achievements are unmatched. Then, at the absolute peak of his career, he fell into a numbing darkness at the bottom of pain, loss and addiction. Today, at 28, Tanner Hall has been hauling himself up and out of that hole, one agonizing step at a time. He is on a new road to redemption—beyond anything we’ve seen yet.
Freeskier Magazine: Tanner Hall’s Redemption Road