Colorado native Aaron Blunck has accomplished quite a bit in his 17 years on Earth. This young halfpipe phenom took bronze at the inaugural Youth Olympic Winter Games with his smooth style and tricks. After that, the crowd began to turn its head and check out this young up-and-comer. They are still waiting to see where he’s going to land. With five podiums in the 2011-2012 season, from USSA’s U.S. Revolution Tour to the Gatorade FreeFlow Tour, Blunck will continue to be a fun show to watch in the coming years.

In 2013 Blunck made some serious waves, starting his season off with a third at the North Face Park & Pipe Open Series and then his first World Cup podium at the Visa U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix at Copper Mountain. His impressive runs earned him a debut invite to X Games Aspen and Tignes. He also earned an invite to FIS World Championships and jumped from 29th to fifth in the AFP World Ranking.

AARON SAYS
This season went very well for me. I am super excited with how it turned out and definitely not expecting it. I came into this year just hoping for the chance to make one or two big finals. When I started doing well at events, I started getting more confidence, which ended me up with a place in X Games, which I was not expecting.

After looking at this year, I could not have asked for a better and more fun season then this! As for next year I am looking to keep doing the same thing but maybe get a couple more podiums. Also since it is an Olympic year I really want to push towards those because this year really made me realize that hard work pays off, and I am super excited to see what the future has in store.

FIRST TRACKS
It’s no secret that skiing runs in Blunck’s blood—he started out on skis at 18 months old in Crested Butte, Colorado. Both his Mom and Grandpa were ski instructors. You can say his family has some history with ski lessons. Blunck says, “My Grandpa started the ski school in Crested Butte, which got my mom into skiing and me and my brother. My parents put me out on snow and there I was.”

OFF THE SNOW
When Blunck’s not making turns, he likes to hang with his friends, play soccer, play baseball and bounce on tramps. He says, “I also like to try and play basketball but I am not very good at it.”