Blunck and Allen rise to challenge at US Open in Aspen

Now off to Mammoth

Crested Butte born and bred halfpipe skier Aaron Blunck, who attends Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy, continues to climb the ranks among some of the world’s top halfpipe skiers, putting together a phenomenal weekend to place fourth at the US Open in Aspen.
Crested Butte resident Christian Allen, skiing for Head USA, Under Armour and Scott USA, was right behind Blunck, placing fifth in Aspen.
Blunck made a splash on the international scene when he won the bronze medal at the first-ever Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria in January.
Since then he’s been on a frantic pace, competing in halfpipe events around the country while mixing in training as well as schoolwork.
“It’s been going really well,” says Blunck. “There’s been some ups and downs but I’m progressing.”
One of the ups for Blunck came in Aspen. It was his fourth trip to the competition. In his first two tries he didn’t make the semifinals. Last year, he reached the finals and took seventh. This year, despite facing the strongest field to ever attend the US Open, Blunck pushed his way into the finals and fell just one point shy of the podium.
“That was the best I’ve skied all year, which I was super excited about,” says Blunck.
Leading up to the competition, Blunck made a tweak to his halfpipe run in an effort to gain an advantage. Typically, Blunck throws a double flair (back flip) on his first trick in his run. In Aspen, Blunck moved his double flair further down the pipe.
“I did that so I could get a big stylie trick on my first hit and moved the double flair to my third hit so I could go bigger,” explains Blunck.
Allen’s season has been no less hectic, mixing down time in Crested Butte with training in Breckenridge and competitions on the road.
Allen placed top 20 on all three Dew Tour stops to hit the top 30 in the world rankings heading into the US Open. Allen’s fifth-place finish in Aspen has him ranked top 20 now in the halfpipe in the world.
“I’m skiing really, really well and I’m pretty confident going into the rest of the season,” says Allen.
Allen made some adjustments to his halfpipe run as well that should pay off as the season continues.
“I added a bunch of new grabs and added a switch 1080 and a switch alley oop 900 with an octograb,” says Allen. “No one does that grab in the halfpipe and that’s what the judges like to see—progression.”
Blunck and Allen are both in Mammoth, Calif. now to compete in the U.S. Grand Prix, one of the top events in the world.
“All of the best riders in the world are here,” says Blunck.