With the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics just a few months away, Copper Mountain hosted professional skiers and snowboarders for the four-day Toyota U.S. Grand Prix.

Taking place annually, the event routinely draws some of the best freeski and snowboard halfpipe athletes in the world. This year was no different, as two-time Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim and other talented snowboarders took to Copper’s 22-foot tall pipe for the first day of competition on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

Women’s snowboard halfpipe

A total of 35 athletes spread across two heats took to the pipe in the mid-morning hours on Wednesday morning for the women’s snowboard halfpipe qualifiers. In the best of two runs format, the field was whittled down from nearly three dozen down to just 10 for finals on Friday, Dec. 19.

Leading heat 1 was none other than Chloe Kim. At just 25 years old, Kim has not only been able to win two Olympic gold medals, but has the most women’s snowboard superpipe gold medals at the X Games with a total of eight. 

After a fall on her first run, Kim proved she is no stranger to performing under pressure. Needing to rocket into the top five to advance to the final, Kim stomped a huge switch method at the top of the pipe before lacing a frontside 720 on her last hit of the halfpipe wall.

The run earned Kim a score of 90.33, securing the top spot in the first heat.

Sena Tomita was the sole Japanese athlete to advance to the final out of heat 1. Tomita secured a score of 88.66 to take second behind Kim. Shoatong Wu of China finished in third (76.33) before two Americans were able to claim the final two qualifying spots.

Bea Kim, 18, of Palos Verdes, California was able to execute her second run, recording a score of 75.00 to take fourth overall. Seasoned veteran Maddy Schaffrick was able to place fifth in heat 1 and successfully advance to the final. 

Hailing from Steamboat Springs, Schaffrick, 31, put down a clean run from top to bottom, earning a score of 73.00 to advance to the final. Fellow Steamboat Springs athlete Rochelle ‘Rocke’ Weinberg took 15th in heat 1 with a score of 32.00.

Korea’s Gaon Choi wasted no time in setting the tone in heat 2. As the seventh athlete to drop into the pipe, Choi went big, stomping trick after trick and wowing the judges. The run was enough for Choi to score a 93.00 and top heat 2. 

Choi was followed by Japan’s Rise Kudo in second (82.00) and one of the United States’ premier riders, Maddie Mastro in third. Mastro, who is originally from Wrightwood, California, was able to land a crippler in the upper half of the pipe before stomping a method. 

The run earned the 25-year-old rider a score of 80.66 on her first run, allowing Mastro to not need to take her second run.

Japan’s Sorana Ohashi finished in fourth (76.66) with Xuetong Cai of China taking fifth (74.66). 

Heat 2 had three other Americans finish within the top 15. Santa Clarita’s Kinsley White took 10th with a score of 44.66, Ava Lilly of Copper Mountain finished in 12th (43.66) and Vail’s Zoe Kalapos finished in 13th (43.33).

Men’s snowboard halfpipe

The women’s snowboard halfpipe qualifiers were stacked — and the men’s qualifiers raised the bar even higher. Similar to the women’s qualifiers, the men’s qualifications were split into two heats. 

Each heat was slated to have two dozen competitors, making it extremely challenging to be the one of the seven athletes out of each heat to advance to Friday’s final. 

The first heat alone had seven Americans in it, with Leadville’s Jason Wolle being one of the first athletes to point his board down the icy halfpipe. Wolle opened up his first run by landing several tricks, but eventually fell near the bottom of the pipe.

The Copper athlete would attempt to improve his score on his second run of the day, but could not score higher than 22.33. After making the final at last year’s U.S. Grand Prix at Copper, Wolle placed 22nd in heat 1.

Alessandro Barbieri was the top American in heat 1. Calling Portland, Oregon, home, Barbieri recorded a score of 81.66 to take second overall in the first heat. The 17-year-old rider was preceded by Yuto Totsuka of Japan.

Like many of his countrymen and women, Totsuka did not hold anything back in qualifiers, hucking it way out of the pipe and giving spectators a taste of what to expect in the final. Totsuka earned a score of 85.00 to top heat 1.

Brazil’s Patrick Burgener finished in third (78.66), China’s Ziyang Wang took fourth (75.33) and Korea’s Jio Lee finished in fifth (73.66). Two Americans were able to nab the final two qualifying spots in heat 1 in Ryan Wachendorfer and Chase Josey.

After missing the entirety of the 2023-24 season due to an Achilles injury, Edwards’ Wachendorfer got back into the pipe at the end of last season. The several competitions allowed Wachendorfer to get his feet wet again before heading into an Olympic year.

The preparation, hard work and rehab work looked to pay off for Wachendorfer on Wednesday afternoon. Wachendorfer was able to secure his spot in the final on his very first run of the day, earning a score of 72.00. 

Josey of Hailey, Idaho followed Wachendorfer in seventh with a score of 71.00

Three more Americans were able to make the final in heat 2, bringing the total to six in the 14-man final. Joey Okesson of Southberry, Connecticut earned the top spot among his compatriots, scoring a 72.33 on his second run to take fourth.

Okesson was closely followed by Leadville’s Chase Blackwell in fifth. Blackwell qualified for the final on his first run of the day. With fair weather conditions, Blackwell landed a switch backside 720, a backside 900, a front double 1080, a cab double 1080 and a front 900. The run earned Blackwell a score of 70.00.

“It was a good way to start the day,” Blackwell said. “Then the weather rolled in for the second run and it got a little dark, so I chucked out the front 1260, but I wasn’t able to put that one down.”

Following years of putting in work, Blackwell is stoked to be able to make the final in front of his friends and family at Copper.

“I was super stoked that the score held and I get to see everyone on Friday,” Blackwell said. “I have been grinding the last few years and there have been a lot of ups and downs. Getting in there for this one is super exciting. I am stoked to be here at my home mountain and we are going to go for it on Friday, that is my goal.

Japan’s Ryusei Yamada took sixth with a score of 68.66 before Jake Pates of Eagle finished in seventh (67.66). Heat 2 was spearheaded by impressive runs from Japan’s Ruka Hirano, Australia’s Valentino Guseli and Japan’s Shuichiro Shigeno.

Shigeno secured the top spot with a score of 81.00 with Guseli taking second (77.33) and Hirano finishing in third (76.00).

The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix will continue on Thursday, Dec. 18, with qualifiers in the men’s and women’s freeski halfpipe. The competition is expected to feature Colorado-based athletes like Aspen’s Alex Ferreira and siblings from Winter Park, Svea and Birk Irving. 

The women’s qualifiers will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the men beginning at 11:55 p.m.