Freeski Legend Tanner Hall Wants to Coach Team USA’s Olympic Freeriding Team

Freeriding is officially headed to the 2030 Winter Olympics, and one of skiing’s biggest legends has his sights on leading Team USA’s first-ever Olympic freeride squad. 

Tanner Hall, widely referred to as the ‘Ski Boss’, recently took to Instagram to express his interest in leading Team USA’s freeriding team for the upcoming 2030 Olympics. The legendary skier, who helped shape modern freestyle skiing through his park and backcountry progression, now hopes to bring his knowledge and experience to American athletes who look to compete on one of skiing’s biggest stages.

“I wanna be the head coach of the United States Olympic freeride team,” the 42-year-old said in his post. “And I wanna do it in memory of Jim Jack, and I wanna make a lot of people proud. And I wanna make skiing on the world stage look how it should.”

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A Freestyle Legend at the Helm

Hall has been around competitive freestyle skiing since he was a young kid. At age 10, he joined Big Mountain’s (now Whitefish Mountain) freestyle ski team, before moving to Park City, Utah, at 15 to pursue the sport.

Throughout his career, Hall has competed in dozens of freestyle skiing’s biggest competitions, including X Games, U.S. Opens, and Freeride World Tour events. He holds seven X Games gold medals and is the only men’s skier to win gold in all three freestyle skiing disciplines—slopestyle, superpipe, and big air.

In addition to his competition feats, Hall has starred in an endless number of ski movie segments that include both street and backcountry skiing. His versatility as an elite park, street, and backcountry skier has made him a pioneer of the sport and one of its biggest ambassadors.

Armada Skis

On the business side of skiing, Hall co-founded Armada Skis in 2002 alongside skier JP Auclair and photographer Chris O’Connell. Based in Park City and established as the first athlete-founded ski brand, Armada has pushed freestyle skiing forward by building skis with progression in mind. Taking inspiration from skateboarding, surfing, and snowboarding, Armada became a brand that turned away from alpine racing and embraced creativity and freestyle culture.

Preserving the Culture While Chasing Medals

Freeriding has never been in the Olympics before. The 2030 Alps Games will be the sport’s debut, and Team USA will spend the next four years building a roster of its best freeride skiers who have the best shot at bringing home Olympic medals.

With his strong background in freeride skiing, Hall believes that, no matter who is on the roster, he can deliver results. He understands backcountry skiing, competitive formats, and what it takes to win.

But beyond chasing medals, Hall sees the opportunity to coach as an opportunity to protect the culture and creativity that freeriding has built. Freeriding’s Olympic inclusion has sparked debate among the sport’s legends, with many claiming the sport will become highly regulated by bodies like the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), thus ruining a sport built entirely on rebellion and creative independence. Some, like freeride legend Sammy Carlson, have gone so far as to say that the essence of freeriding cannot exist in a competition format.

As someone deeply rooted in freeriding’s culture, Hall believes he can preserve the sport’s culture while hunting down medals. Having spent decades building a brand and pushing the boundaries in the backcountry, he holds deep knowledge of the creativity and individuality that have made freeriding unique.

• Related: Freeride is Headed to the 2030 Olympics, But the World’s Best Riders Are Torn Over the Sport’s Soul

“You can guarantee that, me being the head coach of that team, would be very good for the culture of the sport, (and) very good for the United States ski team for having chances at winning medals,” Hall said. 

For Jim Jack

Hall’s mention of Jim Jack is a tribute to one of freeriding’s most influential skiers. Known as the “Godfather of big mountain skiing,” Jack was the long-time head judge of the Freeskiing World Tour, president of the International Freeskiers and Snowboarders Association (IFSA), and mentor for countless freeskiers.

On February 19, 2012, Jack tragically died in an avalanche at Stevens Pass, Washington. His passing left an immediate impact on the freeriding community, with many describing him as one of the most passionate, generous, and selfless skiers of all time. For Hall, honoring Jack as a coach represents more than winning. It represents protecting the culture and community of freeriding that Jack built.

With the 2030 Olympics still four years away, nothing has been set in stone yet for Team USA and its freeriding squad. But as the squad hunts for its head coach, keep an eye out for Tanner Hall, who wants to ensure that the sport he loves stays true to itself.