Bend Olympian Ben Ferguson trades halfpipe snowboarding for freeriding

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Snowboarding the halfpipe allowed Bend's Ben Ferguson to travel the world, capturing a Youth Olympic gold medal and making two X Games podiums, but following the 2018 Olympic Games, he switched his focus to a more barebones snowboarding approach.

"I never started snowboarding just to be a halfpipe snowboarder," Ferguson told NewsChannel 21. "I was always just a snowboarder. To me, the dudes who are real snowboarders and have been doing it for so long are not stuck in a halfpipe."

Ferguson competed in the halfpipe one more time following the 2018 Winter Olympics at the 2019 X Games before retiring from the event. Ferguson is still competing though. He recently competed on the Natural Selection Tour, A snowboarding competition focused on freeriding in the backcountry mountains.