One of the most exciting and dynamic winter sports doesn't have a long and storied history.
Freestyle skiing became an Olympic sport in 1992 with the introduction of single mogul competitions. Two years later, aerials were introduced in Lillehammer, Norway.
In just a decade, the freestyle events have become two of the most popular competitions of the Winter Games.
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And while the two disciplines have gained respect, as well as public support, the Americans have gained a lot of ground in both competitions. In the last Olympic Winter Games, the United States won three of four gold medals available in freestyle skiing: Jonny Moseley, men's moguls; Nikki Stone, women's aerials; and Eric Bergoust, men's aerials.
The only other U.S. gold medalist in freestyle was moguls skier Donna Weinbrecht in 1992.
This year, with the Olympics being held in the same small mountain town where many of the country's best freestyle skiers now live, the United States probably has its deepest teams ever in both disciplines.
Freestyle skiing began as a kind of mogul/ballet/aerial competition all rolled into one. A competitor would perform tricks from all three disciplines on a single course. It was called a "free" type of skiing because it was so different from the traditional alpine or nordic events that have been around since the mid-1800s.
World competitions in freestyle skiing have been held since 1978, but the sport has evolved dramatically. Moguls and aerials were separated into two different competitions, and after the 1999-2000 season, the ballet aspect was eliminated from the competition.
The sport evolves almost faster than the International Ski Federation can govern and set boundaries. In April 2001, a U.S. skier named Matt Chojnacki did a quad twisting, quad flip in competition, breaking the world record for the number of flips performed by an aerialist. The previous record was set in 1983 by Frank Bare, who performed a triple twisting quad back.
Chojnacki, Bergoust and Canadian Nicolas Fontaine were the only three competitors who could perform the eight flips consistently, so the FIS banned the maneuver. Their explanation was that it wasn't safe to perform on snow and wouldn't be allowed at the 2002 Winter Games. Rather than take his tricks back a step, Chojnacki retired from the U.S. Ski Team but still performs in air shows and non-World Cup competitions.
Bergoust and Fontaine stayed in international competitions — Bergoust, of Park City, in hopes of defending his gold medal, and Fontaine, a four-time world champion, in hopes of winning his first this winter in Utah. Bergoust has said many times that aerial athletes are constantly pushing the envelope of what's possible and are some of the most talented and daring acrobat performers in any sport.
Bergoust, who spends as much time researching the physics of jumping as he does practicing, helps build the kickers or jumps that aerialists shoot off to perform their tricks. He's been a strong advocate for some kind of consistency in how the jumps are built and maintained. His suggestions, posted on his Web site Airbergy.com, include hiring an official to oversee course preparation and maintenance. As it is now, the athletes do this, and it is a distraction from preparing for competition as well as a physical burden.
He suggests the Olympic organizers consider a synchronized night aerial event during the opening ceremonies. He said future sites should be standardized, made more permanent and "sunk in stadium fashion" so that fans are closer to the athletes and shielded from the wind.
Bergoust, born and raised in Montana, is one of many freestyle skiers who believe the sport's future lies in recruitment since it is harder to get into aerials or moguls than it is more traditional winter sports, like alpine skiing. Without recruitment and development programs, the talent pool will dwindle and the quality of the sport will suffer.
The U.S. men's aerial team is the strongest and deepest it's ever been. Bergoust and fellow Park City resident Joe Pack are ranked No. 1 and 2 in the world. The men's mogul team hasn't been so strong or deep, but this year it appears young talent is mixing well with experience, and former moguls skier and current moguls technical coach Liz McIntyre is glad the Olympic team is decided by points and not coach's discretion.
In two competitions, the American men have been on the podium three times, although they have yet to win a gold medal. Bergoust won the first aerials competition in September in Australia during horrific weather conditions.
"There is tremendous depth on this team," she said after two 19-year-old C-team members took second and third place in the Steamboat Springs, Colo., competition Dec. 14. "And we still have four (competitions) to go."
For the first time in the U.S. Ski Team's history, the team skiers dominated tryouts earlier this fall. Usually, she said, the team will pick up one or two skiers who outperform current team members.
"This is the first year that's ever happened," she said.
Adds one of those young up-and-comers, Travis Mayer, who won silver in his hometown of Steamboat: "Everyone knows our depth is just starting to show. We have 10 athletes that can be on the podium on any given day. Last year, Jeremy (Bloom) and I weren't even on the World Cup (tour), and now look at us."
McIntyre said it's not young knees, it's "young hearts" that are giving the United States one of its best starts. Last season American men were on the moguls podium seven times. This year, in just two competitions, the men have made it to the medals ceremony three times.
McIntyre, Bloom and Mayer agree that the experience of defending Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley, who took two years off after winning, helps the younger skiers improve quicker and perform more consistently.
The women may have a tougher time achieving gold this Olympics with just two aerialists on the A-team. In both disciplines, women from other countries have dominated World Cup competitions. In aerials, the woman to beat is Jacqui Cooper, an Australian who didn't even ski when she was approached about trying the sport.
Norwegian Kari Traa has won both mogul competitions this season and has made her tricks more technically solid coming into the Olympics.
But Emily Cook, a Boston native and the reigning U.S. women's aerials champion, took issue with the lack of depth on the women's freestyle team at an Olympic Media Summit in October.
"I disagree," she said. "Our team is really strong. I've added difficulty, and so have the other women. I think we may surprise a couple of people."