BEIJING — The pristine white snow at Genting Snow Park is more than just Alex Hall's office for the day. To the two-time Olympic freeskier, it's a sun-soaked, freezing-cold, blank canvas on which to paint his next picture.
Where elite athletes would generally rely on preset routines long before arriving at an event, slopestyle riders have perfected the art of adaptation. No regulation halfpipes or jump dimensions here. Each course at each contest is new, and when it came to the course at Genting Snow Park, each athlete carved a different work of art.
Wednesday. on the Olympic course's final day of competition, Hall's masterpiece came with a gold filter, as he won his first Olympic gold medal with a first-run score of 90.01. Americans went first-and-second on the podium with Nick Goepper taking his second second consecutive Olympic silver medal.
Americans have now won six of the nine medals in Olympic freeski slopestyle with Goepper medaling in all three events since it joined the Olympic program in 2014. The 27-year-old took bronze in 2014 when Americans swept the podium.
Sweden's Jesper Tjader won bronze Wednesday to round out the podium.
Hall didn't waste any time claiming his top spot. The Fairbanks, Alabama, native threw down the winning score on his first run despite settling for a double cork 1080 on his final jump when it looked like he was searching for an additional half-spin on the landing. His massive score went unchallenged throughout the competition and when Switzerland's Andri Ragettli bobbled early in his final run, Hall and Geopper immediately started celebrating at the bottom of the course knowing their medals were safe.
Skiers and snowboarders praised the Genting Snow Park slopestyle course's visual appeal and technical challenges. Inspired by iconic pieces of Chinese culture, the course is lined with a replica Great Wall of China built out of snow. Beautiful and functional, the wall is meant to protect riders from the mountain's famously strong winds on the upper section of the course. The theme continues with a tall guardhouse with a curved rail across the roof. The unique feature immediately caught Goepper's eye during practice runs.
"It's iconic," the three-time Olympian said after using the house during the qualification round on Tuesday.
While Goepper made it a goal to use the guardhouse during his run, he didn't want to commit to the feature if it didn't work in practice. When riders arrives for pre-competition training, they often make it a point to explore every feature on the course. They may rely on their favorite tricks but keep the door open for other options as necessary. For Hall, he just looks for something "that I know will bring me joy."
"That's our sport: it's a free sport," the 23-year-old said. "Things are always changing … you can express yourself exactly how you want."
Each rail section — three in total — has between three and five options with curved rails, straight ones that hang off ledges or angled rails that slope down. Even the jump sections provide choices. The first jump has two twisted ramps angled toward each other and the second jump gives riders the option to take a large center ramp, a side jump or a quarterpipe to get themselves back onto the main kicker.
Snowboard silver medalist Julia Marino called the course the most technically challenging one she's faced. The skiers who competed a week later shared the same feelings.
"It's really going to separate the people who are great skiers," said Colby Stevenson, who finished seventh in slopestyle.
By Hall's account, Stevenson, a 24-year-old Olympic rookie is "the best skier I know."
Stevenson showed off his skill by winning silver in the Olympic debut of freeski big air. He called it a miracle that he earned his first big air podium at the Olympics, especially after he nearly died in a car accident six years ago.
But after winning with a trick he'd never landed before, Stevenson said he was most excited to travel the more than 130 miles northwest to Zhangjiakou, where instead of just hitting one giant jump, he could string together a whole run on the slopestyle course.
"Slopestyle," Stevenson said, "has been the love of my life since I was a kid."
Stevenson's variety makes him made for the event. Hall praised his ability to handle technical challenges and show creative tricks with different grabs and spins. He tackles the rails and jumps aggressively.
Friends call Stevenson a "slopestyle wizard," but on Wednesday it was Hall and Goepper who pulled out the biggest tricks.
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