{"id":805099,"date":"2020-03-10T18:37:56","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T00:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=380292"},"modified":"2020-03-10T18:37:56","modified_gmt":"2020-03-11T00:37:56","slug":"antonio-olivero-breck-ski-legend-keri-herman-wins-copper-hella-big-air-at-first-contest-in-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/antonio-olivero-breck-ski-legend-keri-herman-wins-copper-hella-big-air-at-first-contest-in-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Antonio Olivero: Breck ski legend Keri Herman wins Copper Hella Big Air at first contest in years"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Breckenridge local Keri Herman rotates off the Hella Big Air jump in Copper Mountain Resort’s Center Village during her win at Saturday’s women’s freeski competition.<\/strong>
Curtis DeVore \/ Copper Mountain Resort<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

COPPER MOUNTAIN \u2014 Hours before Keri Herman won the first contest she\u2019d dropped into in years, the Breckenridge local wasn\u2019t even aware Saturday\u2019s 10 Barrel Brewing Hella Big Air competition at Copper Mountain Resort would be taking place.<\/p>\n

After her friends tipped her off on the comp, the Dew Tour, Grand Prix and X Games medalist figured, \u201cwhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t really planning on getting back to competition at all,\u201d Herman said Tuesday. \u201cBut I was feeling good, and it ended up going pretty well. I\u2019m pretty out of the loop. I haven\u2019t don\u2019t anything in so long. I was just planning on winging it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herman certainly winged it Saturday. Her first attempt on the 65-foot long jump came within a ski\u2019s length of landing on the knuckle. But when all was said and done, Herman landed a pair of cork 360s to win.<\/p>\n

Heading into Saturday, the 2014 Dew Tour slopestyle champion wasn\u2019t sure what to expect \u2014 both from herself and in terms of the competition. Just over three years ago, in January 2017, Herman suffered a bad leg injury that required her to receive a partial femur transplant. Then this past summer, she had knee surgery, and this coming May she anticipates having another transplant.<\/p>\n

Before May comes around, though, Herman has had a window of time to be back skiing after mending from the chronic leg injuries in recent seasons. That led to Saturday\u2019s impromptu contest. It\u2019d been a while since Herman had attempted a massive big air jump herself. Beyond that, the longtime Summit County local wasn\u2019t sure she\u2019d recognize that many people over at Copper. At age 37, and with her injuries, it\u2019d been a while since the Minnesota native had been smack-dab in the middle of the Summit County contest scene. But after she arrived at the towering big air jump Saturday, she realized the event under bluebird skies felt like a reunion of the park rats she used to shred with at Breckenridge Ski Resort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ran into a bunch of the snowboard guys I skied with forever,\u201d Herman said. \u201cEric (Willett) and I ended up winning. It was reminiscent of old times. It was cool nostalgia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until this year \u2014 when Breckenridge didn\u2019t construct a 22-foot superpipe or host the Dew Tour for the first time in memory \u2014 the resort was arguably the world\u2019s premier destination for park and pipe skiers and snowboarders. With a 22-foot pipe, Dew Tour, Danny Davis\u2019 Peace Park and Woodward Copper\u2019s Mountain Park, Copper has unofficially become the county\u2019s terrain park of choice.<\/p>\n

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