The ski season is likely over for Basalt’s Torin Yater-Wallace after a crash Sunday in the modified superpipe competition at Dew Tour in Breckenridge.
Near the end of his first run, the two-time Olympian landed near the flat bottom of the halfpipe and collapsed to the ground. He was down for about 15 minutes before a sled took him away.
According to his Instagram account, Yater-Wallace suffered “double broken heels” and has undergone at least two surgeries since the injury. According to an official statement released to The Aspen Times through U.S. Ski and Snowboard, Yater-Wallace had no other injuries that needed medical attention other than his heels.
The Steadman Clinic in Vail is where he was having the surgeries done.
“He will make a full recovery and be back on skis as soon as possible, but it is too early to create that timeline,” the statement read. “Best way to send well wishes is through Torin’s social media channels as he continues to post and communicate with his fans through those channels.”
The 23-year-old Yater-Wallace, who competed in both the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics and has long been a staple at X Games Aspen, was making his season debut at Dew Tour after skipping the Copper Mountain Grand Prix. He’s twice won silver at X Games Aspen and most recently won a bronze in 2018.
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He was slated to compete at X Games next month but has officially been removed from the invited athlete list after his crash.
Aspen’s Alex Ferreira went on to win Sunday’s ski halfpipe competition at Dew Tour, taking his first run not long after Yater-Wallace was taken away in a sled. The two are close friends.
“It’s so unfortunate, but I keep telling this to everybody, if anybody can make it back, it’s him,” Ferreira said Wednesday en route to visiting Yater-Wallace in the Vail hospital. “He’s got the power. I have no doubt whatsoever.”