6'9"
27
Bend, OR
Hunter Hess began his skiing journey at age 3 when his mother, Anno Hess, first took him to Mt. Bachelor. Initially placed in ski racing, Hess didn't particularly enjoy the structured competitive format. His true passion was soccer at the time, and he found more joy simply skiing to races than competing in them. Everything changed when a friend introduced him to the Enter the Dragon freestyle skiing contest at Mt. Bachelor. Hess entered the competition on a whim and the rush was instant and overwhelming. He immediately stopped playing Soccer and joined the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation's freeride program, never looking back.
Since joining the U.S. Freeski Halfpipe team in 2017, Hess has accumulated an impressive competitive resume. He has earned back-to-back X Games bronze medals in 2024 and 2025. and boasts multiple world cup podiums, including second-place finishes at Mammoth Mountain and Copper Mountain. He has also consistently placed in the top 10 across numerous international competitions. His approach to halfpipe skiing is characterized by technical precision, creative trick selection and the natural fundamentals he developed riding Bachelor's unique terrain.
Beyond competition, Hess has become an influential figure in ski filmmaking. Along with Olympic slopestyle champion and best friend Alex Hall, plus filmmaker Owen Dahlberg, Hess co-founded MAGMA—a celebrated film series that has garnered widespread acclaim within the freeski community. The MAGMA projects showcase Hess and Hall's creativity on backcountry jumps and urban features, with each film purely made for the love of skiing without sponsor funding. The series has expanded to include episodic content and has attracted international athletes as participants. Their films have won awards including Best Urban Segment at the iF3 Film Festival and have developed a devoted following among skiing enthusiasts.
When not training or filming, Hess enjoys running, surfing, spending time with friends and working daily to improve both his skiing and overall wellbeing.
One morning last January, Alli Macuga woke up early because she had a flight to catch. She was flying East for World Cup moguls competitions in New Hampshire and Quebec. Once she was out of bed, Alli found her mother in a tizzy.“I thought a cat had die...
By the time freeskier Nick Goepper stood atop the X Games superpipe in January 2025, he wasn’t just making a comeback — he was redefining what it means to return.At 31, the Fort Wayne, Ind. native had already stepped away from the sport once, feeling b...
Over 100 elite skiers and snowboarders from around the globe are set to hit the slopes and compete in X Games Aspen 2025 on Buttermilk Mountain in scenic Aspen, Colorado. Several American athletes making an appearance also have their eyes set on making...
Top notch performances by Team USA athletes at Olympic venues throughout the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024 provided further proof that the legacy of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 is alive and thriving. The U.S. Youth Olympic men's...
It is a golden opportunity for more than 1,800 teenage athletes from 78 countries to gain invaluable life experience and further their athletic pursuits, all of which may serve as a launching pad to greater sporting endeavors as they compete at the Win...
