Steamboat siblings soar for snowboarding stardom

Aaron and Aimee Wild fell in love with snowboarding while growing up in Steamboat Springs. 

In fact, the passion for riding down the halfpipe was so intense that the two teenagers moved to Frisco to train at Copper Mountain with coach Scott Harris and the Tahoe Select Snowboard Team. 

Now, Aimee, 14 and Aaron, 15, are competing at the top of their respective age groups. 

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Aaron is in his rookie season competing on the World Cup circuit for Team Great Britain — as a dual citizen, he is eligible to compete for the British team.

He has competed in two World Cup events so far this season. The first took place right at home on Copper Mountain, where he placed 32nd in a field of over 40 competitors.

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The 15-year-old then took to Switzerland for the LAAX World Cup, taking 34th. He was the youngest competitor in both events and competed against some athletes who are over 30 years old.

Aimee is in her first year of eligibility to compete in FIS-level events and has already won her first U.S. Revolution Tour competition. 

The snowboarding phenom was the youngest competitor in the event at Copper Mountain on Jan. 12, but it did not hold her back from being the only female rider to drop in switch and begin her run with a switch back spin. 

Aimee’s performance was so strong that she handily came out victorious, earning a score of 81.5 while the second-place finisher scored 75.75. The second-, third- and fourth-place finishers all traveled from Japan to compete. Aimee was the only American on the podium.

“What’s very good about Aimee is she is very technical in her riding,” said her mother, Narisa. “She doesn’t have the biggest tricks or doesn’t go as big, but she’s very technical. She can spin in all four directions, which is very unusual.”

Aimee’s biggest goal is to qualify and be selected for the U.S. National Rookie Halfpipe Team, and she is off to a strong start. One requirement for selection is to earn two podiums at an event like the U.S. Revolution, Europa Cup and others. 

She has landed one podium on her first try and looks to get her second very soon. The Rookie team may be calling sooner than expected.