Shaun White, who trains at Northstar California in the winter months, will focus primarily on his snowboarding skills for the next two years.
White said this week that it’s unlikely that he will be skateboarding professionally in 2013. Instead, White will prepare for two Winter X Games, the World Cup qualifiers, and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The crowd-pleasing, flamboyant White had knee surgery this summer in August.
“That’s the one thing that upsets me the most is that I had knee surgery so I couldn’t really skate that much this past summer and then coming up, I don’t intend to skateboard the year before the Olympics,” White said. “It’s just one of those things where a twisted ankle can put you out of the Games. I don’t like taking that chance. So I usually lay low on it. See what else fills my time. I have other plans.”
In 2010, White took a little over a year off from skateboarding so he could focus on the Vancouver Olympics.
The last time Shaun White competed in a major skateboard competition was October 2011 when he finished second at the Dew Tour Championship in Las Vegas. That season he also finished second overall on the Dew Tour.
White will once again spend time at Northstar, where he will train on the 22-foot Superpipe which he also helped design.
But don’t plan on watching White try out his “new” stuff at Northstar. That’s top-secret information. Even his visits are not announced and no one is allowed in the Superpipe area when he’s training.
The Superpipe is located on the Cat’s Face trail, and can be accessed from the Vista Express chairlift. The pipe will be open to the public for the first time on Monday, Jan. 20.
Northstar will have the high-profile Superpipe and will also unveil another one, an 18-foot Superpipe, located on the Pipeline trail that can be easily viewed from the mid-mountain area and the Big Springs Day Lodge.
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