‘High risk, high reward,’ three time Olympian talks snowboard halfpipe ahead of the qualifying round

Scotty James plans to 'revolutionize halfpipe snowboarding' as he seeks first Olympic gold

Scotty James, Ayumu Hirano and Cam Melville Ives are among the names to know as men's snowboard halfpipe commences with the qualifying round on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

‘High risk, high reward,’ three time Olympian talks snowboard halfpipe ahead of the qualifying round

The closest thing to flying, that's how athletes describe snowboard halfpipe, a winter sport that combines bravery, technique and gravity. An Olympic-sized halfpipe is 22 feet tall, it's nearly 600 feet long and has a pitch of around 18 degrees."Essentially it is half of a tube, and the walls of snow on each side stand about 22 feet tall, shaped half of a pipe and you go back and forth from wall to wall," explained Maddie Mastro.Copper Mountain …