Hotdogger Wong captures Olympic spirit

Reno resident and legendary freestyle skier Wayne Wong will be the athlete of honor at the Olympic Heritage mogul competition Jan. 12 at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort.

As part of a series of this winter’s Olympic Heritage events which celebrate the 50th anniversary as Lake Tahoe’s Olympics, the Olympic Heritage Mogul Competition gets back to the roots of ski competition during the 1960s.

Hotdogger Wayne Wong in his prime. Photo/Alpine Meadows

Event registration is from 8-10am in the Alpine Meadows base lodge near

Wayne Wong

the fireplace, and is $25. The registration fee includes lunch; a beer or soda; a commemorative T-shirt; live concert; access to the post-competitions festivities and awards ceremony at the Alpine Meadows Mid Mountain Chalet (adjacent to the competition course); and a chance to ski with Wong.

The competition will take place on Yellow Trail from 11am-2pm, and competitors receive points for both 1960s ski style – and more important, 1960s fashion.

Fashion was all the rage during this era, so competitors who dig out their 1960s (and 1970s) ski duds have as much opportunity to take the gold as any legendary ski great.

For more information about the Olympic Heritage Mogul Competition at Alpine Meadows, visit SkiAlpine.com or call the Alpine Meadows events department at (530) 581.8332.

Wayne Wong, the skiing legend

In 2006, Powder magazine named Wong one of the greatest skiers of our time for his influence over the evolution of freestyle skiing, widely known as “hotdogging” during the 1960s. Hotdogging’s emerging and unorthodox ski style infused traditional skiing with fun, creative tricks; and Wong’s ability to hotdog better than the entire freestyle field was evident from the get-go.

Because of his talent, the style caught like wildfire and became the popular way to be cool on the slopes throughout the 1960s and well into the 1970s – so much so that in 1979, the International Ski Federation recognized hotdogging as an official winter ski discipline, and a new World Cup and Olympic sport was born.

The term hotdogging eventually became known as freestyle skiing, paving the way for Olympic athletes such as Jonny Moseley and Shannon Bahrke.

Fast forward to 2010, and Wong’s style on the slopes is unmistakable – and can be spotted in every freestyle skier on the slopes. To this day, he is one of the best skiers on the mountain. Wayne invites all skiers to celebrate the genesis of today’s mogul and freestyle skiing in this fun flashback competition on Jan. 12.