By Sam Werner / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Tom Wallisch remembers what it was like when he got into freestyle skiing.

Youths interested in the sport had a couple of underground videos to watch — if they could find them — and, once a year, ESPN’s X Games would broadcast the sport to a wider, but still niche audience…

…Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, Wallisch didn’t have the benefit of giant Colorado or Utah mountains in his backyard. His family owned a home at Wisp Ski Resort in Maryland, and Wallisch traveled there on weekends.Wallisch took to the terrain course, and started “slopestyle skiing,” focusing on rails and jumps.

“To me, slopestyle is so fascinating because a guy like me can come from a mountain so small,” Wallisch said. “It doesn’t matter the size of the hill, it doesn’t limit the slopestyle skiers you can produce. All that matters is whether or not you can build a terrain park, build jumps and rails.”