Ski the Wong Way!

That  was the header on the classic K2 poster of a young guy with long black hair wearing white mirrored sunglasses; in mid air off a mogul;, in the middle of a jet turn. It was the early 1970s and the young Canadian from Vancouver B.C. was the public image for the new sport of freestyle skiing.   

Today, the smile is still there; the sunglasses too. While the hair length is nearly the same, the color has ‘matured’. Nonetheless, for a generation of skiers, Wayne Wong is still our face of freestyle skiing.

Wong started skiing at age 11 with his buddies from Mount Seymour near his hometown. Traditional alpine racing wasn’t his thing. Instead, he told The Telegraph last year: ” We would tear down the mountain in a pack, running the moguls really fast and looking for things to jump off”. 

It was the start the Mount Seymour Hot-Dog Club.    

Hot Dog?

“We were show-offs.  That’s what I was. I loved it.” 

Back then there were no rules for this new style of skiing.  Olympic champion Stein Eriksen  had done back and front flips at ski shows in the 1950s and on hill acrobats like Herman Gollner, and Tommy LeRoy followed. Olympic downhiller Suzy Chaffee turned skis – and heads – when she traded her race suit for a silver outfit and danced down the slopes of Killington in the late 1960s. 

Wong, then a teenager, began developing his own repertoire of on hill tricks, many by accident. ” We would fall down and spin around and bounce back up on to our feet and go – Holy crap! That was a new trick.”

One day when skiing, he hit a wall of snow and his ski tips stuck into the mound. ” As I was thrown forward, I instinctively  put my poles out in front of me, vaulted over them, and landed back on my feet – a somersault using ski poles.” 

The world was introduced to “The Wong Banger”. That would become Wayne’s signature trick. 

At about the same time,  ex-Olympic racer Tom Corcoran who had opened the Waterville Valley ski area in New Hampshire and Skiing Magazine editor Doug Pfeiffer had a dinner table disagreement one evening over who were the better skiers: alpine racers or freestylers. They decided to organize an event to settle the matter. They arranged to get Chevrolet to sponsor and offer a Corvette as first prize. It was named the National Championships of Exhibition Skiing. It would be three runs with the best of two counting. There were no formal rules; just show your best and let the panel of judges, which included triple Olympic gold medalist Jean-Claude Killy, pick the winner.

Wong wanted in. With the help of hometown friends he scraped together $200 to travel from Vancouver to New Hampshire. It didn’t start well. Trying to show off the Wong Banger, he crashed on the first run. After a cautious second run to bank a score, he let loose on the third, nailing a Wong Banger. Then, on the last big kicker, one of his skis released on take off. Somehow he landed upright and, on one ski, made up some tricks down the hill to the finish. 

The judges were impressed. Wong finished third overall, winning $1,000. It was 1971, and at 21,  the start of his professional ski career. 

Did the event settle the issue of who was the better skier: ? 

It has never been a question in Wong’s mind: “It’s the one that’s having the most fun.”.

Back in Canada, Wong resumed his ski teaching, now under the heading  “Skiing the Wong Way”  He was named Freestyle Skier of the Year by Skiing Magazine in1972 and he continued to compete in Freestyle events in North America and abroad through 1976, his prominence boosted by a featured role in a widely seen Pepsi television commercial. Although no longer a competitor, he became a regular guest at events across ski country.  He came back to competition in the 80’s, winning the World Powder Eight championships in 84, 86, and 87.  

With his combination of style and personality. Wong has always been a popular figure with the public and for years he has used that appeal to benefit charitable causes.  At an American Airlines Celebrity Ski Event in 1984, he made a special connection with a six year old girl with cystic fibrosis.  Since then he has participated in events that have raised more than $40 million for that cause. 

Over the past half century, freestyle has survived some early safety issues to become a popular sport, now split into specialties. It has been on the Olympic stage since 1992. Even though he never competed in modern era of the sport, he has always been a prominent figure, including these days  as ‘sponsored athlete” at the Deer Valley resort in Park City Utah, reprising the on the slopes role held for many years by the late Stein Eriksen. Among his many honors, Wong is a member of both the US and Canadian Ski Halls of Fame. 

And this month, at age 74 and fresh off being featured in the AARP magazine, he will be back on hand as a special guest at Waterville Valley NH for the FIS Freestyle World Cup events, Jan 24 and 25. With his elegant ski style, colorful outfits and engaging personality, he won’t be hard to spot.

How about a Wong Banger, or two, Wayne? 

“No more. I hang out on the groomers now. My challenge today is just making good turns.”