Any skiing in the southern hemisphere?
In August, I'm going to head down to New Zealand. I've been doing that for the past five years, which kind of kicks things off for us heading into the early season. Usually, when I'm skiing for fun, that's when I learn the most. But I'm definitely going to compete at the [New Zealand] Winter Games, which is a FIS event this year and should have a really deep field.

How was the transition from living in Park City to being based out of Vail this year and working with coach Elana Chase at Ski Club Vail?
Early season was awesome in Vail, especially being so close to Copper leading up to the Grand Prix. Vail is definitely the most comfortable place I've been -- good people and pretty low-key, which is what I'm looking for in a training environment. [Chase's] crew had a really great year in terms of results, so she's been huge for everyone on our team. It's also been great being so close to the Steadman Philippon Research Institute with all my injuries this year.

What kind of injuries were you dealing with?
It started with an MCL tear in October in New Zealand. Right after the Grand Prix, I separated my shoulder and bruised my heel. Then, I knocked myself out with a concussion at the X Games. It really beat me down mentally. I've never been so bummed in my life. But I finally pulled it together at WSI, where I took second. So I was glad to get a result for everybody, including myself. Heading into the off-season, that Whistler result is really going to help me.

What do you think we'll see in the halfpipe, trick-wise, next year?
It seems as though switch doubles are playing a big role in the pipe. And I think it's getting so technical that some people are doing left- and right-side-spinning double flips. It's really going to come down to grabbing and putting in your own style -- really small differences between first, second and third. The playing field is going to level out, and the progression is going to slow down. Some guys are throwing triple flips. They're definitely pretty cool but not practical for competition.