Watch: Shaun White's return to the superpipe after horrific crash

Let’s just call it what it was: quintessential Shaun White.

Standing at the top of the superpipe in Snowmass, Colorado, having fallen on his first two runs at the U.S. Grand Prix event on Jan. 13, White thought about playing it safe. And then, of course, he didn’t.

Frontside double Cork 1440. Cab Double Cork 1080. Frontside 540. Double McTwist 1260. Frontside Double Cork 1260.

Boom. Nailed it. Perfect score. Clinched a spot on the Olympic team.

Now, rewind a few months back to Nov. 24, 2017, when White was standing at the top of a superpipe in the Austrian Alps, preparing for his first run since the accident.

The accident. It happened a month earlier, in October, when White slammed the side of the pipe with his face in a failed Cab Double Cork 1080. Sixty-two stiches, emergency surgery and five days in intensive care followed.

And then the waiting. Waiting to get back on the mountain, to get back on his board, to put the past behind him and focus on the future: the Olympic Games in PeyeongChang.

But how would he respond?

“When you have a big crash, the only real way to get over the fear is to chisel away at it, one day at a time,” White says.

Episode 3 of “SnowPack: Shaun White and the U.S. Snowboard Team” follows White’s return to the superpipe and his first attempt at a Cab Double Cork 1080 since the accident.

“SnowPack” is an eight-part documentary series exploring White’s journey back to the Olympics.

Watch previous episodes:

Episode 1

Episode 2

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