IAN MICHAEL HANSON
#NorwegIANwasatch
Nick Name: Jan (pronounced Yawn)
Gender: Male
Born: 13. January, 1991 in Salt Lake City, Utah
Current Location: Stavanger, Norway
Hobbies: Mixed Climbing, Trad. Climbing, Back-country Skiing, Photography, Music, Cold Places
Motto: Failure is guaranteed if you never try. There is nothing that you cannot overcome if you want it enough.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah. I grew up with a passion for the mountains in the resort town of Park City, Utah. Growing up with world class ski resorts in your backyard means learning to ski before you learn to walk. My dad taught me early on to love and respect the mountains, saying that he was a member of the ´First Church of the White Slope` meaning a day of non-stop skiing. I have been lucky enough to go on many ski and climbing adventures with my dad to places such as Japan, Canada, and Arctic Norway.
I come from a very active family! My brother Nick, my two sisters (Breanne and Sarah), and I all starting ski jumping when we were in elementary school. Breanne was forced to quit after a few seasons because of an injury, she is now a Yoga instructor in Washington, DC. The rest of us traveled across North America (and eventually the world) for competitions.
Nick went to Vancouver and Socchi as a back-up athlete for Nordic Combined, in case one of his team mates was unable to compete, but didn´t have the opportunity to officially compete in the Olympics. He is currently Captain of the University of Utah Cross Country Ski Team.
Sarah won the first ever World Cup for Women´s Ski Jumping, was the first World Champion, and was the first woman to ski jump in the Winter Olympics (in Socchi)!
My own ski jumping career was cut short in January 2007 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado the day after qualifying for Junior Olympics. I remember coming off the take-off of the K114 with more speed than ever before (around 70mph) and being extremely high off of the ground. The crash and the next few days are mostly a blur, but I will never forget that feeling of flying through the air. In total I broke my clavicle in 8 places, 4 ribs, and my femur all the way through in 2 places. Not a fun trip.
I moved to Lillehammer, Norway in 2008 as an exchange student and immediately fell in love with the country. I knew right away that I wanted to stay for a bit longer so I decided to apply for something called Folkehøgskole, a type of school where you pick a subject you like, in my case mountaineering, and focus on that for a year without homework or exams. I got accepted to the school and moved to Kabelvåg in 2009. Kabelvåg is a small village in the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway, far above the arctic circle. It was in Lofoten that I rekindled my life-long affair with climbing and it is also where I met my wife.
I live and work in Stavanger, Norway and spend the winter months competing for the American Alpine Club in the UIAA Ice Climbing World Cup. I am currently ranked #4 in Speed in North America (#10 overall). When I am not climbing or out looking for new lines, I am with my wonderful wife and our adorable Bernese Mountain dog puppy.
