It is set to be a busier schedule for the halfpipe specialists this time around as the discipline seldom featured last season.

Aaron Blunck of the United States and Rachael Karker of Canada won the only halfpipe event staged in Aspen in the United States in the 2020-2021 FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup campaign.

It was enough for the duo to claim the discipline's crystal globes as Blunck retained the men’s title while Karker won the women's halfpipe crown for the first time.

This season will see freestyle skiers compete in four events, starting with Copper Mountain in Colorado.

Calgary in Canada is scheduled to stage a doubleheader on December 30 and January 1 before the World Cup returns to the US, with Mammoth due to stage the season finale on January 7.

There were just two halfpipe legs on the FIS Snowboard World Cup programme last season with Yūto Totsuka of Japan winning both men’s events in Laax in Switzerland and Aspen.

Olympic champion Chloe Kim of the US sealed her third halfpipe World Cup title by winning back-to-back competitions.

Three halfpipe stages are planned for this season with Mammoth playing host on January 8 and Laax on January 15 after the opener in Copper Mountain.

Competition is due to start tomorrow with the freeski halfpipe qualification before snowboarders take centre stage on Thursday (December 9).

The finals are then due to be held on Friday (December 10) and Saturday (December 11).