Salt Lake City, UT – Halfpipe skier Jen Hudak has announced her retirement from competitive skiing.

Hudak, 29, made the announcement this week via her website and Facebook page.

“This has been the toughest decision of my life, but I’ve decided to retire from halfpipe skiing,” Hudak wrote. “The last 12 years of my life have been the most rewarding, challenging, exciting, trying, joyful, painful and fulfilling years of my life. This sport has taken me to places I never could’ve imagined going, it has brought more to my life than I ever believed possible, which is why walking away is so hard. But it has also taken a lot from me as well: friends, healthy body parts, and time that can never be replaced. It’s time to step into the unknown.”

Hudak, of Salt Lake City, indicated that she had planned to announce her retirement earlier, but that her father’s health prompted her to wait.

“Last February, when I went to help my dad while he was in the hospital I told him I was going to announce my retirement from halfpipe skiing at the Park City Grand Prix. I could tell that he was relieved. I have to imagine it’s been stressful being my parent for the majority of my life, as a lot of the things I love to do are relatively risky,” Hudak wrote. “But just before I was to fly back to Utah for my final contest, my father fell and broke his hip. I was overwhelmed with a sinking feeling, I could sense that his end was near, and saying goodbye to two of the most important components of my life was far too much to handle all at once. So I stayed silent.”

Hudak says that she’s not sure what she wants to do going forward, but that she’ll definitely be skiing.

“Just because I’ve chosen to retire (and it most certainly is my choice), doesn’t mean I need to be done with skiing pursuits entirely.  I’m scrapping the ‘only-way-I-knew-how-to-be-a-skier’ model and starting over. I’ve asked myself exactly what it is that I want to do with skiing. And the answer is simple: just ski!”