Known for breaking records and breaking bones in the process, Simon Dumont is pushing the limits every time he drops into a pipe or jump. Looked to as a leader in the relatively new world of freeskiing, Simon used his background in gymnastics to become a thrilling and spectacular aerialist on skis. One of the most important faces in skiing today, he's pushing the sport with the biggest airs and mind-blowing spins.

Contests have been good to Simon, who's won back-to-back Winter X golds, the U.S. Open, Gravity Games, Nippon Open, The Ski Tour, and the World Skiing Invitational. In between contests, he's strung together an impressive list of film segments. In fact, it was during filming of a massive Park City tow-in jump in March 2005 that almost finished his career. Simon launched into the air at some 60 mph overshooting the landing area by about 100 feet. Helmetless, the 18-year-old landed flat on snow frozen so solid it might as well have been concrete.

Yet it seems nothing can stop Simon - even shattered ankles, broken pelvis and collar bone, or ruptured spleen, all of which he's suffered in the last few years. In April 2008 he broke the world quarterpipe height record by airing 35.5 feet out of a 38-foot QP at Sunday River, Maine. And he characteristically did it in style, performing a cork 900 tail grab. "I wasn't trying to do something dramatic, just wanted to overcome my fear of quarterpipes," says Simon of the record.

"Caution" may not be the operative word for Simon. Still, the 5' 7" skier acknowledges that he did some serious weight training while he was waiting to resume his schedule, and he also adjusted his mindset, determining to ski "smarter" in the future. It seems that in the case of Simon Dumont, what doesn't kill you does make you stronger.