Bend’s Tommy Ford, left, with U.S. teammates Travis Ganong (middle) and Steven Nyman at a World Cup race in Beaver Creek, Colorado, last month.

BEND — Professional skier Tommy Ford was in Alta Badia, Italy, last month for World Cup races — but as a spectator, not a racer.

“I was chomping at the bit to be in there,” said Ford, reached via phone in Austria. “It was kind of hard to watch, but also really exciting to watch my (U.S.) teammates do well. This month they’ve been great. It’s easy to be proud of them.”

It has been nearly one year since Ford’s horrific crash in Adelboden, Switzerland, that ended his World Cup run last season on Jan. 9. He was knocked unconscious and suffered significant injuries to his knee, wrist and head.

Much of 2021 has been about recovery for the 32-year-old Ford, a two-time Olympian who was born and raised in Bend. The past year has been a painful, often emotional challenge for Ford, who has dealt with bouts of depression while simultaneously rehabilitating his knee so he can return to racing.

Ford was in the midst of a banner 2020-21 season at the time of his crash, posting four World Cup top-10 results in giant slalom, including a podium finish.

Ford said he tore two ligaments in his right knee, broke his tibial plateau and tore his meniscus. After four surgeries, Ford spent most of the offseason home in Bend recovering. He is also continuing to recover from the concussion he sustained.

“I’m feeling more and more normal,” Ford said. “I’m able to ski in a comfortable way and I’m just trying to push back into some training and run some gates. The knee’s been feeling really good and responding really well to training.”

Ford was able to get back on snow in mid-November at the U.S. Ski Team training camp in Copper, Colorado.

“That was wonderful,” he said. “The first couple days were pretty slow, just sliding around and getting comfortable. Once I started to go faster and link some turns, it was a really neat reminder of why I ski.”

Ford said he does not have a set timeline on a return to World Cup racing, but he said it is likely to be sometime this season. Whether that is in time to qualify for the Beijing Winter Olympics is unknown at this point. In order to qualify, Ford said, he would need to race in the final qualifier, set for Jan. 8-9 in Adelboden, the site of his crash.

“It’s all dependent on how I’m feeling with my body and if my knee’s allowing it, then yeah, and if I’ve had enough training,” Ford said. “I have to qualify, and the qualifying races are happening right now, so … I’m not sure how it’s going to work out. It’s hard to say. There’s one more race to qualify and to be ready for that race will be a bit of a squeeze, but it’s not unrealistic either.”

Ford said he continues to deal with lingering depression that set in during the offseason. He attributes the depression to the concussion and trauma he suffered in the crash, but also to the lack of a physical outlet while injured.

Getting back on the snow has helped.

“It seems like it’s kind of a wave thing. It comes in waves,” Ford said of his depression. “I wouldn’t say it’s gone, but I’m able to recognize it more.”

Ford said he is mentally ready to race again, but his body is not quite ready yet. At the same time, he knows the World Cup giant slalom in Adelboden is coming up soon.

“It would be great to get in there for that, and if not, there will probably be some FIS or Euro Cup races that I would do, and just spend more time training,” he said. “My head is a little in front of my body. I remember the feeling of skiing really fast and I feel like I could be in a race and do well … tomorrow … but I simply can’t do that.”

With the pandemic still a part of daily life, nothing about 2021 was easy for Central Oregon residents. But there were triumphs, large and small, and bright moments worth noting.