Aspen Skiing Co. today will announce the return of the Winter X Games to Buttermilk in January — and then some.
The X Games will be the first of a trifecta of major park and pipe events passing through Aspen this winter: Buttermilk will become the inaugural host of Snow League — Shaun White’s new winter sports competition league — in March. That will cap off a freeski season that also will see the hill become the first U.S. venue to host the FIS Freeski World Cup’s slopestyle, big air and halfpipe events in the same week.
The slopes of Buttermilk will feature some of the elite freeskiers and snowboarders in the world throughout the later winter months.
“This is a significant investment that reinforces Aspen Snowmass’ commitment to celebrating athletic achievement,” John Rigney, SkiCo senior vice president of business development, said via phone on Monday. “Not only are we investing in it with multiple parks and multiple pipes, but we are literally bringing the best athletes in the world here during three consecutive months.”
After extended speculation about the future of the X Games in Aspen, the event will return for its 24th straight year Jan. 23-25. The 2024 edition of the X Games came and went without renewal of a new contract from MSP Sports Capital, which purchased the event in late 2022.
In June, X Games announced X Games League, a team-based format that will include multiple events. But in the meantime, Aspen will continue to be the pinnacle — and sole — host of the event.
“We are excited to return to Aspen in January for our 24th consecutive year,” Issa Sawabini, a partner at Fuse Marketing who is assisting with X Games communications, said via email on Monday. “We’ll have more info to share in the coming months on the new format and schedule but this winter fans will continue to experience world class ski and snowboard competition at X Games Aspen.”
It will be the first time since 2017 that the Winter X Games has run a schedule from Thursday through Saturday. Previous X Games concluded with events on Sunday.
The Freeski World Cup U.S. Grand Prix coming to Aspen has been public knowledge for several weeks and the week from Jan. 30 through Feb. 6 is “shaping up to be the biggest week in Park & Pipe World Cup history at Aspen,” according to a freeski halfpipe World Cup preview on FIS-Ski.com posted Sept. 4.
“No resort in the 21-year history of the FIS Freeski World Cup has stepped up to host slopestyle, big air and halfpipe competitions in the same week, but this winter Aspen is taking on the challenge, and we cannot wait to see how it all goes down at one of the world’s preeminent ski resorts,” the article reads.
Rigney, through U.S. Ski and Snowboard, confirmed that — at least in the U.S. — no venue has hosted all three events simultaneously.
Snowboarding halfpipe qualifiers for halfpipe are on Jan. 30, slopestyle on Jan. 31, and big air on Feb. 5. The snowboard finals for halfpipe are on Feb. 1, slopestyle on Feb. 2 and big air on Feb. 6.
Skiing slopestyle qualifiers are on Jan. 30; halfpipe on Jan. 31; and big air on Feb. 4. Finals for slopestyle are on Feb. 1; halfpipe on Feb. 2; and big air on Feb. 6.
The World Cup schedule is already underway, with competitions in Cardrona, New Zealand on Sept. 6-9. Aspen local Alex Ferreira walked away with a silver medal, his seventh consecutive podium in a World Cup event after a flawless season last year. Other locals — Nick Geiser, Cassidy Jarrell, Tristan Feinberg, Hunter Maytin and Kai Morris — also competed. Former world champion and Olympian Hanna Faulhaber is still rehabbing a knee injury.
The 2025 event will be the first of a three-year commitment with FIS to host Park and Pipe World Cup competitions. Rigney said that the 2026 event is currently scheduled to be one of the last qualifiers for the Olympic games in Milano Cortina, Italy.
“It’s going to be a big year when you think about not only the competition landscape, but with the Olympics looming in ‘26, this is probably the most consequential year,” Rigney said. “I think we’re going to find that the best in the world will be here a lot over the coming seven months.”
With about a month off, Buttermilk will then play host to the first competition of the new Snow League — being launched by Olympian and 23-time X Games medalist Shaun White — on March 7-8, according to SkiCo. A total of 36 invited competitors will compete in a season for a $1.5 million prize purse over the course of the season.
At its announcement in June, the new league said it would have five global halfpipe events — the first in the U.S. then the rest around the globe. The events will include both snowboarders and freeskiers.
“Aspen’s long history of successfully hosting world-class winter sports competitions, along with Shaun’s deep appreciation for Aspen’s contributions to his career makes it the perfect place to launch our new league,” Ian Warda, chief operating officer of The Snow League, said in the news release by SkiCo.
Previously, Aspen hosted the X Games, World Cup and World Championships in 2020 during the pandemic.
Logistics are not yet sorted out for the events, but they figure to provide a diversity of experiences for viewers: Rigney said that X Games will be the only one under the lights (while still having day-viewing options), while World Cup and Snow League will happen during the day. X Games introduced new priced admittance for events like the halfpipe, while cost of viewing has not yet been determined for the other two (though Rigney noted “there isn’t any indication we’re going to go that route with the Grand Prix”).
The Grand Prix will feature some of the largest per-event competition fields and is likely to feature deeper local talent pools. X Games events will feature the fewest — as few as eight contestants per event, if previous years’ formats are followed.
It all makes for a busy few months for the park and pipe crew at Buttermilk, but Rigney said this wouldn’t be happening if their reputation didn’t precede them.
“Top events search for spectacular settings offering the best possible venues maintained and organized by teams committed to world-class execution in the coolest mountain communities in the world,” Rigney said. “And we have all of that in spades.”
