X-Games week

View of Mt. Hayden off the backside of Ajax

This week the largest event in the ski/snowboard industry comes to Aspen for the Winter X Games.  This will be the 10th year the event has been held at Buttermilk.  I was just at Buttermilk yesterday and the set up and training is in full swing.  The event kicks off on Thursday and runs through Sunday.  Some of the more popular events are the skier and snowboard superpipe, slopestyle, and skier/boarder cross.  The event is free to attend and there are buses that run continuously throughout the day from downtown Aspen to the event.  Many people think that if you aren’t going to go watch the X-Games that this is a bad week to be in town but this couldn’t be further from the truth.  The slopes are typically empty as most of the visitors are at Buttermilk watching the event.  There are typically 20,00 visitors a day to the event which means there aren’t that many people skiing!  Snowmass is a great place to ski if you are trying to avoid the hoopla.  There crowds will be light and we’ve got great snow right now so the riding will be excellent.  The forecast is calling for some snow tonight followed by sunshine through the weekend.  The sunshine and fresh snow should put the mountain in great shape and some great skis for the conditions would be the Salomon Enduro, Volkl Kendo, or Nordica Enforcer.   Whether you are looking to watch the top athletes in our sport compete or ski uncrowded slopes this is one of top weekends of the year in Aspen.  If you haven’t booked your flight do it now!