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A Big Season at Buttermilk - events

A Big Season at Buttermilk

Home of all-day recess boasts banner lineup of park and pipe events including the 24th X Games Aspen, the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix, and inaugural The Snow League.

Catherine Lutz

When the world’s best freeskiers and snowboarders descend on Buttermilk for X Games Aspen in late January, it will be the event’s 24th consecutive year at the easy-going mountain, otherwise known for its beginner-friendly terrain and mellow vibe. But hosting the world’s premier action snowsports premiere winter action sports competition for that long is not Buttermilk’s only milestone. With the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix park-and-pipe event following X Games Aspen and the debut of Shaun White’s The Snow League in early March, this is the biggest season of slopestyle, park, and pipe competitions that Aspen Snowmass has ever seen. A veteran internal team is in charge of the venue’s design and construction—tapping decades of experience with local on-mountain events and an intimate knowledge of every nuance of the terrain to craft a world-class experience for athletes and spectators alike.

“Our investment in this arena is purposeful,” says John Rigney, SVP of Business Development at Aspen Skiing Company. “It’s a progressive and evolving setting to stay connected with young skiers and riders, to feed the generational pipeline, and to welcome back the very best and celebrate athletic achievement at the highest levels. We’re excited for Aspen Snowmass to continue to be the center of the winter action sports universe.”

Here's the skinny on the season’s big events:

X Games Aspen 2025 

January 23–25, 2025

What

The 24th consecutive X Games Aspen features 20 different ski and snowboard medal disciplines for men and women, including SuperPipe, Slopestyle, Big Air and the ever-popular Knuckle Huck. Returning this year as a medal discipline is Street Style, a competition on urban-style features in which skiers and boarders are judged on originality, creativity, difficulty, style, and trajectory.

Ticketed competitions take place day and night, and daily admission includes musical appearances by artists such as Deadmau5 and Illenium.

Tickets are currently sold out for 2025.

Who

Around 110 of the top freeski and snowboard athletes in the world received invitations to X Games Aspen 2025 — about eight to 10 competitors per event. Representing 20 countries and 16 U.S. states, they include hometown favorites Alex Ferreira — who won every ski halfpipe event last season and so far this season has made the podium in every event — and Hannah Faulhaber, a ski halfpipe world champion who is in a rebuilding season coming back from injury. Other athletes to watch: Canadian Mark McMorris, a veteran snowboard slopestyle and big air athlete who has earned medals in three Olympics; Eileen Gu, a decorated medalist in ski halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air (and a favorite in Street Style) who competes for China; and New Zealand’s Zoi Sadowski-Synnot, who at age 23 already has nine X Games medals in snowboard slopestyle and big air to her name.
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2025 X Games Aspen

The 24th annual X Games Aspen takes place at Buttermilk January 23-25, 2025. Learn more about the event schedule, ticketing, and viewing information here.

Toyota U.S. Grand Prix and Visa Big Air

January 30–February 6, 2025

What

A World Cup tour stop for halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air competitions in both ski and snowboard, the Toyota U.S.Grand Prix offers a full week of gravity-defying daytime events, all free and open to the public. It’s also the first of a three-year run at Buttermilk — the 2026 Grand Prix is the final qualifying event on U.S. soil to name the Olympic team. As for the events themselves, the pipe is the same as X Games Aspen, while for the slopestyle course, the local course crew is changing roughly one-third of the rails in the upper section, so as not to give X Games Aspen athletes an unfair competitive advantage, according to Aspen Snowmass events team member Tyler Lindsay. The final jump of the slopestyle course will also serve as the big air venue.

Who

While X Games Aspen showcases the select few, Grand Prix offers a full field of talent, from veterans to up-and-comers from the world over. And with the 2026 Olympics in their sights, here’s your chance to watch some athletes’ Cinderella stories begin to unfold. Six Aspen Snowmass athletes are competing in ski halfpipe alone: Ferreira and Faulhaber (of course), plus U.S. Freeski Team members Tristan Feinberg, Kai Morris, and rookies Nick Geiser and 16-year-old Hunter Maytin, who’s making a name for himself after earning stellar results in his breakthrough season last year.
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The Snow League

March 6–8, 2025

What

Get ready for something truly unique when the world’s first pro snowboard league launches in the Buttermilk halfpipe this season. Featuring head-to-head competition with an emphasis on creativity and progression, the contest is the first of a four-event global season, in which athletes accumulate points as they vie for generous prize purses and championship titles, to be awarded at the finals in March 2026. Although it’s starting with snowboard halfpipe, The Snow League plans to expand to include freeski and slopestyle events. The idea is to offer a season-long story about the world’s best action snowsports athletes—and in the process help elevate their careers. Following a training day, the two-day competition includes qualifiers—which are free to attend — and a ticketed final event.

Who

The Snow League is the brainchild of Shaun White, the most accomplished competitive snowboarder to date, who brought together a group of investors equally passionate about his vision. The inaugural season includes 36 of the world’s top halfpipe snowboard athletes—20 men and 16 women. An eight-person field qualifies for finals at each event. Athletes to watch include 2022 Olympic gold medalist Ayumu Hirano of Japan; Spain’s Queralt Castellet, who won Olympic silver that year; and 2024 Crystal Globe runner-up Maddie Mastro of Team USA.
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