X GAMES ASPEN RECAP

In the event that you were too busy getting trenched in pow this weekend to notice, the biggest annual freeskiing event in the world, X Games, went down in Aspen, Colorado. And for those who missed it, or want to relive the next-level action that took place, we’ve compiled a one-stop-shop look at the top ski highlights that took place for your convenience.

The proceedings kicked off on Thursday with Men’s Big Air Eliminations during the day before things kicked into high gear at night with an inaugural event in the world of skiing, and arguably the most entertaining of the weekend: Knuckle Huck.

Hot on the heels of its successful first run in snowboarding at last year’s installment of X Games Aspen, the skiers were given their first crack at it, and over the course of a set-time jam format (which for the first time, was applied to all skiing and snowboarding competitions, as opposed to the two or three-run format of previous years), X Games rookie Colby Stevenson kicked off his life-changing weekend with a bang by bringing home his first X Games gold medal.

KNUCKLE HUCK RESULTS

1) Colby Stevenson
2) Henrik Harlaut
3) Quinn Wolferman
4) Alex Hall
5) Tom Wallisch
6) Torin Yater-Wallace
7) Magnus Graner
8) Pär Hägglund

From there, Friday was the busiest day of the bunch, as in addition to Men’s Slopestyle Eliminations and Men's Superpipe Eliminations taking place, Women’s and Men’s Big Air absolutely went off.

The ladies went first, and when it was all said and done, Tess Ledeux scored her second X Games big air gold medal in a row following her victory last spring in Norway, while last year’s winner in Aspen Mathilde Gremaud settled for second and 2018 Olympic slopestyle gold medalist Sarah Hoefflin took third.

WOMEN'S BIG AIR RESULTS

1) Tess Ledeux
2) Mathilde Gremaud
3) Sarah Hoefflin
4) Kelly Sildaru
5) Megan Oldham
6) Maggie Voisin
7) Isabel Atkin
8) Margaux Hackett

Up next were the men, and what a head-spinning show they put on, which was unquestionably highlighted by Henrik ‘E-Dollo’ Harlaut winning his unthinkable sixth gold medal in big air, which helped him beat the record that his idol, the iconic Tanner Hall, previously held for the skier with the most X Games medals in history.

Meanwhile, joining Harlaut on the podium were last year’s top dog Birk Ruud in second, while the ever-consistent Andri Ragettli nabbed the bronze in front of a massive Friday night crowd.

MEN'S BIG AIR RESULTS

1) Henrik Harlaut
2) Birk Ruud
3) Andri Ragettli
4) Antoine Adelisse
5) Alex Beaulieu-Marchand
6) Christian Nummedal
7) Elias Syrja
8) Evan McEachran
9) Alex Hall
10) Fabian Boesch
11) Jesper Tjader
12) Teal Harle

After a few days of less than ideal light, Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, which perfectly set the stage for Men’s Slopestyle Finals, where to the surprise of some, but few who were previously well aware of his flawlessly technical abilities, Colby Stevenson struck gold for his second time, becoming the first X Games rookie to win ski slopestyle, and was later awarded with the Jeep Best In Snow Award as the MVP of X Games Aspen.

Just a smidge below him was Canadian heartthrob Evan McEachran, who’s smooth trickery lead him to happily score his first X Games medal with a silver, while the Swiss wild man Fabian Boesch found himself in the bronze medal position.

MEN'S SLOPESTYLE RESULTS

1) Colby Stevenson
2) Evan McEachran
3) Fabian Boesch
4) Andri Ragettli
5) Alex Beaulieu-Marchand
6) Alex Hall
7) Nick Goepper
8) Ferdinand Dahl
9) Birk Ruud
10) Gus Kenworthy
11) Teal Harle
12) Colin Wili
13) Max Moffatt
14) Oliwer Magnusson
15) Mark Hendrickson
16) Henrik Harlaut
17) Jesper Tjader
18) Finn Bilous

Later on, under the beaming bright lights, eight ferociously talented females took to the superpipe to show the world who’s boss, and like Stevenson, Estonian wonder woman Kelly Sildaru made her presence felt in a big way by walking away with her first of two gold medals over the weekend.

Behind her, Team Canada claimed the last two spots on the podium, with rising star Rachael Karker in second, while last year’s champion and 2018 Olympic gold medalist Cassie Sharpe impressively rounded out the top three after battling with concussions over the past few months.

WOMEN'S SUPERPIPE RESULTS

1) Kelly Sildaru
2) Rachael Karker
3) Cassie Sharpe
4) Kexin Zhang
5) Zoe Atkin
6) Brita Sigourney
7) Valeriya Demidova
8) Fenghui Li

Then on Sunday, the fourth and final day of the spectacle, it was the ladies' turn once again, this time in slopestyle, where Kelly Sildaru made it two-for-two for the weekend and authoritatively defended her 2019 X Games Aspen title in the process.

One step below her was Sarah Hoefflin, who also scored her second medal of the weekend, while the always impressive Maggie Voisin, who was just returning from a knee injury, roared back with a vengeance to grab the bronze.

WOMEN'S SLOPESTYLE RESULTS

1) Kelly Sildaru
2) Sarah Hoefflin
3) Maggie Voisin
4) Isabel Atkin
5) Mathilde Gremaud
6) Megan Oldham
7) Caroline Claire
8) Tess Ledeux

And last but most certainly not least, for the final ski event of X Games, the men took to the superpipe for their annual mind-boggling showing, and once the dust settled, one of freeskiing’s most high-flying wild childs and Aspen’s very own Alex Ferreira fed off the hometown crowd to win the event for his second time and the second year in a row.

Behind Ferreira was former champion and the picture of consistency Aaron Blunck, who flew to Aspen after slaying pillow lines in the Whistler backcountry with Blank Collective Films, while another X Games rookie, Brendan ‘Meat’ MacKay, was absolutely on fire all night, to the point that the judges eagerly awarded him with third for his first X Games medal.

MEN'S SUPERPIPE RESULTS

1) Alex Ferreira
2) Aaron Blunck
3) Brendan MacKay
4) Nico Porteous
5) Birk Irving
6) Lyman Currier
7) David Wise
8) Noah Bowman
9) Cassidy Jarrell
10) Taylor Seaton
11) Hunter Hess
12) Gus Kenworthy
13) Jaxin Hoerter
14) Evan Marineau
15) Beau-James Wells

That does for another amazing year of X Games Aspen. For more results, highlights and videos from the event, be sure to visit xgames.com, and congratulations to all of the athletes who took part in continuing to push freeskiing forward.