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BY DENA ROSENBERRY
THE GAZETTE
There are plenty of places in Colorado to see your favorite athletes test their skills on the main stage: Coors Field, Pepsi Center, the East Course at The Broadmoor.
But where can you see the world’s top athletes test themselves just a few yards away from where you’re standing — for free?
That’s the best-kept secret of the Winter X Games, which begin Thursday and run through Sunday at Buttermilk Ski Area near Aspen.
See photos from last year's Winter X at Buttermilk Mountain.
That’s right, unlike heading to an arena for Supercross or even cheering on the Mammoth, Colorado’s professional lacrosse team, there is no fee to line the sides of Buttermilk’s 567-foot-long superpipe and watch Shaun White, Louie Vito, Kelly Clark and Gretchen Bleiler twist and turn a dozen feet above your head.
You might even bump into them at the base while you’re grabbing a free Red Bull or beanie cap.
In addition to seeing more than 200 of the best snow-sports athletes in the world compete in the 22-foot superpipe, on the slopestyle course or pulling loops on 450-pound snowmobiles, there’s a village of interactive fun open all day and into the night, and giveaways galore.
(Writer Brian Gomez and photographer Christian Murdock will be at this year's Winter X. OutThereColorado.com will share their photos, video and stories every day! Watch Brian's first video here.)
“This is absolutely the best kids’ event ever,” Tori Campisi, of Aspen, said last year as she watched her sons Charlie and Cooper, then ages 9 and 11, show off their tricks in a free kids rail jam in the Winter X village — one of many held throughout the four-day event.
The XFest SnowPark, set up in the shadow of the massive pro slopestyle hill, was a sort of Little League for snow riders. Campisi brought her kids to watch the competitions and join the free activities.
“We were here last night, too,” she said at the end of a long afternoon, whipping out her cellphone to share some photos.
In one frame, the Campisi kids were crowded around local skier Torin Yater-Wallace, who at 15 became the youngest competitor in Winter X Games history — and won silver in the Skiing SuperPipe. In the photo the kids — and Yater-Wallace — were all smiles.
“It was great,” Campisi says.
(Yater-Wallace, now 16, took gold last Saturday on the pro Dew Tour stop in Vermont.)
In between competitions you can walk the village, checking out the latest gear from Burton and other gear makers, get some hands-on experience operating a ski-mounted video camera, practice your tricks in a free beginner terrain park, or even enter daily competitions. And you won’t miss the action, because giant TV screens show whatever practice or competition is under way, or share interviews with your favorite athletes.
Buttermilk Mountain is open throughout the event, so you can even take a break from watching the action by hitting the slopes or head to a free concert by Awolnation on Saturday night.
And don’t think the athletes hold back because this isn’t the Olympic Winter Games. Last January at Buttermilk, Kelly Clark was the first female ever to nail a 1080 in Snowboard SuperPipe, Scotty Lago won the inaugural Snowboard Best Method competition, Nic Sauve won the inaugural Snowboard Street competition, Tucker Hibbert won his fifth-straight Snowmobile gold, and White scored a 97.33 as he stomped the first Snowboard SuperPipe four-peat.
Lindsey Jacobellis will attempt the first-ever Snowboarder X Women’s five-peat this week, and White will attempt the first-ever Snowboard SuperPipe five-peat.
See you there.
WINTER X GAMES
When: Thursday-Sunday; 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Where: Buttermilk Mountain at Aspen/Snowmass
Cost: Free
Parking: Brush Creek Transfer Lot (aka Intercept Lot), Colorado 82 and Brush Creek Road; free shuttles to Buttermilk.
GOOD TO KNOW
• All activities are held outdoors
• Prohibited items include: large bags, weapons, alcohol, coolers, pets, folding chairs, large umbrellas, lasers, noisemakers, beverages of any kind in unsealed containers.
• Large posters and banners must be checked by security and may be rejected; sticks and poles are not permitted.
• Buttermilk Mountain is open to skiers and snowboarders 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
• 13 Colorado skiers and snowboarders are expected to compete.
SCHEDULE
See a full schedule. There is no guarantee a certain athlete will compete in this week’s event. Check the website for updates.
SLOPESTYLE
The 2012 course features a 25-foot wall ride, a jib over a Jeep, and four huge jumps, including the 80-foot Money Booter.
Women’s ski
• Finals, 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
• Whom to watch: Canadian Kaya Turski, who won gold in 2010, again is heavily favored. She won gold in last week’s Dew Tour stop.
Men’s ski
• Elimination, 10:30 a.m. Thursday; finals, 7:45 p.m. Thursday.
• Whom to watch: Norwegian Andreas Hatveit (a three-time slopestyle Winter X medalist), Sammy Carlson, Tom Wallisch, Bobby Brown and Jossi Wells.
Men’s snowboard
• Elimination, 10:30 a.m. Friday; finals, 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
• Whom to watch: Canadian Sebastien Toutant, Canadian Mark McMorris and Norwegian Torstein Horgmo.
Women’s snowboard
• Finals, 1:30 p.m. Friday.
• Whom to watch: Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi, Britain’s Jenny Jones, and California’s Jamie Anderson (with five slopestyle medals).
SUPERPIPE
Men’s ski
• Elimination, 6:30 p.m. Friday; finals, 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
• Whom to watch: France’s Kevin Rolland and Xavier Bertoni, Duncan Adams of Breckenridge, and Aspen’s Torin Yater-Wallace (who just won gold on the Dew Tour).
Women’s ski
• Finals, 11 a.m. Saturday.
• Whom to watch: With the recent passing of skipipe pioneer Sarah Burke, this will be an emotionally tough event for this year’s athletes. Americans Maddie Bowman, Devin Logan and Brita Sigourney were neck-and-neck on the Dew Tour.
Men’s snowboard
• Elimination, 12:15 p.m. Sunday; finals, 7:45 p.m. Sunday.
• Whom to watch: Shaun White, Scotty Lago, Louie Vito and Danny Davis.
Women’s snowboard
• Finals, 9 p.m. Friday.
• Whom to watch: Kelly Clark (who hit first 1080 by a woman last year), Aspen’s Gretchen Bleiler, and Australia’s Torah Bright.
CROSS EVENTS
Men’s ski
• Elimination, 11:30 a.m. Friday; finals, noon Sunday.
• Whom to watch: Vail’s Chris Del Bosco, Alex Fiva of Switzerland, who won the World Cup event Jan. 15.
Women’s ski
• Elimination, 11:30 a.m. Friday; finals, noon Sunday.
• Whom to watch: France’s Ophelie David.
Men’s snowboard
• Elimination, 2 p.m. Friday; finals, 2 p.m. Saturday.
• Whom to watch: Nate Holland, who won the World Cup event Sunday, Pierre Vaultier, Nick Baumgartner of Michigan.
Women’s snowboard
• Elimination, 2 p.m. Friday; finals, 2 p.m. Saturday.
• Whom to watch: Lindsey Jacobellis of Vermont. UPDATE: Jacobellis will miss the Buttermilk stop because of a torn ACL in her left knee.
Monoski
• Elimination, 9:30 a.m. Saturday; finals, 2:45 p.m. Sunday.
Adaptive snowboard (exhibition event)
• 3:30 p.m. Friday
SNOWMOBILE
• Freestyle final, 7 p.m. Thursday.
• Best trick final, 7 p.m. Sunday.
• Whom to watch: Brothers Caleb and Colten Moore, Daniel Bodin
SNOWBOARD STREET
A showoff session featuring urban-inspired features.
• Finals, 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
• Whom to watch: Canadian Nic Sauve.
BIG AIR
Watch the athletes take flight off the 80-foot jump.
Snowboard
• Finals, 8:30 p.m. Friday.
• Whom to watch: Canadian Sebastien Toutant, Norwegian Torstein Horgmo.
SKI
• Finals, 6:45 p.m. Saturday.
• Whom to watch: Breckenridge’s Bobby Brown, Sammy Carlson.
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