This past weekend, the 25th Aspen X Games came to a close, leaving audiences stunned. From insane record breaking tricks to new rookie energy, the three day competition left the world with a taste of what the impending Olympics will look like.
Friday started off strong on Buttermilk Mountain with a heavy dump of fresh powder and killer Women’s Ski Knuckle Huck showouts. Salt Lake City local, Marin Hamill, grabbed not only her first X Games gold medal, but also a ticket to the winter Olympics in Cortina Milano for her stellar runs. Her highlight was a switch tail-butter 720 that instantly wowed the judges.
Women’s Ski Superpipe also brought the energy, with major throw downs from elite athletes. The silver medal went to 15-year-old rookie Indra Browne of Australia, who became the youngest ski halfpipe medalist in the X-Games. Browne performed some impressive tricks, with some switch 720s and a major alley-oop. But Zoe Atkins of Park City took home the gold for her unstoppable performance, including catching 16 feet of air, multiple switch rotations and a stylish alley-oop.
New Zealand’s Luca Harrington threw down in Men’s Ski Big Air to snag silver. His run consisted of multiple switchbacks and pretzels that ended with a left-side double cork 1260 Japan and a switch right-side triple cork 1440 grab. All done in a T-shirt. He also took home gold in the Men’s Ski Slopestyle after landing another triple cork 1440, which no one else could do during the three day competition.
However, it was Mac Forehand of Vermont in Men’s Big Air who swept the judges and audiences off their feet with his switch triple cork 2160 mute grab to take home the gold.
As the sun went down and the lights came on, Sara Shimizu of Japan stunned crowds with her veteran skill set as a 16-year-old. In the Women’s Snowboard Superpipe, she scored a 95.33 and became the third woman in history to land a frontside double cork 1080 in a Superpipe competition.
To finish off the night, Snowmobile Freestyle made a return, with Brett Turcotte of Canada taking home another gold medal after he spent the last six years away from the Games.
Saturday kept the momentum going, delivering some podium repeats and veteran takeovers. Legend Scotty James of Australia had a run of a lifetime in the Men’s Snowboard SuperPipe, landing back-to-back backside 1440s. James tied Shaun White and Chloe Kim for the most X games gold medals after that defining performance.
In Men’s Snowboarding Big Air, Japan’s Hiroto Ogiwara came ready. He stunned the snowsports world with the first-ever 2340, which is six-and-a-half rotations, to secure back-to-back Big Air gold medals.
Alex Hall of Salt Lake City had a weekend, snagging a gold medal in the Men’s Ski Knuckle Huck. This made him the first skier to have three gold medals in the competition. Hall earned these titles with his mixed switch takeoffs, extended butters and clean rotations.
Sunday was just as eventful and exciting as the past two days. The competitions kicked off with a comeback story from Scottish skier, Kirsty Muir. After missing the last two X Games due to a torn ACL, Muir came back to Aspen and won silver. This made her the first woman from Scotland to ever medal at the X Games.
In Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle, Mark McMorris of Canada bounced back from a poor start and ripped a near-perfect third run to win his 25th career X Games medal. This crowned him the winningest winter athlete of all time.
Jessica Perlmutter dominated in the Women’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck. The 16-year old from Vermont took home gold with her signature “Sloth Roll” that got major air time. And right behind her was Cocomo Murase of Japan, who became the first ever woman to land a 1620 in a competition.
The weekend concluded with the Men’s Ski Superpipe. 19-year-old Finley Melville Ives of New Zealand went 20 feet above the deck of the superpipe to score a perfect 95.00 on the run. He won his first X Games gold.
Aspen was left in utter awe at the on-the-rise talent and the ever-so-powerful veterans. The performances were just the beginning as the 2026 Winter Olympics creep into the picture.