The Perfect Blend

Majestic mountains magnificently blanketed with crystalline snow. Historical charm interlaced with luxurious comforts. Endless opportunities to venture the wilds with carefree intent. It’s this storyline that draws visitors to Aspen every winter. In fact, visitation to the four resorts under the Aspen Skiing Co. umbrella nearly reached the company’s 2018-19 record of more than 1.5 million visits during its 2022-23 season, according to The Colorado Sun.

Every winter, the hills come alive with enthusiasm and anticipation when the X Games rolls in and stakes its claim on Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen Snowmass for elite competitions that test the skills and willpower of some of the world’s finest skiers and snowboarders. This January 23-25, spectators will be riveted as these fearless athletes reach for top spots on the podium in Slopestyle, SuperPipe, Big Air, Knuckle Huck, and Street Style competitions, with the latter debuting for the first time this year.

The X Games Street Style Pro was held December 20-21, 2024, about two hours away at Copper Mountain, a ski resort in Frisco, Colorado. At press time, Maggie Leon (@maggie_leon), a pro snowboarder from Connecticut now living in the Netherlands, was training for the event in hopes of snagging her spot in the X Games’ main event.

Sponsored by and working for Rome Snowboards as a boots and bindings engineer, Leon is ambitious in the shop and fearless on her board. The esteemed company and the Red Bull Heavy Metal street snowboard contest champion reworked her contract to accommodate both passions, giving her more time at De Uithof, or The Dome, an indoor facility with snow in The Hague, Netherlands. “It’s definitely making me hungrier,” she said of her competition training for the X Games Street Style Pro.

X Games offers a high-performance blend of extreme ski and snowboard talent and makes for an electrifying experience for both the athletes and the spectators. “Being there to experience what that energy actually feels like in person, it is completely different than watching it through a screen,” Leon said of these competitions. “The energy and excitement that comes with being present at the event is insane.”

The anticipation of the athletes, the energy of a roaring crowd, and an amped-up announcer give rise to an edge-of-your-seat event. Leon painted the picture: “When you have the announcer screaming someone going last drop, trying to land a trick that they’ve been battling and fighting for the past 15 minutes or however long it had been. And then when they land it… sometimes you get chills. You can see the progression. You can see the fight and the drive the riders have, and just the elevation of the sport as a whole.”

Athletes train, study their competition, and feed off fans’ enthusiasm, and skiers and snowboarders are no exception. Snow sports require extreme concentration, precision, and immense love of the sport, and just like pro footballers, injuries come with the territory. Leon, for example, has broken her collarbone three times, each humerus twice, and her wrist twice doing tricks, and has had more bruises than she can count, but “It’s so worth it,” she said emphatically.

For these athletes, the impact of the X Games is indescribable, Leon said, as it gets more eyes on the different disciplines available in winter sports and a fanbase to keep them coming back year after year. “I think one of my favorite things about really large-scale events like this is exposure into what street riding is,” she said. “So, having X Games add disciplines like rail jam is going to be a game changer for the sport as a whole.”

The X Games is also a cultural experience, blending the outdoors with camaraderie, entertainment, and festivities. Performing on stage for the event this year are well-known DJs and musicians Deadmau5 (pronounced “dead mouse”), Illenium, Daily Bread, Big Gigantic, and Tessla. Each will add a unique color to the event with their individualized musical approaches.

If you can’t make it to Aspen, you can still experience the thrill of X Games by streaming it live and for free at xgames.com. But if you’re in town and high-octane athletics isn’t your jam, Aspen overall is a playground of art, culture, scenery, and assorted amusements.

See a show at Belly Up Aspen or the historic Wheeler Opera House, head to the beautiful artist-founded Aspen Art Museum, unwind with a spa treatment, or peruse the local shops downtown where you can find everything from haute couture to thrift finds, specialty foods, outdoor apparel, and more. Just remember to visit one of the area’s tattoo artists and get inked to mark the occasion.

Eat

Only one traditional wood-burning oven remains in Aspen, and it happens to be at one of the area’s newest restaurants: ZigZag. Boasting a “Chalet Casual” aesthetic, Chef Sam Talbot is serving up French American cuisine with a pinch of elegance and a dash of easygoing, with dishes such as wood-fired pizza with Pomodoro sauce, fresh burrata, garlic confit, and basil; and Kombucha Squash Ravioli with capers, celery, and sage brown butter sauce. zigzagaspen.com

Another new kid on the block is sway, a modern Thai restaurant that dishes out communal-style meals so everyone at the table can savor more flavors. From curry to dumplings, noodles, and stir fry, carnivores and herbivores alike have myriad options to sink their teeth into. If you’re compelled for a cocktail, check out sway’s specialties such as “the emperor,” “lotus margarita,” and “phuket your troubles,” where the mezcal and pineapple juice will whisk you away. aspen.swaythai.com   

If you can’t resist a good taco, grab a bite at Taco Pina Aspen. Bright and charming with indoor and outdoor seating options, the centrally located restaurant opened its doors in early 2024 and features assorted hard- and soft-shelled tacos, fajitas, chimichangas, and many of the other traditional dishes we’ve come to love and expect at beloved Mexican eateries, including breakfast fare. tacopinaaspen.com

Refuel yourself after a day on the slopes at Woody Creek Tavern where you can grub on traditional American dishes such as a Philly cheesesteak, nachos, buffalo wings, and its popular bison burger served with melted cheese, mustard aioli, and crispy fries. Established in 1980, the tavern is graffitied with memorabilia, posters, and Polaroid pictures collected over the decades, including snapshots of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” author and beloved local Hunter S. Thompson. woodycreektavern.com

Recommended by MICHELIN Guide and countless online reviewers, Mawa’s Kitchen, headed by Owner and Executive Chef Mawa McQueen, “is hyper seasonal and reflects Mawa’s international heritage serving up Afro-Mediterranean cuisine with French-American flair.” Like the Spicy Jerk Salmon with sweet plantains and forbidden whole grain rice, or Croque Madame, a Mawa specialty that features jambon de Paris (ham), a sunny-side-up egg, gruyere, Swiss, Mornay sauce, alongside Lyonnaise potatoes. mawaskitchen.com

Play

Events

Slated for January 12-19, Aspen Gay Ski Week is America’s oldest annual LGBTQ+ event, dating back to 1977. Highlights of the event are Drag Queen Bingo, the Hike Highlands Bowl, music and comedy shows, and a Downhill Costume Contest. AGSW is one of Aspen’s largest fundraising events for the LGBTQ+ community. gayskiweek.com

January 30-February 6, the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix returns to Aspen’s Buttermilk Mountain with Visa Big Air. This event aims to thrill with halfpipe, slopestyle, and big air events with some of the world’s most talented freeskiers and snowboarders in the spotlight. With $550,000 up for grabs, spectators can expect some high-level tricks, flips, jumps, and air — and likely a few flails and face plants — as they vie for the prize. aspensnowmass.com/visit/events

Also on deck at Buttermilk Mountain is the highly anticipated debut of The Snow League scheduled March 7-8. Founded and directed by five-time Olympian Shaun White, The Snow League is a progressive, season-long professional snowboarding tour that concludes with crowning the champion and delivering a handsome prize purse. thesnowleague.com

The Palm Tree Music Festival offers Aspen a reprieve from snow-themed events with a taste of the tropics. Although surrounded by Aspen’s wintry backdrop, the outdoor event is decked out with tropical-themed décor and design and offers food, drinks, and festival-themed merch. PTMF music artists hit the stage February 21-22, with Dom Dolla, Kygo, Fisher, Sofi Tukker, and more on stage. palmtreemusicfestival.com

Ullrhof Games returns for its sixth year with shamrock-wearing, beer-drinking shenanigans at Snowmass on March 17. At this beloved St. Patty’s Day revel-making event, players of the games will compete in beer pong, quarters, stump, and more. Spectators are invited to imbibe and cheer on competitors while enjoying the music and prizes. gosnowmass.com/event/ullrhof-games

Activities

Just 30 minutes from the heart of Aspen, Aspen Expeditions offers thrill seekers an opportunity to brave it while scaling the frozen, sheer face of Stein Falls. Ice climbers of all levels can partake in this day-long activity where a trained and certified American Mountain Guides Association ice climbing guide will shepherd the way. All technical climbing equipment is included. aspenexpeditions.com/trips/ice-climbing

Take a snowmobile tour while traversing the breathtaking and boundless White River National Forest. T-Lazy-7 Ranch offers a variety of snow machining opportunities including the Independence Pass Majestic Lunch Tour where riders aged 7 and older can roam Independence, a historic gold mining ghost town, and venture past frozen waterfalls and through the base of the Continental Divide. tlazy7.com/snowmobile-tours

Traipse through glistening terrain in the snow-clad forest on a guided snowshoeing tour with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies. Experienced ACES Naturalist guides will share historical and ecological knowledge about the area as you breathe in the crisp air and stunning beauty of the vast snow-blanketed meadows and the spruce and fir tree forest. aspennature.org

Stay

Walking distance from the Aspen Pedestrian Mall, restaurants, the Aspen Art Museum, and many more indulgences is Hotel Durant Aspen, a charming boutique lodge bounded by Aspen and Snowmass Village. With 19 rooms, the hotel is intimately sized, offering guests a more personalized experience yet providing the modern amenities you expect in a vacation dwelling. Try booking one of the five “Balcony Rooms” where guests can soak up the pines, firs, and snow-blanketed mountains surrounding the property from the comfort of your cozy quarters. durantaspen.com

Within a 40-acre sanctuary in Aspen’s historic west end sits Aspen Meadows Resort, a Bauhaus-inspired retreat with breathtaking mountain views from every vantage. Luxury awaits in the 98 newly renovated suites, attending to the needs of families, business travelers, and ski junkies alike. Grab a nibble at West End Social, hop onboard a complimentary shuttle to Buttermilk Mountain or Downtown Aspen, work up a sweat at its indoor fitness facility, or tour the property’s three art galleries. aspenmeadows.com

Elegantly designed with a mountain dweller’s aesthetic, Hotel Jerome offers plush comforts and spacious accommodations from 525 to 1,265 square feet. Melt away your aches and pains at Yarrow, Hotel Jerome’s wellness oasis, with a blissful massage or body treatment. Book a table at one of the resort’s many food and drink locales, such as The Garden, J-Bar, Bad Harriet, or Prospect, a recommended MICHELIN Guide restaurant with food options like “The Taste of the Land,” where diners can indulge in an exquisite three-course culinary experience that’s sure to assuage your hunger after a day in the outdoors. aubergeresorts.com/hoteljerome

Mollie Aspen exudes elegance with a warm nature that feels like home. “Woven by Nature,” the Scandinavian/Japanese design intermingles minimalism and functionality with simplicity and harmony, featuring an alluring ambiance of clean lines, natural materials, balance, and softness that beckons guests to relax and stay a while. Mollie Aspen offers optional on-site events to lure in lodgers to gather, such as cocktail-making classes, games, workshops, and live music. Additional activities abound around the Mollie, and with very little travel time to get there. mollieaspen.com