By Austin Colbert | The Aspen Times
American freestyle skier Devin Logan airs out of the superpipe during a practice at Buttermilk for the 2021 X Games Aspen on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
ASPEN X Games Aspen 2021 may lack spectators and live music, but it doesn’t come up short for storylines. Between the return of a pair of snowboarding legends and a local Aspen skier going for three-peat glory, the next few days at Buttermilk Ski Area shouldn’t disappoint.
Competition gets underway midday Friday with the women’s snowboard slopestyle finals and goes through Sunday night with a trio of events to close out the show, including the men’s snowboard superpipe contest in primetime.
The X Games Aspen superpipe in 2020 at Buttermilk Ski Area. Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times.
A truly unique and spectator-free X Games Aspen experience took another step toward reality on Thursday when ESPN announced its competition schedule for this year’s event at Buttermilk Ski Area.
An annual showcase of the best freeskiing and snowboarding talent on the planet, X Games is scheduled to go from Jan. 29-31 in what will be a bare bones version compared to what we are used to. All motorized competitions, such as snowmobile and snow bike, won’t take place in 2021, nor will there be any concerts, a staple of the festival. The venue will be fenced off, and no spectators are allowed.