Our favorite time of year has finally commenced — IT’S X GAMES ASPEN WEEK and we are HYPED!
For the 24th edition of ESPN’s annual winter action sports competition, X Games Aspen 2020 will feature the world’s top action sports athletes competing in the sports of Ski, Snowboard, Snowmobile and Snow Bike at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colorado.
The four-day event will also feature an enhanced festival village experience, offering spectators a unique and wide-ranging interactive experience to complement the X Games competitions. If that’s not enough to add to the fun, the festival village will include a music stage with ticketed performances by Alesso, Rae Sremmurd, ILLENIUM and Bazzi!
Celeb Secrets is headed back to Aspen later this week to get you breaking news on all things sports and music, but before the best show on snow begins, we’re giving you a run-down of what you can expect from this year’s X Games.
Be sure to tune into ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNEWS and the ESPN App beginning Wednesday, January 22nd @ 9:00 pm ET to catch the competitions right in your living room! You can even stream these events live on the WatchABC and WatchESPN app, with Xgames.com and @XGames having the full television schedule.
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for breaking updates straight from Buttermilk Mountain!
(Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images)
The Competitions
Kicking off Thursday (January 23rd) and wrapping on Sunday (January 26th), over 200 world-class athletes will be competing in various ski, snowboard, snowmobile, snowbike, and moto events for medals, prize money, and of course the bragging rights that come with it. The best part? Each competition is absolutely free and open to the public if you’re in Aspen AND will be streaming on ESPN platforms for everyone wanting to watch from home.
This year, X Games is taking things to the next level with its disciplines. Featuring fan favorites such as Slopestyle, Big Air, and SuperPipe for both men and women as well as introducing the Ski Knuckle Huck, Snowboard Rail Jam and SuperPipe Session, the event will be covering it ALL this year. Be sure to visit Xgames.com for the updated schedule of the competitions as well as the previews of the courses.
The Music
Aside from the competitions, our favorite part about X Games Aspen is seeing some of our favorite artists live — outside in the middle of a ski mountain. This year, Alesso, Rae Sremmurd, ILLENIUM and Bazzi are all expected to take the stage, guaranteeing to bring some fire to the chilly base of Buttermilk Mountain. Check out the schedule of when they’re slated to perform below and click here to purchase tickets!
- Rae Sremmurd – Friday, January 24th @ 10:00PM MT
- ILLENIUM – Saturday, January 25th @ 4:30PM MT
- Alesso – Saturday, January 25th @ 9:30PM MT
- Bazzi – Sunday, January 26th @ 4:30PM MT
(Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images)
The Amazing Athletes
Over 200 athletes are touching down in Aspen this week to prepare for what could be one of the most important (and exhilarating) competitions of their lives later this week. This year’s roster is uber talented, as some of the best skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers in the world will all be under one roof.
Out of all the athletes competing this year, Celeb Secrets compiled a list of athletes you should keep your eye on this weekend — skiers Gus Kenworthy and Kelly Sildaru; and snowboarders Scotty James, Max Parrot and Anna Gasser.
Gus Kenworthy
The only man left who competes in ski SuperPipe, Slopestyle and Big Air at the highest level, Gus medaled in all four X Games 2016 events he entered: Slopestyle and SuperPipe silver at Aspen 2016 and Big Air and SuperPipe bronze at X Games Oslo 2016. He won the AFP overall title for the 8th straight time in 2018, and he’s perhaps the best all-around skier in the world. Gus is also perhaps the most known – he is an LGBT activist, received a Visibility Award from the Human Rights Campaign in 2017 and was on the most recent season of American Horror Story: 1984.
You can follow Gus on Instagram at @guskenworthy.
(Photo by Gabriel Christus / ESPN Images)
Kelly Sildaru
Hailing from a land with no real mountains, Sildaru is already a skiing phenom. At X Games Aspen 2016, Sildaru became the youngest X Games gold medalist ever at a winter event, taking gold in Ski Slopestyle at just 13 years old. In 2017 she defended her title in Slopestyle and took silver in Big Air at X Games Norway, before a knee injury took her out of competition leading into the Olympic season in 2018. Sildaru returned in 2019 stronger than ever, taking three medals at X Games Aspen last year, including two golds, in less than 24 hours when she added SuperPipe to the mix.
You can follow Kelly on Instagram at @kellysildaru.
(Photo by Eddie Perlas / ESPN Images)
Scotty James
Scotty raised the boxing gloves in 2017, fighting his way to his first SuperPipe gold and following up with a silver in 2018 at what analyst Craig McMorris called the “best halfpipe contest ever.” James came back in 2019 to take gold in the discipline, using his third and victory run to high-five spectators on both sides of the pipe. His riding has improved dramatically in the past few years, and his amplitude and technicality earned him bronze at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
You can follow Scotty on Instagram at @scottyjames31.
(Photo by Eric Lars Bakke / ESPN Images)
Max Parrot
Max’s return to the top of the podium at X Games Norway 2019 in August was an emotional one: He missed X Games Aspen 2019 to undergo treatment for Hodgkin Lymphoma cancer and completed the last of 12 chemotherapy treatments in late June. He has made the podium in eight of his nine X Games Big Air starts, with five gold and three silver in the discipline, and also has X Games gold and silver from Slopestyle, for nine total medals. Max works hard for his success: He’s known for his single-minded work ethic and is often the first to arrive at practice, the last to leave, and the only one throwing all his competition tricks.
You can follow Max on Instagram at @maxparrot.
(Photo by Joe Faraoni / ESPN Images)
Anna Gasser
Anna was on an absolute tear in 2017 and 2018, but missed most of the 2018 – 2019 competition season due to injury. She was back on top at X Games Norway 2019, taking gold in Big Air. In 2017, Gasser earned three X Games medals (including Slopestyle gold at X Games Norway 2017) and won the ESPY Award for Best Female Action Sports Athlete. She was one of the first to bring doubles to women’s competition, and in November 2018 she became the first woman in action sports to land a triple with a Cab triple underflip on the Stubai Glacier in her home country, Austria.
You can follow Anna on Instagram at @annagassersnow.
(Photo by Kaitlyn Egan / ESPN Images)
X FEST at Buttermilk Mountain
X Games Aspen will once again showcase X Fest, a four-day interactive festival offering sponsor activations, entertainment, games, attractions, food and other activities for all ages. Located throughout the base of Buttermilk Mountain, X Fest will also includeX Trials, the exhilarating obstacle course that will test your speed and agility, and Studio X where you can listen to the hottest DJ performances, hang out with the X Games pro athletes and watch the latest action sports films. NEW THIS YEAR: Jump on a fat bike and ride the interactive Fat Bike Course!
X Fest will also feature the Pacifico Beer Garden (on the Bumps patio), a Beer & Cocktail Garden (on the Home Team BBQ patio behind Monster Energy), Home Team BBQ Concessions, and Aspen Mini Donut trailer. ATM machines are located inside Bumps Lodge, lower level.
