X Games Aspen 2021: Day 1’s Best Moments – January 29, 2021

Action sports officially made their long awaited return to the big screen with X Games Aspen 2021 on ESPN and ABC! 

The events kicked off Friday afternoon (January 29) at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen Snowmass, Colorado, with Jeep Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle, Women’s Ski Big Air, Wendy’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck and Men’s and Women’s Ski SuperPipe. This year’s games made history this year, as it is the first to have no spectators due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. 

Jeep Women’s Snowboard Slopestyle was the first event on the schedule and Jamie Anderson kicked things off with a bang. The queen of Slopestyle snowboarding quickly took the lead and held onto it throughout majority of the competition. Ultimately adding a 16th X Games medal to her collection, the 30-year-old sealed the deal with a backside lipside on the down-flat-down, a Cab double cork 900 Weddle and a huge backside rodeo stalefish, which was hands down the best trick to come from the final feature. The only female snowboarder to compete in all three disciplines was joined by runners-up Laurie Blouin and Zoi Sadowski-Synott, who took both second and third place, respectively. 

Friday afternoon was dominated by females as the second event of the day was Women’s Ski Big Air. All eyes were on Mathilde Gremaud, as the Swiss skier took home her second gold medal in the discipline after a dramatic crash. Gremaud’s winning run made history, as it was the first time a woman ever landed a switch double 1440 safety at X Games Aspen.  Coming in second place was X Games Norway 2020 gold medalist Megan Oldham and followed by Eileen Gu in third. 

History continued throughout the evening at X Games Aspen as Dusty Henricksen was named the youngest male competitor in Wendy’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck to take home the golden knuckles. The 17-year-old Mammoth native truly showcased his creativity during the 20-minute jam session, with his most notable trick being a cab 180 tail press front flip out. The contest was definitely a must-watch, as Jamie Anderson joined the boys to show off her steeze on the mountain in (what used to be) a male-only event. While she didn’t take home the golden knuckles, the 30-year-old badass was definitely a contender the entire evening and could easily take home the gold in years to come.

Things moved over to the SuperPipe for the fourth competition of the day, where X Games rookie Eileen Gu (casually) won her second medal in her second X Games contest ever. We told you earlier this week that Eileen was one to watch, and she certainly delivered when it came to her winning run. The 17-year-old blew minds with 900s in both directions, a lofty switch 720 and an average amplitude on her best run of 11’13”, ultimately bumping two-time gold medalist Cassie Sharpe into the silver medal position and defending silver medalist Rachel Karker in the bronze medal position.

Closing out the first night of X Games Aspen 2021 was an insane Men’s Ski SuperPipe, where the hometown favorite and two-time defending gold medalist Alex Ferreira was knocked off the podium by a fresh face in the game. 19-year-old New Zealander Nico Porteous earned the gold hardware by landing back-to-back 1620s and an alley-oop double, with fellow Aspen native Aaron Blunck taking silver and Winter Park native Birk Irving taking bronze.

Make sure to tune in tomorrow as X Games Aspen continues with Jeep Women’s Ski Slopestyle, Jeep Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle, Pacifico Women’s Snowboard Big Air, The Real Cost Men’s Snowboard Big Air and Monster Energy Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe. 

Let us know what you think of X Games Aspen Day 1 by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by tweeting us your favorite moment at @celebsecrets.