Who ever said January was dull!
Happy New Year, from the Ski Butlers Aspen crew. A very good start to the new year here at Aspen/Snowmass, we had a record breaking December in just about every location, including here, so thank you to the many who donned Ski Butlers equipment on the slopes over the holidays.
It has been a bit of a chilly start here in January, but that means great snow. We are still finding fresh snow on top, and some beautiful grippy groomers down below. January in Aspen also means some big events: Winterskol begins on the 13th and the 15th Winter X‑Games comes to Buttermilk on the 27th.
Winterskol starts next Thursday the 13th of January and runs through the end of the weekend. Winterskol is a “Toast to Winter”, a celebration that dates back to the early 50’s, started simply because there was a lack of celebration in January. After Christmas and the New Year they found business dying off, so some of the locals at the time created a celebration to keep up spirits in the cold month of January, and of course to bring in business. This year don’t miss the canine fashion show, winterfest, the Soupskol (soup cook-off), fireworks, snowsculptures, and as always adults acting generations younger than they should. Should be a blast. More info can be found on Aspen Chamber Resort Assoc website: ACRA Winterskol
At the end of the month Aspen will get busy again as skiers, snowboarders and “slednecks” come in from all over the world to compete for X‑Games Gold. Locals in the Aspen Valley have been watching the Pipe Dragon carve out the 22′ superpipe night and day at Buttermilk that will soon be filled with the top super-pipe All Stars from around the world. And what can’t be seen from Highway 82 is the massive slopestyle course built by the best park designers in the world. This is one of the most incredible events to watch in person, there is so much you don’t get from seeing it on TV, the smell of supercharged snowmobile exhaust, the roar of tens of thousands of people, and the production of X‑games. It’s a sight to be seen for sure. Buses, buses and more buses are brought in from all around the Valley to accommodate people trying to see these amazing events. Parking is limited to the Brush-Creek Intercept lot, from here you can grab any number of buses leaving every 5 – 10 mins. While it may seem that some of these athletes must be under the influence of something to do the crazy things they are doing, remember that X‑Games is an Alcohol Free event, get it done ahead of time. More info can be found on Aspen Skiing Company’s website: XGames
Shaun White unfortunately canceled his booking with Ski Butlers, but he said it was only because his sponsors wouldn’t allow it. Next year buddy.
See you on the mountain!
Sam Martinelli
Aspen/Snowmass
