It has been a year since all of the greatest skiers in the world converged upon Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colorado, and our wait is finally over! It is not a surprise that the 2023 X Games will return to Buttermilk for the 22nd year in a row on Friday, January 27th, and the fun will run through Sunday, January 29th. You’ll see returning Gold medalists like Tess Ledeux and Alex Hall, but don’t be surprised if some new faces make a big splash. Anything can happen over these action-packed three days. In fact, I would be surprised if there were no surprises! Expect your jaw to drop and stay there while these athletes put it all on the line and attempt to bring home that Gold.

How to Watch

As always, the X Games will be completely FREE to the general public. Expect those stands to be completely packed! If you can’t make it out to Aspen, don’t fret. The Games will be streamed through ESPN and ABC's online streaming service in the U.S. while YouTube and Twitch will live stream in both the U.S. and internationally.

You can also follow X Games along on social media through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

While you can attend this event for free, there are a couple different ticket options for purchase that gives you access to even more. Check out X Games Aspen 2023 Ticket Info for more detailed information. If you are attending in person—whether for free or not—get stoked for sponsor activations, live DJ performances at X Fest, and of course, the show of a lifetime featuring men's and women's ski and snowboard SuperPipe, Slopestyle, Big Air, and Knuckle Huck!

The Schedule

Whether you are experiencing the Games in person or at home on the couch with some hot cocoa, you probably want to know when you should be paying attention. We have the recently released schedule for you right here!

(All times in Mountain Standard Time)

Friday

Getting the Friday party started on the ski side is Women's Ski Big Air at 5:30 pm, followed by Ski Knuckle Huck at 7:30 pm.

Saturday

Don’t stay out too late though or you’ll miss Men's Ski Slopestyle at 10:30 am. Feel free to get some laps in and definitely enjoy some après, as you have until 5:00 pm for Women's Ski SuperPipe.

Sunday

Sunday will be jam-packed, starting at 11:00 am with Women's Ski Slopestyle. Is that a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s Men's Ski Big Air at 5:15 pm! Don’t miss these athletes go bigger than ever. To wrap the weekend up and finish out the night, Men's Ski SuperPipe will be at 6:30 pm.

If you are looking to witness the glory in person, you might want to pay attention to these important details. Here are your X Games Aspen 2023 venue hours:

• Friday, January 27th: 10:00 am - 9:30 pm
• Saturday, January 28th: 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
• Sunday, January 29th: 10:00 am - 7:30 pm

X Fest will be from 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm on both Friday and Saturday and 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm on Sunday. X Fest will also include performances from Kaskade, Yung Gravy, Night Tales, MOD SUN, MADDS, and girlfriends, as well as an all-new interactive X Fest Snow festival experience. If you’re hoping to get some laps in between events, Buttermilk’s hours of operation are 9:00 am - 4:00 pm daily. Don’t forget those skis at home!

Who to Look Out for in Each Event

SuperPipe

Isn’t this just the half-pipe? Well, yes and no! Same shape, only better. The SuperPipe is a larger version of the half-pipe that actually reaches 22 ft from the base to the top of the wall. These skiers will drop in and go wall-to-wall, throwing bigger and badder tricks in an attempt to stand on that podium.

Women’s SuperPipe Hanna Faulhaber may have been our Bronze medalist winner last year, but I foresee her coming out on top this year—especially with the full support of her hometown, Aspen, behind her. She certainly has a big name to live up to after going 18ft out of the SuperPipe in her final run last year during her rookie appearance in the 2022 X Games.

Men’s SuperPipe You may have heard the saying “Go big or go home”, but what about “Go home AND go big”? Alex Ferreira is another Aspen local who never fails to put on quite the show. Ferreira was a late dropout of the 2022 X Games as he was preparing for the 2022 Winter Olympics. His presence was certainly missed, but there’s no doubt that he will be ready to return and take home that Gold.

Slopestyle

Slopestyle is your typical park run with a multitude of features for these athletes to hit, including pipes, rails, jumps, and many more gorgeous park features. You’ll see almost every trick in the book as each skier makes their way down this course. Every run seems to get more and more exciting!

Women’s Slopestyle Eileen Gu is BACK! It is truly going to be a battle between her, Tess Ledeux, and Mathilde Gremaud. The three of them are unstoppable and ready to put it all on the line. Like Alex Ferreira, Gu did not compete last year so that she could continue training for the Olympics the following month where she brought home two Gold medals and one Silver medal. That Silver was caused by Gremaud beating her by just 0.33 points. This one is going to be close!

Men’s Slopestyle Entering his third X Games, Max Moffatt will be a force to be reckoned with. His runs are always clean, tight, and full of fun energy—making it seem like he’s just a kid in the park enjoying himself and cheering on his friends. I would be surprised if he didn’t end up with a Gold medal in this event, but you should never count Alex Hall out. He continues to make history, and Moffatt will have to give it everything he’s got in this event if he wants to come up on top

Big Air

Whatever you’re imagining Big Air is, it is most likely spot on. Each skier will ski down a ramp, hit a jump, and then try to stomp whatever mind-blowing trick they just threw in the air. Let me tell you, they named this event right. No matter how many twists and turns are pulled off in the air, some big air is being caught every time.

Women’s Big Air If Tess LeDeux can stomp another double cork 1620 or bigger, there is no doubt in my mind that she will be taking home the Gold here for the second year in a row. However, you will definitely want to keep an eye on Olivia Asselin. At the 2022 X Games, Asselin entered this event as an alternate and took home the Bronze. There is a fire in her that everyone can see. She will definitely be walking away with some hardware!

Men’s Big Air It’s Back to the Future with Alex Hall, but how far into the future will he go? Only time will tell! Regardless, it is going to take some seriously BIG air to take this champ down and steal Gold from him. Maybe a rookie will rise to the challenge, or maybe Mac Forehand will find a way to finally beat Hall. It appears to be Hall against the world at the moment, and every event will be one to watch.

Knuckle Huck

Now the Knuckle Huck is just pure fun. It brings the X Games back to its roots—it’s like growing up in the park where each athlete is having fun, cheering each other on, sharing laughs, and genuinely enjoying their time out there. This is a 20-minute jam session with no rules. Last year was the first year that there was a Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medalist compared to previous years when there was only one top dog who took home the Gold Knuckles!

This one is going to be fun no matter who walks away on top. It is also a hard event to predict as each skier builds upon the excitement of the others. It truly seems like a fun and exhilarating jam-sesh with your friends in the park, but I believe it’s going to come down to two skiers battling over who can throw the most steeze. Look out for last year’s winner, Quinn Wolferman, against Henrik Harlaut. No matter who comes out on top, there will certainly be laughter and enormous smiles between them both and amongst the rest of the invited athletes for this event.

To know what to look out for in snowboarding, follow along here!

Get Hyped!

I hope you are excited as I am to see who will show up and throw down. This three-day weekend has made a name for itself since devotees know that anything can happen, and it is almost guaranteed that history will be made! Be on the lookout for my highlights recap and a deep dive into the gear that took these athletes into the air and onto the podium. The skis don’t make the skier, but being on the right gear for you certainly helps.

And in the meantime, if you have any questions about finding the right skis, bindings, or boots for you, feel free to reach out to me or one of my fellow Ski Experts here on Curated and we'll be more than happy to help you out with free, personalized recommendations and chat about all of the steeze, throwdowns, and stomps that will most certainly occur during the 2023 X Games!