On a partly cloudy, chilly morning in Aspen last weekend, the Buttermilk Mountain halfpipe was full of skiers and snowboarders.
U.S. pro freeskier and Aspen local Tristan Feinberg stood at the bottom of the halfpipe on Saturday, recalling his earliest memories of his time on the pipe, ones he’s still very fond of.
“I was probably 7 or 8, and my first time riding in the halfpipe was literally learning to drop in on these little turnouts at the bottom of the halfpipe,” he said. “And definitely, since then, it lit a spark in me.”
Feinberg grew up skiing with the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club, which is how he met freeski coach Eric Knight.
Knight has been with AVSC for 25 years and is the team’s freeski coach. Freeskiing, or freestyle skiing, is a type of alpine skiing where athletes perform tricks and jumps and navigate terrain parks, like rails.
Under his leadership, the club has won the U.S. Ski and Snowboard’s Freeski Club of the year three times, most recently last year.
Feinberg asked Knight and AVSC to partner with him to get more people out onto the halfpipe.
“That’s what we do,” Knight said. “We help bring the community out onto the mountain and help build a ski community which is similar to what Tristan is doing here.”
Feinberg has been on the world cup halfpipe skiing circuit since he was 15, and he has three podium finishes in the North American Cup, as well as a fourth place World Cup finish.
Now in his early 20s, Feinberg comes back to his hometown club to help coach when he’s free. This is how he found himself talking to AVSC kids that are now in his shoes at the top of the halfpipe.
He called it a full circle moment, teaching the beginning skiers and snowboarders, also called groms, how to drop into the halfpipe and not be afraid.
“It’s an acquired taste, I would say, and it’s a flavor I want everyone to enjoy,” he said. “Instilling trust, it’s a quick relationship right there, telling them ‘I believe in you.’ Something as little as that is going to motivate them to try.”
To encourage more people to get on the halfpipe, Feinberg came up with the idea of this community halfpipe rodeo.
Skiing and snowboarding has become out of reach for many, with the cost of events, passes and equipment skyrocketing.
Shaun White’s The Snow League debuted earlier this month and the X games are both ticketed events.
This year, the X Games started charging for tickets for the first time. A longtime free and local event, it brought up questions about where the event is going and who it’s for.
In January, X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom told Aspen Public Radio that the games are moving from rebellious counter culture to more mainstream, including the introduction of paid tickets, sports betting and an X Games League set to have its first draft picks at the end of this year.
“If I had to sort of characterize where I think we are going here at the X Games … is building a culture of experimentation at X Games, trying out new things and formats,” Bloom said. “Whatever we can do to bring the most amount of eyeballs to the world’s best athletes, because what they can do no one else can do in the world.”
Feinberg has competed in the X Games himself and said he has respect for it and the World Cup, but he has issues with how much these events and halfpipe camps cost.
His goal for his event is to stay away from VIP sections, exclusive activities and required credentials.
“Drop the ego, we’re not unapproachable figures … Respect to X Games, respect to the World Cup, but those events are ultimately accommodating the 1% of athletes, those being professional,” Feinberg said. “And I want to be able to turn this event into something that we can have the highest level athletes and kids having their first days in the halfpipe altogether.”
On the slopes over the weekend, the event, officially called the Buttermilk Halfpipe Rodeo, is meant to bring the community together out on the mountain, regardless of age, skill level or ability to pay.
The event was free to watch, and skiers could hike up the sides of the halfpipe at no cost, and included open-to-the-public, first- of-its-kind halfpipe jam sessions for both novice riders and professionals. This allowed beginners to get tips and tricks from the pros and try them out themselves.
A lot of young skiers were there from the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club’s youth freestyle teams. So they weren’t completely new to the halfpipe, but they were new to meeting Olympians face to face.
Alex Ferreira, one of the most accomplished freeskiers in the world, amassed a huge following throughout the day, with kids asking bystanders if they had Sharpies so they could get autographs from him and the other athletes.
Ferriara and Feinberg ended the day tossing out prizes, throwing helmets, goggles, sweatshirts into the air, as the kids raced to grab them.
Feinberg said the day turned out exactly how he envisioned it, and he’s excited to continue building it into an annual event, increasing opportunities for people across Colorado to come participate in the halfpipe.
“I get goosebumps thinking about it … like I’m really excited to sit down this summer and revamp the plan and figure out the things that worked and didn't work and grow this thing for the better,” he said.
