Tuesday, January 29, 2013

OHemGEE! X Games!!!

Last weekend, 12 of us headed down to Aspen, CO to check out the Winter X Games! It was free to the public, and with good weather and great company, we couldn't have asked for a better weekend...

Monkeys

Nater offered up his place to any who would brave sleeping on the floor of his new house, so we loaded up our sleeping bags and traveled in from all around- Cheyenne, Laramie, Pinedale, Steamboat Springs, and Denver. Once everyone arrived late Friday night, it was a little daunting at first to have that many people in the house (with only two bathrooms), but we made it work! My favorite parts of the weekend were breakfasts. Thanks to the plethora of windows on the main floor of the house and the early risers, everyone was up and gathered in the kitchen/living room by around 8:30. Some would make breakfast and everyone else would cut up with each other until everything was cooked, eaten, and washed. Then we'd head out for the day.

Saturday, after an extremely entertaining car ride where everyone had to pee at least three times, mean muggin' every car we passed, and sharing our beverages with hitchhikers, we got to the base of Buttermilk Mountain in time to see the end of Snowmobile Speed and Style. Then we grabbed some food and enjoyed some entertainment by Calvin Harris.

I feel so close to you right now, it's a force field...

Then we went and stood at the base of the Ski Big Air slope for an hour and a half waiting to see the competition. With only two rows of people standing in front of us, you could definitely see that that hill was HUGE. We watched them on their practice runs for about an hour, but right as Round 1 began, a cloud decided to settle itself right at the top of the jump, and we could see no more. Some of us decided to head out for the night.

Ski Big Air from the main road, with the Superpipe on the left
(the fog cleared up so I could snap a picture!)

The next day, we came back and saw the Skiing Slopestyle Final and the SnoCross Adaptive Final. I thought these events were much more interesting than the ones we got to see the day before (mainly because we could see a lot better). 
Skiing Slopestyle

The SnoCross race was really awesome. Adaptive racing was developed so disabled athletes have the opportunity to compete and medal in the X Games as well. In 2007, Mono Skier X was the first event for disabled athletes to medal and Super X Adaptive (motocross) followed in 2012. This was the first year for SnoCross Adaptive, and they competed on the same course as the other Snowmobile races. It was so inspiring to see this race and hear the athletes talk about how they've all modified their snowmachines to fit their racing needs and continue pursuing their dreams

SnoCross Adaptive

All in all, an awesome weekend. We had a very late drive back Sunday night, and I think I've picked up the sniffles, but it was such a cool experience.

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