Olivia Asselin and Colby Stevenson win new X Games street-skiing event

Street skiing came to Buttermilk for the first time on Friday in X Games’ inaugural “street style” event.

Olivia Asselin of Canada and Colby Stevenson of Utah clinched the gold in the women’s and men’s competitions.

Street skiing, known as urban skiing, is the practice of skiing in an urban environment — grinding on rails, riding on concrete walls, and sliding down building roofs. Inspired by these elements, the competition featured a number of large metal rails, concrete barriers, and a wallride, giving athletes the option to choose their own battle when grinding and spinning their way down the course. 

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“I just tried to land as many things as I could,” Asselin said of her mentality going into the competition.

Street style is judged on “overall impression.” In both men’s and women’s competitions, four athletes competed in two different ten minute heats, doing as many laps on the short course as they could. Two athletes were eliminated at the end of each heat, leaving four to compete in the finals, where judges determined gold, silver, and bronze.

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Asselin, 20, said the format puts less pressure on the competition as compared with other events. 

“I feel like it was super friendly,” she said. “Like it’s competitive, for sure, but I feel like everybody is just out there to do their best.”

The gold was her third X Games medal. New York’s Bella Bacon won silver and New Mexico’s Marion Balsamo won bronze.

Though the gold was Stevenson’s sixth X Games medal, he said he wasn’t expecting to win.

“Very unexpected, which is sometimes the best, you know,” he said. “You’re just coming into it with no expectations.”

He said he almost dropped out of the competition before it began because he didn’t like the setup of the rails. 

“I can’t lie — the setup was pretty sketch,” he said. “But we made it happen.”

He said it was difficult to do bigger tricks because the rails were too close together and hoped for some bigger features. But he said the event brought some of his friends to X Games who wouldn’t normally compete as they normally ski the streets.

Oregon’s Tucker FitzSimons won silver and Canada’s Evan McEachran won bronze.

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.