Iconic Winter Events Scheduled To Take Place In Aspen Snowmass In 2023
Each year, Aspen Snowmass plays host to a thrilling line up of races, concerts, parties and more. Aspen, Snowmass Village and the resort’s four mountains welcome spectacular crowds from all around the world, with a series of renowned annual events taking centre stage throughout the season. 2023 is set to be another spectacular year, welcoming the return of the Audi FIS Ski World Cup once again, after it last took place for the finals on Aspen Mountain in 2017.
Wintersköl (12-15 January 2023). A “toast to winter” dating back to 1951 when locals decided to celebrate Aspen’s unique alpine lifestyle with an eclectic weekend of festivities, this four day celebration is now in its 72nd year. Wintersköl will feature free family-friendly activities across Aspen and the resort’s mountains, where visitors can enjoy snow sculptures, downhill ski racing, and a film screening, culminating with a torchlight descent down Aspen Mountain and fireworks.
Aspen Gay Ski Week (16-22 January 2023). Gay Ski Week returns to Aspen Snowmass for its 46th year in 2023. Aspen Gay Ski Week is the oldest, annual, week-long gay ski event in the US, where visitors can enjoy four mountains of varied skiing and snowboarding terrain, as well as cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and winter hiking trails in the Elk Mountains. Further to skiing and snowboarding, the event offers seven days of late night dance parties, apres ski, film events, comedy shops and indoor pool parties.
X Games Aspen (27-29 January 2023). For the 22nd consecutive year, X Games returns to Buttermilk in Aspen in January where nearly 100 of the world’s top winter athletes will compete in the biggest snow sport event of the year. Showcasing world-class action sports across 14 disciplines, visitors can witness epic action including Men’s and Women’s Ski and Snowboard SuperPipe, Slopestyle, Big Air and Knuckle Huck. X Games Aspen is free to attend.
Power of Four Ski Mountaineering (25 February 2023). A premier endurance race series, the Audi Power of Four utilises the unique, expansive terrain of each of the four Aspen Snowmass mountains. Athletes will race in teams and cover 24 miles and more than 10,000 vertical feet; the sport division teams begin in Snowmass Village, before traversing to Buttermilk, then on to Aspen Highlands and then ending on Aspen Mountain. Participants also have the option to race a shorter course, The Power of Two, which begins at the base of Aspen Highlands and ends on Aspen Mountain.
Audi FIS Ski World Cup (3-5 March 2023). Aspen Snowmass is gearing up for the return of America’s Downhill™ course on Aspen Mountain - a steep, corkscrewing technical track overlooking the town of Aspen. Taking place over three days, alpine racers will compete in men’s Super-G and Downhill at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup as ski racing once again takes its home centre stage at the resort. Aspen has hosted more than 100 World Cup races for both men and women over the years. Throughout the weekend, visitors can also enjoy free outdoor concerts, events, ceremonies and incredible skiing and riding across all four mountains.
In addition, new this season, Buttermilk will unveil a transformed base area complete with a new 9,000+ square-foot fully electric skier services building, a renovated and rebranded Buttermilk Mountain Lodge restaurant (formerly known as Bumps), and an expanded bar and outdoor patio, newly named The Backyard. This major renovation will create a more seamless experience for guests as they make their way onto the mountain, with an intuitive skier services building with ski school, rentals and ticketing all in one spot.
In other developments, work began this summer on Aspen Mountain’s upcoming terrain expansion, which will increase skiable acreage by more than 20% on the resort's flagship mountain. The area, called Pandora’s, is set to open for the 2023-24 winter season and will be Aspen Mountain’s first significant addition since the opening of the Silver Queen Gondola in December of 1985. Pandora’s will be accessed via a high-speed quad and will include 1,220 vertical feet of groomed trails and glades ranging from intermediate to advanced terrain. Not only does the addition diversify Aspen Mountain’s terrain mix and offer a great pitch for skiing, but it also acts as a hedge against future climate-challenged ski seasons: with its north-facing, high elevation terrain, Pandora’s is ideal for holding snow in seasons when natural snowfall is less plentiful.
