Aspen halfpipe heats up as world’s best skiers ramp up World Cup competition
Jan 07, 2026·Freeski Park & Pipe)
World champions, Olympic medalists and up-and-comers will go head to head this week at the Freeski Halfpipe World Cup in Aspen (USA) as skiers ramp up competition for the last World Cup event before the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
The second Toyota U.S. Grand Prix of the season – and the fourth stop of the 2025/26 FIS Freeski Halfpipe World Cup tour – begins with qualifications on Thursday 8 January at Aspen’s Buttermilk resort.
Reigning women’s World Champion Zoe Atkin (GBR) returns to World Cup competition in Aspen after skipping the Snow Rodeo in Calgary (CAN) in the new year.
Atkin began the 2025/26 season with second place behind China’s Eileen Gu in Secret Garden in the same pipe where Gu became Olympic champion during the Beijing 2022 Games. Atkin then followed up that podium with victory in Copper right before the Christmas break.
Sharing the podium with Atkin at both those events was Australian teenager Indra Brown who finished third at her World Cup debut in Secret Garden, followed by second behind Atkin in Copper before claiming her maiden victory in Calgary.
The 15-year-old current standings leader will be hoping for a fourth consecutive podium in Aspen but faces tough competition from Atkin and China’s Li Fanghui, who shared the Crystal Globe with Atkin last season.
Li comes to Aspen intent on improving on her fourth-place finish at Calgary after progressing to the final as the top qualifier. The 22-year-old also finished ninth in the 10-woman final at Secret Garden.
While Li is yet to record a top-three finish this season, fellow Chinese skier Zhang Kexin was runner-up in Calgary, her second podium of the season after she finished third in Copper. After three events, the 23-year-old trails Brown’s 240 points on 185 points, with Atkin in third place on 180 points.
Svea Irving is one of 10 U.S. skiers who make up the women’s field of 22 in Aspen, which is a key qualifying event for the U.S. Olympic ski team. Irving finished third in Calgary, her second podium there after also finishing third in 2024, and was joined on the podium by younger brother Birk after he also finished third. Svea Irving is the only U.S. woman to secure a podium finish this season, but teammates Abby Winterberger and Kate Gray could change that, with the latter finishing fifth in Copper at the first Toyota U.S. Grand Prix while 15-year-old Winterberger was eighth, and then ninth in the Calgary final.
In the men’s field, last year’s Crystal Globe winner Alex Ferreira returns to competition in Aspen for his second start of the season after winning the Copper event in December. The win marked the third consecutive Copper victory and 12th overall World Cup victory for the 31-year-old, who has already qualified for the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.
Ferreira will be joined in Italy by three-time Olympic Slopestyle medalist Nick Goepper, who secured his Team USA spot after winning the Calgary World Cup last week.
Goepper and Ferreira are among 19 U.S. skiers in the men’s field of 41 in Aspen, which also includes double Olympic Halfpipe champion David Wise as the 35-year-old seeks to qualify for his fourth Games. The Beijing 2022 silver medalist faces an uphill battle for Olympic qualification after finishing 12th, 13th and 40th at Secret Garden, Copper and Calgary respectively.
Teammate Hunter Hess will be keen for a top-three result in Aspen to keep the World Cup leader’s yellow jersey after Hess finished fifth in Calgary. The 27-year-old leads the discipline standings on 185 points with reigning World Champion Finley Melville Ives (NZL) in close second on 180 points. Melville Ives was runner-up behind Goepper in Calgary after winning the Secret Garden season opener. Teammate Luke Harrold was second, which was the 17-year-old’s second runner-up finish in Secret Garden after claiming his first podium there in 2023.
Other U.S. skiers capable of giving the USA a podium sweep on home snow are Birk Irving, who finished third in Calgary ahead of teammate Matthew Labaugh in fourth. Eight of the 14 finalists in Calgary were U.S. skiers, with Aaron Blunck, Dylan Ladd and Evan Wischmeyer in seventh, ninth and 10th place respectively. Blunck won the very first Aspen World Cup in 2021.
Freeski Halfpipe competition in Aspen will begin with qualifications from 9:00 Mountain Standard Time (MST) on Thursday.
The top eight women and top 10 men will compete in the finals beginning at 13:00 MST on Saturday 10 January.
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