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It’s the most wonderful time of the year… X Games has returned to Aspen, Colorado, and with it comes a slew of the world’s top action sports athletes, industry personalities and tens of thousands of rambunctious spectators. And as per usual, FREESKIER stepped up to the plate to ensure the X Games-goers’ experience began with a bang, hosting the unofficial “Kickoff Party.”

Last night, Wednesday, January 27, FREESKIER FEST rolled through the Sky Hotel in downtown Aspen. The event marked the third stop of the five-party 2016 tour; previous bashes were held amid the Dew Tour and also in Boulder, CO. For this particular go-round, a who’s who roster of X Games athletes, VIPs and celebrities were in attendance. What better way to ring in the most prestigious contest of the season than to gather the athletes under one roof, rope in the avid fans and let ’em all run loose together with a pre-paid bar tab?

In fact, that was the common question of the night: “Wait, it’s open bar, for everyone?!” “You bet!” was my response. We do it for the people, folks.

And so the libations flowed incessantly, like the Roaring Fork River. Between sessions at the bar, folks stopped by the FREESKIER-branded photo booth to snap pics galore; paid visits to the outdoor pool and party patio; and danced to the oh-so-fiery tunes of DJ Naka G.

Amid the crowd were many a familiar face: Olympic sensation and X Games gold medalist Henrik Harlaut; Olympic bronze medalist and reigning three-time X Games slopestyle champ Nick Goepper; 2015 X Games gold medalist in superpipe, Simon D’Artois; Jossi Wells—X Games medalist and the only athlete to compete in both slopestyle and halfpipe at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games; freeskiing pioneer Rory Bushfield; 2015 SFR Tour halfpipe champ, Cassie Sharpe; halfpipe stunners Wing Tai Barrymore and Broby Leeds; and so on. We were also thrilled to be joined by a Red Bull squadron who supplied party favors in the form of gratis Red Bull/vodka cocktails.

The scene was bumping up until the last call for alcohol, prompting one party-goer to exclaim, “I’ve never seen the Sky bar like this!” If you’re familiar with the Sky Hotel’s party-rockin’ ways, you’ll know a statement like that carries some weight.

So, folks are brushing the hangovers aside this morning. There’s no rest for the wicked, here at X Games. Tonight, Aspen’s Buttermilk Mountain plays host to the men’s ski superpipe final; the action kicks off at 6:00 p.m. For a full listing of X Games events and the television schedule, too, click here.

Also happening tonight, FREESKIER FEST will make its mark on Denver, CO; it’s a private event, hosted in conjunction with the the SIA Snow Show. From there, the party tour is slated to invade Boston, MA on February 12, following the Polartec Big Air at Fenway. Stay tuned for details as the event draws near. For now, we extend big thanks to the Sky Hotel for hosting our rowdy group, our VIPs, the X competitors and all the rest who joined in on the fun last night. Here’s to another year of X… To another year of pushing freeskiing competition to new heights.

Related: Gallery: The second stop of FREESKIER FEST went down in a big way last night in Breck