The 9th annual KickAspen Big Air took place under the lights on Aspen Mountain tonight, Saturday, March 22, with Matt Walker, an Aspen/Snowmass Team Athlete, and Erik Ludwig each taking home first place.

While Walker took first in the ski competition, Tanner Rainville and Travis VanDomelen came in a close second and third.

Ludwig dominated the snowboarders with Eric Angus following in second place and John Hemminger rounding out the snowboarders with third place.

A large crowd enjoyed a beer garden and music by DJ Brendan, while judges egged on the crowd’s cheers for their favorite athletes of the evening. Local skier Brad Dingess and first place snowboarder, Ludwig, each won $1,000 for the Salomon crowd favorite award.

KickAspen showcases the best regional ski and snowboard athletes on a 55 foot jump at the base of Aspen Mountain. Final results are as follows.

Ski:

First place – Matt Walker, Aspen/Snowmass Team Athlete from Boulder, Colo. – $2,000

Second place – Tanner Rainville from Breckenridge, Colo. – $1,000

Third place – Travis VanDomelen from Aspen, Colo. – $500

Salomon crowd favorite – Brad Dingess from Aspen, Colo. – $1,000

Snowboard:

First place – Erik Ludwig from Denver – $2,000

Second place – Eric Angus from Aspen, Colo. – $1,000

Third place – John Hemminger from Basalt, Colo. – $500

Salomon crowd favorite – Erik Ludwig from Denver – $1,000

The eighth annual Bud Light Spring Jam kicked-off Friday, March 21, with the Core Party featuring Super Diamond in downtown Aspen at Cooper Avenue and Galena Street. The Neil Diamond cover band kept crowd of 4,000 entertained with hit songs like “Sweet Caroline.”

The music continues tomorrow, Sunday, March 23, with a free Bud Light Hi-Fi concert by reggae sensation Ky-Mani Marley at the end of the Snowmass Village Mall at 4 p.m.

Bud Light Spring Jam continues for the next two weekends, March 28 – 30 and April 4 – 6, with the following events.

FREE Bud Light Hi-Fi Concert Series featuring De La Soul – March 28 – 8 p.m.

The final free Bud Light Hi-Fi Concert Series of the season will feature the legendary hip-hop trio, De La Soul, celebrated for their hit songs, “The Magic Number,” and “Me, Myself & I.” This season’s Hi-Fi bands have featured Blues Traveler, Dinosaur Jr., North Mississippi Allstars and Ky-Mani Marley.

Crocs Terrain Park Boot Camp – March 29, 30, 12-3 p.m.

The Crocs Terrain Park Book Camp is an entry level terrain park that will be set up at Snowmass. Coaches, including Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club coaches and athletes, will teach beginners (13 and up) how to safely slide a rail, hit a box and throw a trick. From teens to parents, this is open to anyone interested in learning the ropes of the terrain park. It will be open from 12-3 p.m. on March 29-30.

NEW – Schnee Tag – March 29 – 3 p.m.

Hold on tight for the new Schnee Tag event (pronounced Schnee Tog) on Fanny Hill at Snowmass. Teams of four are invited to create a craft that will slide down Fanny Hill and attempt to soar over a 75×20 foot pond. Each team will perform a skit before their run and will be judged on costume theme, creativity and flight distance of their craft. The craft must be entirely human powered with no external energy sources. The craft must be less than 10 feet wide and weigh less than 400 pounds, including the pilot. Each team will pick just one member to fly their craft across the pond. The first place team will win a trip to Red Bull’s Flugtag. Second place will win paragliding flights with the Red Bull Airforce. Third place will win VIP invites to the Red Bull Soap Box Derby at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colo. Registration forms are available at www.aspensnowmass.com.

NEW – Helly Hansen Battle in the Bowls – March 30 – 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

This new event, hosted by Team Aspen/Snowmass Athlete Chris Davenport, features teams of two using Flaik GPS devices to track how skilled each duo is at skiing the many bowls of Aspen Highlands. Awards and $3,000 in prize money will be given to the top three teams to finish the course as well as the teams with the fastest bowl lap, slowest bowl lap, fastest time down the bowl, most vertical, most trails and most lift rides. Interested athletes can register online at www.aspensnowmass.com.

NEW – Snow Angels Invitational – April 4-6

Aspen/Snowmass and Gretchen Bleiler have teamed up to bring guests the inaugural Snow Angels Invitational, featuring an all-female snowboard superpipe contest in Snowmass. Along with Bleiler, Winter X Games stars Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark will participate, as well as other top female snowboarders. Superpipe practice will be open to the public for viewing on Friday, April 4 from 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. while the finals go down on Saturday, April 5 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sunday, April 6 will feature a photo shoot with the athletes at the Snowmass superpipe and quarterpipe from 9:30 a.m. – noon. Also, several participating athletes will be instructing at the Snow Angels Terrain Park Boot Camp on Sunday, April 6 from 12 – 3 p.m. on Fanny Hill.

A special thank you to Aspen/Snowmass Bud Light Spring Jam Sponsors: Bud Light, Helly Hansen, Sprint, W.L. Gore & Associates, Red Bull, Town of Snowmass Village, Crocs, Salomon, American Express, Nature Valley, D&E Ski and Snowboard Shop, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Smith, Peak Party Rental and ResortQuest.

A special thank you to Aspen/Snowmass Bud Light Spring Jam Sponsors: Bud Light, Helly Hansen, Sprint, W.L. Gore & Associates, Red Bull, Town of Snowmass Village, Crocs, Salomon, American Express, Nature Valley, D&E Ski and Snowboard Shop, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Smith, Peak Party Rental and ResortQuest.

Aspen Skiing Company operates the four mountains in the Aspen/Snowmass area – Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk – as well as the award-winning Ski & Snowboard Schools of Aspen/Snowmass. The area offers unparalleled nightlife and off-slope activities as well. Aspen/Snowmass is accessible by two of the most convenient airports in the mountains – Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE) (3 miles from Aspen) and Eagle County Airport (EGE) (70 miles from Aspen). For more information on Aspen Skiing Company, please call 800-525-6200 or 970-925-1220, or visit the company’s website at www.aspensnowmass.com.