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Aspen Knows How to Party: X Games Athlete Kickoff FTW

Aspen Knows How to Party: X Games Athlete Kickoff FTW

The X Games undoubtedly bring the best pipe and slopestyle athletes from around the world together in one epic location: Aspen, Colorado. Although the action is the highlight of the week (thus far highlighted by Xavier Bertoni’s big win last night) it’s also a time to throw a few back with good friends.

Last night, the destination of choice was the Sky Hotel for the Freeskier Athlete Kickoff party. The guest list was a Who’s Who of the ski and snowboard industries, with appearances by Simon Dumont, Tanner Hall, TJ Schiller, Travis Rice, JJ Thomas, celebrity musicians Santogold and Trevor Andrews and every team manager, product manager and media outlet in the business. DJ Sammy Slice from Philly threw it down on the 1s and 2s all night, putting the crowd into a fury.

The overarching theme of the party was to pay tribute to our good friend Riley Poor, who in recent days has made positive strides towards recovery. If you don’t know Riley, he’s a key member in the ski community, working closely in recent years with Simon Dumont as his filmer, and working as Nike’s team manager. The positive word from Riley’s family was great news to underline a close vibe at the Sky. Read daily updates about (qualify him) Riley’s condition at his blog at RileyPoor.com. Also don’t forget, you can make donations through Stand Strong Again.

We had several photographers on site, and after spending the day going over well over 700 photos, we’ve picked out the best 150 for your viewing pleasure, so if you couldn’t make it, here’s our attempt to make it feel like you could.

Huge thanks go out to the sponsors who made the party happen: Sailor Jerry Rum, Coors, Coors Light, Red Bull, Smart Water, Smith, Rossignol and DNA.

The women’s pipe finals are going on as we speak. Check back tonight for Shay William’s full recap. Tomorrow is slopestyle training, with slope finals going down on Sunday.

Stay tuned.

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