The general trend in Big Air skiing involves athletes busting out ever more rotations and flips on a yearly basis. In 2015, it was triple corks: were the athletes going to unveil that year’s new level of acrobatics? They did, but surprisingly, the gold medalist didn’t use one. Vincent Gagnier, last year’s winner who will compete again this year, used a Double Cork 1620 Screamin’ Seamen to take the title. He doesn’t believe in throwing triples to win. “If 30 something people on Earth can do it, I don’t understand what the big deal is,” says the 22 year old Quebec native.
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Bobby Brown and Elias Ambuhl claimed 2nd and 3rd place, respectively, and both used triple corks to do so. Clearly, the judges decided to reward outrageous style over technical acrobatics (and that’s probably a good thing). We’ll see if the same holds true this year. Bobby, who is the only American in this year’s event, and Elias, the first skier to ever land a Triple Cork at the X Games, are both competing again this year.
Another storyline to watch is the return of Henrik Harlaut. The Swedish Olympian, whose obsession with the Wu-Tang Clan went viral during Sochi, won the event in both 2013 and 2014. Unfortunately, an injury suffered during last year’s Slopestyle prevented him from chasing the three-peat. He was one of the favorites going into last year’s X Games, and given his success in this event, should be one of the favorites this year. Harlaut won the 2014 event with a Nose Butter Triple Cork, a trick that could easily put him in contention two years later. An impressive notion given how fast freeskiing innovates.
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Jossi Wells, the veteran of the pack at age 25, is a someone you can’t sleep on. He’s probably the most immune to the pressure of the X Games, having podium’d his first event (Slopestyle) in 2008. His runs, usually executed without poles, are always clean and stylish. He hasn’t reached a podium in Big Air since 2012 but definitely don’t overlook him.
On the other end of the age spectrum is Luca Schuler. The 18 year old Swede competed in the Olympics when he was only 16. Without much competition history, it’s hard to know what tricks we can expect to see from the youngest guy in the pack. At the very least, we will be witnesses to the skills of a very young talent who is likely starring down the barrel of a successful X games career.
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The other rookie in this event is Fabian Bosch, another 18 year old talent. Bosch placed 3rd in the Dew Tour Slopestyle event this year. That confidence-booster might propel the young Swede to a successful night in Aspen.
Last but definitely not least, Kai Mahler, a three-time Big Air medalist. While he’s never claimed the top spot on the podium, Mahler has the triple in his back pocket and tons of style in his front. He’s a threat to the favorites for sure.
