X-Games 2024 with Henrik Harlaut

19:44 min • 05/02/2024

Behind the scenes from my X-Games 24' experience captured by Andrea Cadena Much love /hh

Henrik Harlaut

Profile and significance

Henrik “E-Dollo” Harlaut is one of freeskiing’s defining figures, a Swedish original whose blend of contest dominance, film culture, and scene-building has shaped how park and street skiing look and feel. A two-time Olympian for Sweden and a multi-time medalist at the X Games, he holds the all-time records for Ski golds and total Ski medals at that event. His 2013 Big Air breakthrough—landing the first nose-butter triple cork 1620 on the Aspen stage—reset expectations for what creative, controlled progression could be. Beyond podiums, Harlaut helped lead a rider-first movement through the B&E era with Phil Casabon, co-hosting the B&E Invitational in France and elevating film parts and tours that centered style as substance.

Harlaut’s brand ecosystem mirrors that identity. He rides for Armada Skis and headlines his own street-savvy label, Harlaut Apparel, while long-running support from Monster Energy has kept cameras on his projects from Scandi parks to city rails. The result is a rare dual footprint—elite competitor and cultural steward—whose skiing reads clearly at full speed and whose projects continue to influence how freeski stories are told.

Competitive arc and key venues

Harlaut’s contest résumé traces the modern ladder. He announced himself to a global audience at Aspen’s Buttermilk, where his Big Air gold and that historic nose-butter triple 16 became part of freeski lore. In the years that followed he stacked Big Air and Slopestyle medals across Aspen and Europe, and even added the newer Knuckle Huck title to underline his versatility. On the Olympic stage he represented Sweden at Sochi 2014—finishing sixth in slopestyle—and returned at PyeongChang 2018, a testament to endurance in a field where the trick list never stops evolving.

Venue context explains why his runs travel so well. Buttermilk rewards multi-feature flow and composure under heavy cameras. Oslo’s and Norway’s stadium builds prize amplitude on single hits. Spring blocks at Sweden’s Kläppen refine rhythm and variety across dense rail sections and medium-to-large booters. Olympic courses—from Sochi’s expansive build to the sculpted lines at Korea’s Phoenix Park—demand immaculate takeoffs and exact landings. Across those settings, Harlaut’s hallmark has been readability: tricks that make sense at normal speed because the inputs are functional and on time.

How they ski: what to watch for

Harlaut skis with deliberate economy and musical timing. On rails, approaches square up early, the body stays stacked, and lock-ins look decisive rather than dramatic. Surface swaps resolve cleanly; presses have visible shape; exits protect speed for what’s next. On jumps, he manages spin speed with deep, stabilizing grabs—safety, tail, blunt—arriving early enough to calm the axis and keep the hips centered over the feet. Directional variety—forward and switch, left and right—appears without breaking cadence because every move serves the line instead of a checklist.

Two cues help you “read” a Harlaut lap in real time. First, spacing: he leaves room between tricks so each one sets angle and speed for the next, a habit that makes full runs feel like sentences rather than word salad. Second, grab discipline: hands find the ski early and stay long enough to influence rotation, not just decorate the frame. That approach explains why even his biggest spins look unhurried—and why editors can present his shots at normal speed without slow-motion rescue.

Resilience, filming, and influence

Results alone would place Harlaut among the greats; his cultural work cements it. With Phil Casabon he hosted the B&E Invitational at Les Arcs, a rider-designed jam that treated slopestyle as an open canvas and set a template for today’s style-first showcases. On film, he’s produced projects that framed progression as story, from the two-year deep dive “Salute” to the wider canon built with Inspired-era collaborators. The common thread is clarity: honest speed, early commitments, centered landings. That’s why his parts age well—you can see the trick math at 1x speed—and why younger riders can copy the mechanics without needing a mega-budget build.

Harlaut’s influence also shows in how brands and events talk about skiing. He helped normalize the idea that style is not garnish but technique—grab choice that stabilizes an axis, spacing that preserves momentum, and rail decisions that protect cadence. As new disciplines and formats appear, the standard he champions remains the same: make difficulty legible, so viewers feel it the first time and still find details on the tenth watch.

Geography that built the toolkit

Place is the skeleton of Harlaut’s skiing. He moved to Åre as a kid, and the resort’s varied pistes and night laps forged edge honesty and repetition; if you want to understand the base layer, start with the discipline that Scandinavia’s firm snow demands. Spring sections at Kläppen layered in rhythm on dense features, teaching him to protect speed through quick in-runs and short outruns. The annual pilgrimage to Aspen’s Buttermilk sharpened broadcast composure, while European city builds and invitational courses rewarded creativity and line design. Stitch those environments together and you get a toolkit that travels: patient takeoffs, functional grabs, tidy exits, and runs that hold their shape from first rail to last landing.

Equipment and partners: practical takeaways

Harlaut’s kit is built for repeatability and feel. With Armada he’s long ridden park-capable platforms tuned for pop and predictable swing weight, a setup that rewards nose-butter entries and early-grab spins. Apparel through Harlaut Apparel leans into rider-led durability and movement on long filming days, while backing from Monster Energy helps turn ambitious concepts into finished films and event moments. For skiers borrowing from his playbook, the hardware lesson is category fit over hype: choose a symmetrical or near-symmetrical park ski, mount it so butters and presses feel natural without sacrificing takeoff stability, keep bases fast so cadence doesn’t depend on perfect weather, and tune edges to hold on steel yet soften contact points to avoid surprise bites on swaps.

There’s a process lesson, too. Build lines around momentum. Use the grab as a control input rather than decoration. Finish tricks early enough to ride away with speed and time. Those habits are why Harlaut’s biggest moments—whether a stadium jump in Aspen or a creative rail garden at a spring session—read cleanly on camera and hold up on rewatch.

Why fans and progressing skiers care

Henrik Harlaut matters because he turned elite difficulty into a language anyone can follow and then used his platform to grow the culture around it. He has the X Games medal record to satisfy the stats crowd and a film-and-event legacy that continues to pull the sport toward rider agency and style with substance. The skiing itself is readable at full speed, the choices are intentional, and the execution holds up under the brightest lights. For viewers, that means segments and finals worth replaying; for developing riders, it’s a checklist you can practice on the next lap. Protect momentum, commit early, let the spot decide the move—and make it look good because the mechanics are honest. That’s the Harlaut blueprint, and it’s why his influence runs from Åre to Aspen and across every park where skiers learn to turn hard things into clear, compelling lines.

Aspen

Overview and significance

Aspen is a global reference point for freeskiing and freestyle culture, anchored by four distinct mountains—Aspen Mountain (Ajax), Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk, and Snowmass—operated under the Aspen Snowmass umbrella. It blends historic town energy with world-stage events, long-running terrain-park leadership, and some of the most iconic in-bounds steeps in North America. X Games has made its winter home at Buttermilk for two decades and counting, returning January 23–25, 2026, with SuperPipe, Slopestyle, Big Air, and Knuckle Huck on the program, reaffirming Aspen’s role as a centerpiece of modern freeskiing. Racing heritage remains strong on Aspen Mountain, where America’s Downhill and World Cup blocks periodically light up the town. With a free valley bus system, an airport minutes from the lifts, and one ticket covering four personalities, Aspen is as polished as it is progressive.

If you’re mapping the sport’s living landmarks, Aspen belongs near the top. Highlands Bowl delivers hike-to amphitheater lines that every strong skier should experience at least once. Buttermilk’s parks and 22-foot SuperPipe set the standard for creative progression and event-level build quality. Snowmass supplies sheer acreage, variety, and lap volume. Ajax rises straight above town with no beginner terrain, just sustained fall line, moguls, and glades. For Skipowd readers comparing destinations, start with our place page for local context at skipowd.tv/location/aspen/, and see the broader regional picture on skipowd.tv/location/colorado/.

Terrain, snow, and seasons

Each mountain skis with a different rhythm. Aspen Mountain is the classic: no green runs, direct gondola access from town, and a network of steep groomers, bump lines, and glades that reward edge control and timing. The recent Hero’s expansion on the upper mountain added significant new terrain on cold, shaded aspects, extending Ajax’s repertoire while staying true to its advanced/intermediate character. Highlands is the locals’ steep-skiing temple. The bootpack to Highland Bowl opens a huge north-to-northeast face with sustained pitch and leg-burning runouts; below, the Temerity zone stacks technical shots that hold chalk beautifully between storms.

Buttermilk splits its personality. West Buttermilk is gentle and progression-focused, while Tiehack skis steeper and faster—and the lower mountain hosts the competition-grade park and pipe infrastructure that frame X Games each January. Snowmass, finally, is Aspen’s big-mountain mileage machine. With expansive groomers, glades, wind-buffed ridgelines, and multiple park zones, it lets mixed crews spread out, link sectors, and keep reuniting without losing flow. Across the four peaks, elevation and aspect variety help preserve quality long after a storm, with cold midwinter chalk on north faces and friendly soft-spring cycles on solar aspects.

Typical seasonality runs from late November through early April, with January–February delivering the most consistent cold and March often balancing fresh snow, sunny windows, and full park builds. Altitude is real here—base areas hover around 2,400–2,600 meters—so hydration and pacing matter, especially on day one. When wind accompanies storms, expect lee bowls and gullies to ski especially well; on high-pressure spells, seek fresher surfaces on north and east aspects in Highland Bowl, Ajax’s upper pods, and Snowmass’s sheltered trees.

Park infrastructure and events

Buttermilk is Aspen’s freestyle flagship. The resort’s park program—stretching from creatively shaped flow lines to a 22-foot SuperPipe—supports everyone from first-timers to X Games medalists. For layout and current features, see the official park hub at Buttermilk Parks & Pipe. Snowmass runs a deep bench of parks as well, with zones like Lowdown, Makaha, and the marquee Snowmass Park offering progressive rail gardens, jump lines, and transitions; check the mountain’s park overview at Snowmass Parks. Together, these setups make Aspen one of the most reliable destinations on earth for stacking quality park laps while keeping all-mountain options open.

Event pedigree sets Aspen apart. X Games returns to Buttermilk January 23–25, 2026, with the full freeski program and the sport’s top names; keep an eye on the official event pages via Aspen Snowmass and X Games. On the alpine side, America’s Downhill and related World Cup race weeks periodically take over Ajax, continuing a tradition that stretches back to mid-century championships; updates typically post through the national federation at U.S. Ski & Snowboard.

Access, logistics, and on-mountain flow

Flying into Aspen/Pitkin County Airport places you minutes from town and Snowmass Village; the airport’s ground transport and bus links streamline arrivals and departures, with route details and free local service published by the transit authority. Start planning with the airport’s hub at ASE and route maps from the valley-wide bus system at RFTA and Snowmass Village routes. If winter weather scrubs flights, backup gateways include Eagle/Vail, Grand Junction, and Denver, with shuttles and rental cars connecting over mountain passes.

Day to day, think in zones and windows. For storm mornings, start in trees or mid-mountain pods at Snowmass, then slide higher as visibility improves. When patrol green-lights Highland Bowl, go early, move deliberately on the bootpack, and milk multiple lines while the amphitheater holds cold. Park sessions slot naturally into clear, calm periods: lap Buttermilk’s main parks from the Summit Express and finish lower down where the X Games venue sits, or build repetitions on Snowmass’s Makaha to Snowmass Park sequence off Village Express. Ajax is best attacked in top-to-bottom patterns—gondola or high-speed chairs up, then pick groomers, bumps, or gladed links depending on weather and legs. Across all four, the Ski & Town bus network makes car-free hopping easy, and one ticket covers every lift.

Local culture, safety, and etiquette

Aspen’s culture blends race heritage, film crews, and park innovators with a strong safety ethos. Inside the ropes, respect closures and staged openings—especially around Highland Bowl, Temerity, and wind-affected ridgelines. The Highlands bootpacking program, run with ski patrol to prep steep faces before the public season, reflects how seriously this valley treats avalanche mitigation; learn more via the patrol’s information channels at Highlands Patrol. For any out-of-bound or sidecountry plans, step up to full avalanche travel standards with partners, rescue gear, and conservative terrain choices. On the parks, the basics keep flow safe and productive: call drops, keep speed predictable, spot landings, and clear the knuckle quickly. In town, expect a walkable, lively scene spanning classic institutions and modern hotels, with an events calendar that spikes around X Games and race weeks.

Best time to go and how to plan

January through mid-February is the most consistent for cold snow and chalk on north aspects, with fewer sun-driven shifts and excellent in-bounds quality days after storms. Late February through March balances longer daylight, periodic refreshes, and fully built parks—ideal for stacking tricks and making big-mileage all-mountain circuits. If you’re event-chasing, pencil late January for X Games at Buttermilk and monitor early March for elite racing on Ajax. Book lodging early for peak weeks, pre-load passes into the resort app, and check the morning operations pages for lift wind holds, terrain openings, and park updates before committing to a plan. Travelers on multi-resort itineraries can use Ikon Pass access windows to mix Aspen with nearby Colorado headliners, but it’s entirely reasonable to spend a full week here without repeating the same combination of zones.

Why freeskiers care

Because Aspen lets you develop multiple skill sets in one valley at a world-class level. You can lap a competition-caliber SuperPipe and slopestyle course in the morning, bootpack Highland Bowl for consequential steeps at lunch, and finish with long, creative lines through Snowmass parks or Ajax bumps before après. The infrastructure is built for volume; the culture rewards craft and etiquette; and the calendar keeps you close to the heart of the sport. Add easy transfers, free buses, and four mountains under one ticket, and Aspen becomes an all-time target for anyone serious about freeride and freestyle progression.

X-Games 2024 with Henrik Harlaut

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Henrik Harlaut

Aspen

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