Big Air on Elk set for March

 Council likes the idea but a bit afraid of the cats

One of the most popular winter events is just around the corner and the organizers promise Big Air on Elk will be bigger and better than ever. The event will take place Saturday, March 12 and will turn Elk Avenue into an aerial circus of skiers and boarders being towed by snowmobiles to a huge jump at Third and Elk, where they will perform tricks over the center of town.

Gabe Martin of the Colorado FreeSkier is organizing the madness; the Crested Butte Town Council approved the special event permit at their meeting on Monday, December 6.
“It’s coming back. We are looking for more sponsors and we hope to have the same quality event as we did last year only bigger,” Martin told the council.
There will be a few changes, such as using tires instead of hay bales as barricades. Martin hopes to get a company involved that will provide a live feed of the event so people can observe from inside the local bars and restaurants. “One of the goals is to promote business in town,” he said.
The closure of Elk Avenue to build the jump and landing will be kept to a minimum so as not to disturb business on Elk Avenue before the event. Snow will start being hauled to the thoroughfare early Friday morning when the bars close. Snowcats will be used Friday morning to shape the jump. The event itself will start about 4 p.m.
Given the political nature of snowcats in Crested Butte, the council asked that an official route for the cats be established so they could get to the venue site.
Martin is hoping at least 400 spectators come to watch the two or three dozen athletes compete. He hopes the event gets bigger and bigger each winter and anticipates it will help get out the name of Crested Butte to the world. The local Crested Butte Ski Club is the non-profit that will benefit from some of the proceeds from the event.