The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Not many frolic as joyously in their snow as Crested Buttians and any occasion that combines snow sports, hucking oneself into the air on their ride of choice and closing off Elk Avenue will undoubtedly be a local favorite.
Big Air on Elk hits its sixth successful year this Saturday, March 9 starting around 5 p.m., with the awards ceremony street-side at the jump around 10 p.m. The lucky 20 athletes will be flying right over the heads of the crowd once again as spectators line the street, lean out bar windows and dangle legs over rooftops to catch the nonstop action as snowmobiles with competitors in tow roar past the throngs at 40 mph, speeding them up the ramp for the jump.
Initially started by the Crested Butte Mountain Guides, this is the fourth year that the Colorado FreeSkier (CFS) has organized, hosted and sponsored the event, which is also heavily supported by the town of Crested Butte, Two Plank Productions, Sky High Off Road, Lacy Construction and Irwin Cat Skiing.
The competition is invitation only and the top athletes are chosen mainly by CFS shop manager Grant Spear. If he hasn’t heard of someone who wants to compete, he’ll take them to the mountain to qualify them. Most out-of-town athletes are referred by team managers from different companies.
This year local star Aaron Blunck will make a guest appearance for the forerun and be a judge. Aaron, who has also won the Big Air Competition twice before, was the youngest ever to compete at 14 years old. Aaron, now 16 and an X-Game finalist in the skier’s halfpipe, has just returned from a run at the World Cup halfpipe ski event in Sochi, Russia, and also won the Aspen Open title last weekend. He’s one of four halfpipe skiers picked to represent the United States at the World Championships in Norway where he finished 6th.
Big Air on Elk is definitely a competition but leans more toward exhibition. Its main function is as a fundraiser for the Crested Butte Snow Sports Foundation, formerly known as the Crested Butte Ski Club. Colorado FreeSkier and BigAir On Elk, LLC owner Gabe Martin has been on its board for four years and is current president.
“We give scholarships to the youth amateur athletes in the valley to allow them to participate in snow sport activities like alpine racing, skier and boarder cross, big mountain competitions and also park and pipe,” Martin says, and adds, “This year we added Nordic.”
All proceeds go to sponsor these athletes and contributors can make direct donations. There’ll also be ticketed giveaways of skis, snowboards, goggles, helmets, gloves—all sorts of sports gear, and passes to the new Gravity Ranch, an indoor action sports training facility. In the future Gabe says he hopes for “a competition that riders can get points for in their other competitions. We’re trying to grow it with more sponsors and more presence throughout the state and ski industry. We’re really putting Crested Butte on the map as willing to do the most unique events while teaming up with an industry leader like Colorado FreeSkier. We are a big presence in the industry but we’re a very small shop when you walk into our store.”
Gabe feels, “Everybody is stepping up more, the town of Crested Butte is behind us and businesses are recognizing it’s a staple winter event that brings more business to them.”
To pump it up even more, CBMR’s music shindig Festevol returns this weekend featuring The Wailers, and Gabe hopes it will draw even more people to town from the combination of events. Tag on even more to that with the Big Mountain Junior Extremes Competitions and now we’re talking a real party.
Can’t make it out? Fear not—the entire event will be streamed live online and this year it will be in HD at coloradofreeskier.com and will start from the beginning when Gabe sings the national anthem. Most of the local bars and restaurants will also be streaming it live.
Gabe feels Big Air on Elk is unique in that the crowd is right there up close and personal with the action. “The really cool thing about it is that at any of the other competitions you’re far away from the athletes but this one you are right in the event. The snowmobile is there going down right next to you, you feel the loud roar ripping past you. The competitors are part of the crowd. It’s the Fourth of July of winter for Crested Butte.”
For more information or to make a donation visit crestedbuttesnowsports.org. For the live webstream go to coloradofreeskier.com.
