Winter X Games in Aspen, CO

We made the drive to Aspen Thursday afternoon. However, rather than attend Winter X Games Thursday night, we had reservations at the Pine Creek Cookhouse Thursday evening. This restaurant was not only a 30-minute drive from Aspen, but was also a 30-minute sleigh ride from the restaurant's parking lot! Total cost for the evening $120 per person but was worth the wintery experience.

Friday was a different story. The Ultimate Sports Wife and I skied on Aspen Mountain Friday afternoon, which was followed by an evening at Winter X Games.

Winter X Games
Winter X Games was everything that ESPN has you believe that it is on television – only better. Although you have to stand on a bed of ice at the bottom of the half pipe in order to watch the event, the views from the bottom are great and if you need a quick replay of the run, all you need to do is watch the event on the closest television screen.

We watched the Ski SuperPipe Final, SnoCross Round 1 and Snowboard SuperPipe Final all from the same location. The last event of the evening was Snowmobile Next Trick Final in which Levi LaVallee was attempting to pull off the first double back-flip on a snowmobile - modeled after Travis Pastrana's double back-flip on a motorcycle at Summer X Games 2006. Although LaVallee completed the double back-flip, he fell off the machine on the landing, meaning he ended up losing the event.

Post Game Dining
After the double back flip, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I raced to the free buses that drove us back to Aspen for a late night dinner. We ate dinner at Lu Lu Wilson which was a great place for a post game meal after the X Games.