Defying Gravity: The Thrills and Spills of Aspen’s 2023 Chipotle Ski Knuckle huck
Skiing often is spent calmly gliding down a mountain, taking frequent breaks to enjoy the scenery. However, few are capable to push this leisurely activity to its limits.
The X Games Men’s Knuckle Huck presents top athletes pushing the limits of what’s humanly possible. This yearly event in Aspen, Colorado, consists of eight riders (skiers) performing tricks off the ‘knuckle’ of a big air jump. The knuckle is the hump after the jump that begins the downhill.
Jesper Tjäder, mid double underflip off the knuckle in the 2021 X Games Ski Knuckle Huck (Photo by Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images).
To win this event – riders must outperform fellow competing-professional athletes at complex tricks. Judges base their decisions on originality, difficulty, creativity, and trajectory. For clarification on what a ski trick means, refer to this list.
As a snowstorm slowly rolls in, the competitors are illuminated in the night by bright lights. So begins the 20-minute jam sesh of the Chipotle Ski Knuckle Huck.
The farthest north ski resort in Europe, Saariselkä, at night in Lapland, Finland. (Retrieved from SkiSaariselkä)
Bronze medalist is Colby Stevenson from Park City, Utah. As a former Ski Knuckle Huck gold medalist, in the 2020 X Games Aspen, his tricks were clean and executed very well.
His best trick of the night was a nose-butter dub 12. Stevenson said he, “was scared to do it.”
This fear came from the fact that, “to get enough air time, you had to go to the bottom. I went absolutely to the bottom of the slope to land it… It was pretty high risk,” said Stevenson.
Stevenson also performed continuing 7s and 9s.
Colby Stevenson at Men’s Freeski Big Air at the 2016 Beijing Games. He won silver. (Retrieved from People Magazine)
Matěj Švancer is a Czech-Austrian skier from Kaprun, Austria. Although he is the youngest of the contestants at only 18 years old, he successfully secured the silver medal.
He began the competition with a lincoln loop pretz – impressively land switch. Then he cleanly threw a right-hand-drag double-cork seven.
The last trick Švancer sent was going to be more difficult than the rest to secure high repour with the judges. He attempted to stomp a nose butter double 10 – but only could obtain the 9. This luckily was enough to still secure him the silver medal.
Colby Stevenson reacting to the ski knuckle huck final at the Buttermilk Ski Area in Aspen. (Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times)
Lastly, the gold medal went to Jesper Tjäder. The Swedish freeskier has been on the podium for years, most recently 3rd place at the FIS (Freestyle & Freeski Hub) Freestyle Skiing World Cup – Freeski Slopestyle. He also recently beat the record for hitting the world’s longest rail.
Obtaining gold means that he created the best overall impression on the judges, and Tjäder did it seemingly without effort.
Jesper Tjäder mid hit of the world longest rail, which is 154.49m-long. (Recorded by SteepSteep)
Tjäder performed an array of fantastic tricks. His opening act was simple by Tjäder’s standards – a switch double backflip.
Another one of his tricks began with a tailpress, but through the defiance of physics, he threw it into a front flip.
Jesper Tjäder during the 2023 Chipotle Ski Knuckle Huck. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times)
His third round maneuver was the most impressive. He begins the trick with a front flip. Then a second front flip. Finally, for the finisher, he throws it into a 180 switch right before landing.
The double front flip with a 180 switch, “was [his] highlight,” Tjäder said, but also his,” scariest one.”
Tjäder claims that consistency is how he pulled off the gold medal and that he, “landed all [his] tricks.”
Once again, Aspen’s X Games Ski Knuckle Huck provides an incredible demonstration of talent from the eight competitors. Cannot wait to see who will push the limits next year.
