At Aspen Grand Prix, Alex Ferreira will begin his final quest for Olympic gold
Qualifying is Thursday and Friday; finals are Saturday and Sunday
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Alex Ferreira has a plan for how he wants his halfpipe skiing career to end.
The journey to that mountaintop fittingly begins this week in his hometown, with Aspen ready to host a World Cup and U.S. Grand Prix at Buttermilk Ski Area. The contests are the first official U.S. Ski and Snowboard qualifiers for the halfpipe and slopestyle teams that will compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
“My plan right now is to go to the Olympics, win it, and retire on top,” a confident Ferreira said last week ahead of X Games, where he finished second to American teammate Nick Goepper. The interview was facilitated through SONIC, one of the primary X Games sponsors this winter.
“Obviously, things can change from here until then, but that would be a really beautiful one for me,” he continued. “Maybe I’ll do a fun season afterward, but I am 30, I am starting to get a little bit older comparably to my competition. I still feel I’m progressing and getting better each and every day, which is exciting. Until I feel I am not doing that, then I will continue to go forward.”
Retiring on top, a dream for many an athlete, is hardly out of the question for Ferreira. Only last season he won each and every competition he entered, the first perfect sweep of contests in halfpipe skiing history. He enters the Aspen Grand Prix ranked first in the overall World Cup halfpipe skiing standings, holding a slight edge over Canada’s Brendan Mackay in defense of his crystal globe.
Ferreira, who was born and raised in Aspen and grew up with the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club — he remains a constant presence around the AVSC clubhouse — already is a two-time Olympian, winning silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022, to go with three X Games Aspen gold medals.
And it’s the gold one he hopes to add to his Olympic collection just over a year from now.
“The hunger is coming from the fact that it’s my last chance. If you are going to do it, you might as well do it now. So, I’ve gone all in on all of the training. I’ve become extremely disciplined,” Ferreira said of his determination to win Olympic gold.
“I’m excited to compete in the Olympics. I’m excited to compete for myself. I’m excited to represent Aspen. I’m excited to represent Colorado — America as a whole. I just think it would be the most glorious and perfect story to go in on the third and final one and complete the set. I got the silver; I got the bronze. It is time for gold.”
Qualifying for the Aspen Grand Prix begins Thursday and goes through Friday. Athletes will be on course beginning at 9 a.m. until roughly 3:30 p.m. each day.
This is the second of a series of similar events hosted at Buttermilk. Following X Games last week and the Grand Prix this coming weekend will be next week’s Visa Big Air — another World Cup and U.S. Olympic team qualifier — with those finals scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 6.
The U.S. Revolution Tour, a NorAm Cup event that serves as a pipeline to the World Cup and U.S. national teams, will run from Feb. 8-12, and Shaun White’s The Snow League will make its world debut on March 7-8 in Aspen.
“It’s really impressive and cool of Aspen Skiing Company to be able to host all of the world’s best professional athletes at the best event, or events, back-to-back. It shows real commitment from them that they care about the sport,” Ferreira said. “They want to see it continuing to grow and they are willing to put their jobs on the line and make it happen for everybody. So, I’m really proud and happy to be a part of Aspen Skiing Company for that. Just to have it in our hometown, it’s exciting.”
Saturday’s finals include men’s and women’s slopestyle skiing (9:30 a.m. start) and men’s and women’s halfpipe snowboarding (1 p.m. start). Sunday’s finals include men’s and women’s slopestyle snowboarding (9:30 a.m. start) and men’s and women’s halfpipe skiing (1 p.m. start).
Spectating is free from the base of Buttermilk and the mountain will be open for skiing and snowboarding as usual. Outside TV will stream all the contests for free.
9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. — women’s freeski slopestyle qualifications
9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. — women’s snowboard halfpipe qualifications
11:20 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. — men’s snowboard halfpipe qualifications, heat 1
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. — men’s freeski slopestyle qualifications, heat 1
1:30 p.m. to 2:40 p.m. — men’s snowboard halfpipe qualifications, heat 2
2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. — men’s freeski slopestyle qualifications, heat 2
Twice as nice: Aspen High boys and girls ski teams sweep state championships at Highlands
The AHS boys had ground to make up following Thursday’s GS, while the girls had the lead after the first day but needed to play defense in order to maintain their top spot.
