GLD at X Games Aspen 2026: How We Showed Up for 25 Years of Winning

GLD Enters the Mix

X Games Aspen just celebrated a milestone that very few events in sports can claim: 25 consecutive years at Buttermilk Mountain. A quarter-century of gravity-defying tricks, record-shattering performances, and the kind of raw creative energy that defines what it means to compete on your own terms. From January 23-25, 2026, the world's best snowboarders, freeskiers, and snowmobile athletes descended on Aspen, Colorado for three days of competition that delivered on every level.

GLD was in the middle of it all. On the ground, at the kickoff, and on the podium.

Here's everything that happened at X Games Aspen 2026, and why GLD's presence at the intersection of sport, style, and culture continues to grow.

X Games Aspen 2026: The 25th Anniversary in Numbers

This year's edition, officially branded as X Games Aspen 2026, was the largest and most-watched winter X Games in recent memory. The event featured 18 medal competitions across snowboard, freeski, and snowmobile disciplines - including the return of Snowmobile Freestyle and Speed & Style for the first time in five years. Over 100 athletes from around the world competed for 54 medals across three packed days.

The audience matched the energy. Viewership across ESPN and ABC topped 15 million, a 48% increase year over year. Youth audiences surged over 100%, confirming that action sports culture isn't slowing down - it's accelerating. The weekend also served as a launchpad for the newly announced X Games League, a team-based competitive format debuting with clubs in Los Angeles, New York, São Paulo, and Tokyo.

X Games Aspen isn't just alive. It's entering a new era. And GLD is building alongside it.

GLD's Kickoff at Snowlodge

Before any tricks on Buttermilk mountain, GLD set the tone with a surprise performance by Gunna at the Snowlodge Dinner and Kickoff Party. This was the official opening event that brought together athletes, creators, and cultural figures ahead of competition. Our setup doubled as both a showcase for the custom GLD X Games Gold Medal, and as a space to foster organic connections among attendees.

The Snowlodge kickoff was an opportunity for us to establish our presence at the X Games in the typical GLD fashion, always showing up at the forefront and center of the culture.

GLD on the Podium: GLD's Knuckle Huck Gold Medals

Anyone watching the Knuckle Huck podium ceremonies at X Games Aspen 2026 could see how much the GLD Gold Knuckle Huck Medals stood out, not only to viewers but also to the athletes who were left in awe. It became a signature visual moment of the weekend and the clearest expression of what GLD brings to this space.

Knuckle Huck is the perfect stage for GLD, and it’s worth understanding why. Unlike traditional scored events with rigid rubrics, Knuckle Huck is judged on creativity, originality, style, and overall impression. Athletes bypass the Big Air jump entirely and instead launch off the curved “knuckle,” the transition zone of the landing, to perform tricks that prioritize unique self-expression. It is a 20‑minute jam session where riders take as many runs as they can, and the most creative performances win.

This was the first year GLD had the opportunity to craft the Gold Medals for Knuckle Huck, and the bold design inspired a heightened sense of competitiveness among the athletes. They mentioned wanting to outshine one another so badly that they dug deep into their bags to bring out the wildest tricks imaginable, all in hopes of earning the new style of medal.

Men's Snowboard Knuckle Huck

Finland's Rene Rinnekangas claimed gold with a series of runs that showcased everything the discipline is about: a Cab 540 hand drag bringback to 360, a powerslide to frontside rodeo 720, and a hand drag double sloth roll that sent the crowd into overdrive. Iceland's Halldor Helgason, still one of the most creative riders on the planet at 35, earned silver after flipping through a hula hoop mid-run - a moment that instantly went viral. Norway's Marcus Kleveland, a three-time Knuckle Huck gold medalist, rounded out the podium with bronze.

Women's Snowboard Knuckle Huck

The women's final belonged to 16-year-old Jessica Perlmutter, a New Jersey native making her X Games debut. Perlmutter's performance featured sloth rolls, a half-cab knuckle tap into a backside 180, layout backflips from a backseat wheelie position, and a slingshot launch into a full layout backflip - dethroning two-time defending champion Cocomo Murase of Japan. Canada's Jasmine Baird picked up bronze for her first career X Games medal.

Men's Ski Knuckle Huck

Alex Hall continued his reign as the undisputed king of ski Knuckle Huck, taking gold for the second straight year - his eighth career X Games gold and 15th medal overall. Hall's creativity was so inventive that commentators were left struggling to name his tricks in real time. Colby Stevenson surged into silver on his final run with a nose butter dub 16 op Japan grab, while Norway's Tormod Frostad earned bronze.

Seeing GLD gold on every one of those podiums was the highlight of our weekend.

Zeb Powell: The 1-of-1 Moment

No recap of GLD at X Games Aspen is complete without Zeb Powell. The North Carolina native is a Knuckle Huck icon - the first Black snowboarder to win X Games gold when he took the event in 2020 - and he's become one of the most important figures in action sports culture. His energy, his style, and his commitment to expanding who snowboarding is for through initiatives like the Slide-In Tour and Culture Shifters have earned him recognition far beyond the halfpipe. In April 2025, Powell signed with Jordan Brand, becoming the first professional snowboarder to represent the label.

At X Games Aspen 2026, GLD made Powell a one-of-a-kind custom belt buckle alongside an X Games Iced Pendant - a true 1-of-1 moment for an athlete who embodies what it means to win forward. Powell stopped by the GLD setup alongside members of the TDI crew, who got iced out in Cuban Link pieces and an assortment of GLD products they were rocking throughout the weekend.

This was intentional, as is every corner of GLD’s brand, because these are individuals who share the same values of winning by being innovative, bold, distinct, and truly one‑of‑ones within their respective crafts.

“Aye, shoutout GLD, they got me right. We dancing with the diamonds, X Games style.” 
— Zeb Powell

Every Major Result From X Games Aspen 2026

Beyond Knuckle Huck, the 25th anniversary event delivered historic performances across the board.

Mark McMorris Makes History

Canadian legend Mark McMorris won Men's Snowboard Slopestyle to claim his 25th career X Games medal - the most of any winter athlete in the event's history. He also picked up his 14th gold and eighth in slopestyle, overtaking Red Gerard (who finished third) after trailing him the past two years. McMorris's winning final run included a Cab double 900 tailgrab, a backside triple cork 1440 Indy, and a frontside triple 1800.

Scotty James Cements His Legacy

Australia's Scotty James captured his fifth consecutive Men's Snowboard SuperPipe gold, surpassing Shaun White's record of three straight wins and becoming the most decorated SuperPipe snowboarder in X Games history with 11 career medals in the discipline.

Mia Brookes Dominates Women's Slopestyle

Great Britain's Mia Brookes, fresh off her 19th birthday, held the top spot wire-to-wire in Women's Snowboard Slopestyle, scoring 96.33 on her final run for her second X Games gold. New Zealand's Zoi Sadowski-Synnott vaulted from last to second on her closing run, with Japan's Cocomo Murase taking bronze.

Snowmobiles Return After Five Years

Willie Elam, 39, won Snowmobile Speed & Style gold - the oldest competitor at the event - on a podium shared by three longtime friends. It was a reminder that winning doesn't have an expiration date.

Zoe Atkin and Mac Forehand Shine

British freeskier Zoe Atkin earned her second X Games gold in Women's Ski SuperPipe. Vermont's Mac Forehand landed a switch triple 2160 to win Men's Ski Big Air gold. And New Zealand's Finley Melville Ives, just 19, took Men's Ski SuperPipe gold with a commanding 95.00 on his final run.

Women's Ski Knuckle Huck

Utah's Marin Hamill won gold in her second X Games appearance, while France's Alais Develay earned bronze in her X Games debut - proof that Knuckle Huck continues to create breakout moments for new talent.

The Full Podium Rundown

The Scene Beyond the Slopes

The energy at Buttermilk extended well beyond competition. Disco Lines headlined Friday night, Alesso closed out Saturday, and daytime sets from TESSLA, Kendoll, Girlfriends, and 16-time X Games medalist Elliot Sloan kept the atmosphere charged between events. Thursday night featured a screening of the Monster-presented ski film "Ornada" by Armada Skis at Harris Hall, featuring seven X Games Gold Medalists.

The celebrity presence matched the vibe: Justin Bieber, Gunna, and NFL standout Alvin Kamara were all spotted taking in the action from the Gold Lounge. Hypebeast covered GLD's presence at the event, further cementing the brand's visibility where action sports and cultural media intersect.

What Knuckle Huck Means - and Why GLD Belongs There

If you only follow one X Games event, make it Knuckle Huck. It's the discipline that best captures the soul of action sports, and the one that most clearly reflects what GLD stands for.

The event was born out of what athletes were already doing for fun between runs - messing around on the knuckle, trying weird tricks, pushing each other's creativity. X Games formalized it in 2019, and it immediately became a crowd favorite. Unlike SuperPipe or Slopestyle, where technical difficulty and amplitude drive scores, Knuckle Huck lives and dies on style, expression, and the willingness to try something nobody has ever seen.

That's why the GLD Gold Knuckle Huck Medal carries weight beyond its craftsmanship. It represents a specific idea: winning isn't just about conventional markers of achievement. It's about self-expression, originality, and showing up with the confidence to define success on your own terms.

Looking Ahead: GLD and the Future of X Games

X Games Aspen 2026 wasn't just the culmination of 25 years at Buttermilk. It was the beginning of a new chapter - shaped by the launch of the X Games League and a global expansion into Tokyo, São Paulo, Los Angeles, and New York. The franchise is evolving, and the athletes driving it forward represent a new generation of cultural creators.

GLD is evolving with it. The Knuckle Huck podium is just one touchpoint. From athlete customs to event activations to the kind of organic cultural moments that happen when the right people are in the right room - like the Snowlodge kickoff - GLD is building a presence in action sports rooted in authenticity, not just visibility.

If you watched Rene Rinnekangas hold up a GLD gold medal on the Buttermilk podium, or saw Zeb Powell rocking a one-of-a-kind GLD belt buckle, you already know: this is what winning forward looks like.

GLD is a culture-defining jewelry brand that celebrates ambition, self-expression, and the winning mindset. Shop the X Games Iced Pendant and explore the full collection at our website.

Download GLD mobile app to stay connected with GLD 24/7.

John Polanco

John Polanco is a copywriter from the birthplace of hip-hop whose work spans jewelry, fashion, beauty, music, world-leading brands, and art institutions shaping the diaspora.