Halfpipe World Cup battle heats up in Aspen
Jan 30, 2025·Freeski Park & Pipe
The second-last halfpipe event of the 2024/25 FIS Freeski World Cup season is shaping up to be a world-class display of new tricks as part of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in Aspen this weekend.
A total of 68 skiers will drop into the renowned Aspen halfpipe on Friday when qualifications begin at 9:00 Mountain Standard Time (MST).
The women’s field of 21 skiers is led by Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin who finished second at the most recent halfpipe contest in Copper in December.
Atkin claimed second place behind current halfpipe World Cup leader Eileen Gu (CHN), who withdrew from the U.S. Grand Prix earlier in the week after suffering a crash during training.
Twenty-two-year-old Atkin is well back of Gu’s 300 points with 161 of her own, but she will be hungry to close the gap at Aspen after finishing just off the podium in fourth at this same venue in last weekend’s X Games competition.
Along with her Copper podium, Atkin also has a seventh place finish from Secret Garden (CHN) as well as a fifth place finish at the halfpipe season-opener in Cardrona (NZL) in September to her credit.
The British skier will face tough competition from Canadians Cassie Sharpe and Rachael Karker. Sharpe finished third behind Atkin at Copper, while 27-year-old Karker claimed her 15th World Cup podium with third place in Cardrona.
Sharpe is fresh off of a 2025 X Games gold medal performance, where she was joined on the podium by Canadian teammate Amy Fraser in third and China’s Li Fanghui in second place.
Karker, meanwhile, will be hoping to match Gu’s record of 16 halfpipe World Cup podiums. Sharpe however is Gu’s closest rival in terms of halfpipe victories, with eight World Cup wins compared to Gu’s 14 halfpipe victories.
Team USA will be counting on Svea Irving to show the freeski world what they’re made of, with the 22-year-old finishing within the top four in all three of her World Cup starts this season. After narrowly missing the podium in Cardrona, Irving did one better with third place at Secret Garden, then again finished fourth in Copper.
China’s Li is currently ranked fourth behind Irving in the discipline standings and already has a second-place finish from Secret Garden to her name. The 21-year-old finished fifth in Copper but showed great promise going into the final as the third-ranked skier in qualification.
Twenty nine-year-old Fraser is another skier to watch this weekend as she rides the high of her recent X Games bronze medal.
Fraser has qualified for every final thus far in 2024/25, with her best finish a fifth place in Secret Garden in December. Last season Fraser claimed three podium finishes, including a victory in Mammoth Mountain which broke Gu’s winning streak that season. Fraser ultimately finished second behind Gu in the women’s halfpipe standings for the 2023/24 FIS Freeski World Cup season.
On the men’s side, local Aspen freeskier Alex Ferreira leads a field of 46, including 21 skiers from the USA. Ferreira wrapped up 2024 with victory at Copper, where he was joined on the podium by third-placed compatriot Nick Goepper.
At last weekend’s X Games, however, it was Goepper who topped the field as Ferreira claimed silver. Fellow U.S. skier Hunter Hess secured bronze.
At the last FIS Freeski Halfpipe World Cup in Copper, seven of the 10 men’s finalists were U.S. skiers, and weeks earlier Goepper led a U.S. podium sweep at Secret Garden featuring Ferreira as runner-up and Davide Wise in third place.
Trailing Ferreira in the discipline standings is Canada’s Brendan Mackay, who finished second behind Ferreira at Copper.
The 27-year-old started the season ahead of Ferreira with first place in Cardona, while Ferreira was second. Fellow Canadian skier Andrew Longino was third at Cardrona and will also be looking for another podium finish in Aspen this weekend.
Currently ranked fifth in the men’s halfpipe World Cup standings but on the cusp of a podium finish is 18-year-old Finley Melville Ives (NZL). The New Zealander missed the podium at Copper with fourth place, which also marked the third time the teenager qualified for the final among the likes of much more experienced skiers such as Goepper, Wise and Ferreira. The teenager also recently finished fourth at the 2025 X Games.
At age 34, Wise leads the all-time standings for most halfpipe World Cup podium finishes with 19 while Eileen Gu leads the all-time halfpipe World Cup wins record with 14. Gu’s closest rival in the World Cup halfpipe wins department is Ferreira, with 10 wins to his name.
The top eight skiers from the women’s qualifications and the top five skiers from each of the two qualification heats on the men’s side of things will advance to the finals on Sunday 2 February beginning at 13:00 MST.
HALFPIPE FACTS & FIGURES
Eileen Gu (CHN) has won 14 halfpipe World Cup events since 2020 for a total of 18 wins across halfpipe and slopestyle.
Alex Ferreira (USA) has 10 halfpipe World Cup victories out of 18 podiums.
David Wise (USA) has finished within the World Cup top three 19 times, with seven victories,
Rachael Karker (CAN) has amassed 15 halfpipe World Cup podiums, including two wins.
QUICK LINKS
Aspen U.S. Grand Prix Halfpipe World Cup data page (start lists, live scoring, results)
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