Pros & Cons: Winter X Games Aspen

After attending the Winter X Games for the second year, I decided to create a PROS & CONS list for those who haven't been or plan to go next year. No doubt, it's an incredible event that definitely is an experience, but here's a good way to understand the event and plan ahead.

PRO: The College X Pass

The College X Pass allows college students under the age of 25 who attend an accredited 4 year university to ski on all Aspen mountains during the X Games for 2 days for about $80. This is a hell of a deal because a 1 day regular ski ticket on Aspen's most popular mountain, Snowmass, is about $130. 

The craziest thing is very few people know about this pass. The slopes are basically empty because locals don't like the crowds and people attending usually think it'd be too expensive. Check out these pictures of the slopes on the event's most popular day; Saturday.

I didn't stand in line even once on both days.

I didn't stand in line even once on both days.

Not only do you get to ski the mountains, but you can stop off the side and watch the events up-close-and-personal. If you watch from the bottom of the mountain where the spectators stand, you can't see all the action up close. This photo was taken just off the side of the slope while Big Air was competing.

CON: Times and Closures

The various competitions throughout the event force the mountain to close a few routes. Most of the Black Diamond routes are blocked off because they altered them for the competitors to compete.

A big change from last year is that the ski lifts close early during the X Games. Instead of 4 or 5, they close at around 3. Make sure to show up early if you plan to ski because I wish I had slept less and skied more.

PRO: Village and Music

For those who aren't skiing like most, there are a lot of fun activities to do in between events down in the village. Booths playing music, games, and giving away free stuff are throughout the event at the base. 

Every year the Winter X Games throw an awesome lineup of musicians every night. This year was Twenty One Pilots, Deadmau5, DJ Snake, Kygo, Nas, and Run the Jewels. You get to experience the concert in the snow and tickets are cheaper than most major concerts in Denver.

@kygomusic bringing the beats to close out #XGames Aspen!

A photo posted by X Games (@xgames) on

CON: The Weather

Remember, it's called the WINTER X Games, so you might encounter some serious winter weather. Whether it's hot or cold, the weather will effect your experience. If it's hot, get ready to run a Mud Run to your car. The parking is free which is great, but its in a dirt lot that gets covered in snow usually overnight. That snow melts by the end of the day if it's sunny, so have fun trudging through that.

Early afternoon

Early afternoon

By 3 PM

By 3 PM

Make a better decision on what shoes you want to be caked with mud. (Try not to wear white)

Make a better decision on what shoes you want to be caked with mud. (Try not to wear white)

From one extreme to the other, this year we had quite a lot of snow. If you're standing out in a below 20 degree blizzard to see your favorite DJ, props to you because I got out of there the moment the snow started going sideways. Here's a photo from the X Games Instagram during the Deadmau5 concert:

@deadmau5 is droppin’ 💣s in Aspen! #XGames

A photo posted by X Games (@xgames) on

PRO: The Experience

The Winter X Games is an awesome event that always has something going on. Whether its the Big Air, Slopestyle, Superpipe, or Snowmobile events, there's something for everybody. You can ski the mountain while watching the events as you ride up and play the games from the booths once you make your way back down. The energy there is infectious not only from the amazing concerts, but the people around you are there to have a good time just like yourself.

CON: The Crowds

When you first arrive at this event, you'll typically park in the Intercept Lot and take a shuttle to the actual mountain. Like any major event, you will be frisked for any weapons, alcohol, or drugs that are prohibited during the event. These shuttles get packed, so try to get all your things together before and be ready to get checked.

This is a major event, so you're going to be around a lot of people, especially when a popular competition is going on. There is a spectators area at the bottom of the mountain where the athletes cross the finish line or throw their final trick. It also has a huge big screen TV that live streams the athletes competing down the mountain. Here's from the ski lift:

This was during the Men's Slopestyle final.

This was during the Men's Slopestyle final.

Yes there is a lot of people, but the crowds are expected for such a large televised event. However, during the Superpipe events, you are able to stand right along the edge of ramp to literally see the athletes compete only a few feet away. It is amazing to watch, but try to get a good spot early before the event in order to get the best experience. 

Check out this updated guide that is even more detailed and comprehensive - it is a multi-page guide on skiing that is packed with practical tips and advice. You can find it here: https://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/ski-training.html

Winter X Games 2016 Day 1

Winter is upon us and the 2016 Winter XGames in Aspen, CO has begun! Snowboarding, skiing, snowmobile, and music. It is an incredible free event to the public that takes place on Aspen's Buttermilk Mountain. I have worked the X Games in previous years and this year I am once again hitting the slopes and taking pictures. What many people don't know is that during this event, they offer a College X Pass for accredited 4-year college students under the age of 24 get to ride all Aspen mountains for 2 days for about $80 during the X Games. Let me tell you from experience... It is a hell of a deal. You're basically paying for a 1 day kids lift ticket but instead add about 10 years and another day. The craziest thing, is that since most don't know about the deal, and the locals typically stay away from the crazy college kids flooding the mountain, the actual slope are basically empty. I have yet to wait in line for a lift in both years I've snowboarded during this event. 

Today had some great events going on and lots of practice for more tomorrow. The pro skiers and snowboarders practicing their Big Air lines were impressive to watch from the sideline.

"I can see my house from here!"

"I can see my house from here!"

These guys were crazy throwing doubles and triples of everything. Tomorrow is going to be amazing watching them compete for that sweet gold medal. The forecast predicts snow all day for the rest of the event, which may hinder the coverage. But if Colorado weather prediction is anything like it usually is, it might be bright and sunny or a blizzard. We won't really know until we step outside because we can never really trust a forecast here.

Check out this updated guide that is even more detailed and comprehensive - it is a multi-page guide on skiing that is packed with practical tips and advice. You can find it here: https://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/ski-training.html

Pockets and Pain

After recently spraining my ankle doing a vortex (basically a side-flip while going forward) off a ledge, it made me hold back from flipping and really walking for the past couple weeks. In that recovery process, I have been focusing a lot of my energy towards my therapeutic pocket art. 

In the last 4 years or so, I have battled with anxiety attacks, but have found a method of calming my mind: geometric drawings. These intricate designs have filled my little sketchbook and I have converted them into shirt pockets that I then sew on to various plain color tees. Here is an example of the first shirt I had ever created when at the airport in Austin TX on my way to the 2014 Summer XGames for GoodPeople.com. 

I understand its a little difficult to see, but I am excited to start putting more effort into these designs because this one shirt turned into dozens more designs and shirts. Graceflix is expanding with GX Pockets to which I hope to promote these tees and eventually sell them to the masses! I'll be showing them off while snowboarding in the Rocky Mountains.

This weekend is the Winter XGames in Aspen and I am so stoked to be a part of once again. I plan to take as many photos and video possible while hitting the slopes! Here's a photo from 2015:

This is one of my favorite events and I can't wait to do it again. Get ready for some great photos of the mountains, the events, the pros, and all the fun. Keep an eye out for GX Pockets in the near future!

Damn it's Cold Here

I recently just moved back to Colorado to finish college and of course took all my camera gear with me. Today is the first major snow of 2016, so I decided to take out my drone. I happily just bought a new GoPro Hero 4 black and decided to try it out on the drone. Here is the result (PS: I'm loving the tree branches with snow if you couldn't tell)

Had to add some nice piano music to make it a bit more interesting. 

I also recently went to FlyHigh trampoline park with some friends and put together a little video for social media.

It is a family-friendly indoor trampoline park that has a variety of fun activities. I however, always try to push the limits and attempted a double backflip, but instead didn't go far out enough into the pit and slammed my shin onto the edge of the padded bar around the trampoline. Added some new colors to my brand new leggings. They now have some nice shades of red... 

Trampoline parks can be very fun and I recommend everyone to try it out at least once. I've seen every age just jump and it's great to see parents getting involved in activities with their kids rather than letting the the kids play alone as the parents stare at their phone. These parks are popping up everywhere, so just google "trampoline park near me" and I can almost guarantee there'll be at least one in whatever city is near you. 

Anyways, out here in Colorado I'll be working on parkour videos, snowboarding, Winter X Games Aspen 2016, and anything else I can capture. Make sure to follow my Instagram @graceflix for the latest in videos. 

1 Second Everyday

If you are unfamiliar with the app 1 Second Everyday (1SE), get yourself acquainted because it is a fancy little app. Basically it is just what the name says. A compilation of 1 second of everyday that you take through your phone camera.

So, you take a video of something you did in your day, go into the app, tap the calendar day that you filmed the video, crop out the 1 second through their editing tool, and ta-da! Do it enough and you got yourself a little compilation video! Once you get the hang of it, you can discover what looks good, what doesn't, and how to make a story of it. 

I typically like only doing this as a summer project so the video is under 2 minutes. Once you go longer, people lose interest pretty easily, especially if they're truthful 1 seconds and its full of Netflix screens and take-out. 

Here's my last 1 Second Everyday compilation video of Summer 2015 that I added some music to in post.

1 Second Everyday is one of those apps that is a good way to make you do something fun everyday if possible and try to capture it. I get obsessed and am strict about actually capturing something everyday, but if you just capture something cool every-once-in-a-while, you can still create something awesome. 

If you have created one or know of any that are awesome, post it in the comments below.

Cheers

How to Achieve a Death Grip

Hangar 18 Upland, CA

If you're an avid rock climber, I have incredible respect to your death grip. I am an athletic individual, but flips and skateboards don't particularly require finger strength. I have seen really strong guys struggle up a wall that a 15 year old girl does no problem. It's one of those sports you can't just pick up then come back to a few months later. Like a lot of sports and basically any real talent in life, it takes time and practice. 

"Don't be jealous of a person's talent, but be jealous of the hundreds of hours they spent perfecting it"

No doubt some people are just naturally good at some things, but for the rest of us, we have to power through the blood, sweat, and tears to really achieve some things. So those who rock climb/boulder, I tip my hat to you. That shit is hard. I'll take you to a gym and teach you how to backflip any day, but someone really needs to teach me how to properly rock climb. (as you can see from my obvious skills above)

So how do you achieve a death grip?! Rock climb. Some rock climbers can pull their entire body weight by their fingers or grip onto completely smooth rocks that just doesn't make sense when I see it.

Check out these insane rock climbers that are on a whole other level:


2015 in Searches

Google released a video that put together some of the most popular searches of 2015. This video shows us all the positive things that we accomplished from some of the negatives aspects we are still trying to solve. Check out the video here: 

This video was moving for me because its nice to remember some of the good we've done and not focus of the bad that people seem to have trouble getting past. Well done Google.

Welcome to Graceflix!

If you are new to the site, welcome! I am a pretty busy individual, but I will try to post as often as I can. This blog consists of projects, photos, news, links, and plenty more. 

I'll start with a link to one of my favorite latest GoPro videos that is so raw yet completely insane:

GoPro Line of the Winter winner french skier Leo Taillefer dominated this mountain through the craziest routes. His jumps without any music made it even more intense. 

Snow season is upon us! That means snowboarding, skiing, sledding, and everything else action sports on beautiful powder! I am currently in Southern CA, which means rain rather than snow, but I will be back in Colorado after the holidays ready to hit the slopes! Winter XGames in Aspen 2016 is also coming up and I will be both on the mountain shredding and taking photos. 

Snow is wonderful, so those who have already been on the mountain, I'm jealous but will be right there with you soon!