More X Games Aspen news continues to trickle into the Snow Goer office, most notably about snowmobile hillcross racing. Yesterday, we told readers about the athletes who had been invited to compete in the various events so far, including Snocross, Adaptive Snocross, Hillcross, Speed & Style and Snowmobile Long Jump. As of that post, just seven racers had been named for Hillcross, but we knew the field would be much larger.
Today’s news comes from the organizers of the Roost The Butte event, which announced it will host a qualifying event to fill six most seats in the 24-racer field. Occurring just before the X Games, Roost The Butte has become a tuning, training and altitude acclimating event for many racers, but this year it will also allow some racers to punch their ticket to the big dance.
The complete press release is below.
2015 ESPN X Games Aspen to resume the Hillcross event and a few invitations are up for grabs
DENVER COLORADO – For 2015, ESPN has returned the Hillcross event for the lineup of adrenaline-inducing action competitions, the X Games in Aspen, Colorado, January 22-25. This event will be invite-only, with 24 athletes invited to attend. However, there will be 6 invites up for grabs at the annual Roost the Butte, held at Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR), birth-place of the snowmobile events at Winter X Games.
Roost the Butte began in 2013 as the brain-child of Scott Clarkson, marketing director of CBMR, and Snowmobile Sport Organizer Joe Duncan. Now in its third year, Roost the Butte has been a model of building a successful event. Prior to the addition of the Hillcross event to Winter X, CBMR’s biggest accomplishment is successfully drawing A-list racing teams like Team LaVallee, Judnick Motorsports and Hentges Racing was the opportunity for high-altitude training, both geographically and chronologically close to Winter X. This year, with the addition of the Hillcross invitational, it is sure to draw a wide gamut of professional and amateur snowmobilers across multiple disciplines. With 100-plus inquires to participate in the 2015 Winter X Games Hillcross, this event was needed to bring the cream of the crop of Hillclimb/Hillcross racers to compete to show off their talent.
“The X-Games are right over the mountain in Aspen, literally 15 miles from here. Having the same or similar elevation, X-Games athletes are able come out here and actually be able to test. They’re able to not only test their sleds for jetting and clutching, but their bodies, to acclimate themselves to the 9,000+ feet. Crested Butte provides a great location, so similar to Aspen, so they can be ready for what, of course, is our Super Bowl of snowmobile events, the X-Games,” said Duncan.
However, this event isn’t just about the X Games. Roost the Butte has gained a huge amount of traction with is partnership with RMSR, a Colorado-based racing circuit. Roost the Butte includes not only Hillcross, but Snocross, oval, hill drags, vintage and youth disciplines. RMSR and Duncan both tout that this event really encourages local participation as well as professional competition. Class structures have further supported the whispered motto of Roost the Butte “Run Whatcha Brung.” The 2014 event brought in 75-plus competitors and thousands of dollars in payouts.
In a shift to use this event to select Hillcross/Hillclimb talent for Winter X , the 2015 Roost the Butte event has been moved up one weekend to January 10–11, with January 9 as a test and tune day. More information can be obtained by visiting www.RMSRracing.com or by emailing info@rmsrracing.com.