Aspen isn’t exactly a budget-friendly destination. In a town where a single après cocktail costs as much as a domestic flight, Snow League’s debut demanded a quick-hit mission…in and out in 24 hours, just enough time to witness what might be the freshest shake-up snowboarding has seen in years.
A full-throttle day that introduced the world to Snow League – a brand-new, hyper-competitive, party-fueled snowboard event that somehow smashed sport, spectacle, and straight-up chaos into one glorious day.
It was a hit and run…land, ride, party, black out, back in, leave.
First Stop: Halfpipe Finals—Where the Game Changed
The halfpipe finals were not normal. Forget the usual Olympic-style, sterile, one-run-and-done formula. This was man vs. man. Best of three. Riders had to drop into both sides of the pipe, forcing them to adapt and attack the course differently each time.
The result? More laps. More tricks. More exhaustion. By the time the finals rolled around, whispers floated…was this too much riding in a single day, even for the world’s best?
Not from us. We loved it. And the drama was real.
And speaking of things we loved…the drone angles.
Forget the usual side shots or top-down looks. Snow League brought in front-facing drone cams that tracked every single run like a heat-seeking missile, capturing a perspective we’ve never seen before. Seeing a rider charge head-on, framed by the towering pipe walls, made the amplitude, the speed, and the sheer madness of it all feel even more intense. It was like strapping into the front seat of their run, and honestly?
We need this in every contest moving forward.
The Women’s Final—Tomita Survives a Maddie Mastro Heartbreaker
The women’s showdown saw Maddie Mastro (USA) and Sena Tomita (JPN) go full gladiator mode in a dramatic back-and-forth battle. Tomita landed the first blow with a huge 12-foot frontside 1080 tailgrab, making it clear she wasn’t here for second place. Mastro responded in run two, putting down an answer that put her ahead.
Then came run three…the decider.
Mastro was on a heater, dropping one of the best runs of her career. It was all coming together. The amplitude? Insane. The trick selection? Dialed. The grabs? Locked in. It was hers.
Until the very last hit.
Her final landing? Just a fraction off. A tiny, almost imperceptible butt check on the last trick, and just like that—the win was gone. 0.5 points. That was all it took.
Tomita, barely believing what had just happened, snatched the first-ever Snow League title – and with it, a cool $50,000 payday.
Speaking through a translator, Tomita was almost speechless. “I’m so happy to win the inaugural Snow League event—this feels like the start of something big!” she said, visibly emotional. “It’s hard to put into words, but this is so awesome!”
In the third-place matchup, 16-year-old Gaon Choi (KOR) proved she’s next in line, taking down Mitsuki Ono (JPN) in two straight runs to claim bronze.
The Men’s Final—Totsuka Drops a 96.5 in Run Two, Ruka Almost Pulls Off the Impossible
If the women’s final was a battle, the men’s was an absolute blitzkrieg.
The semifinals saw three Japanese legends and one fearless 16-year-old American battle it out for podium spots. Top qualifier Ayumu Hirano (JPN) was shockingly knocked into the third-place matchup after an instant-classic semifinal against Yuto Totsuka.
On the other side, Ruka Hirano (JPN) handled Alessandro Barbieri (USA) with ruthless efficiency, taking the first two runs and locking in his spot in the final.
And then? Totsuka went nuclear.
Nearly 13-foot switch backside double cork 1080 Japan
Backside 900 mute
Back-to-back 1440s
Frontside triple cork 1440 Indy into switch frontside triple cork 1440 Indy
Score? 95.
And here’s the kicker…he didn’t even need the triple cork to go bigger. On his second run, he cleaned it up, locked it down, and upped his score to 96.5 without it. A complete shutdown.
But that didn’t stop Ruka Hirano from nearly pulling off the impossible.
With everything on the line in his third and final run, Ruka came out swinging, throwing one of the biggest, cleanest runs of his life, building towards what could have been a history-making answer to Totsuka’s dominance. And then—just as the finish line was in sight—he slightly missed the landing on his own triple cork, washing out on impact.
The crowd groaned. The judges took a deep breath. It was so close to flipping the script, but just barely out of reach.
Totsuka swept the final in two straight runs, leaving Ruka Hirano to take silver while Ayumu Hirano claimed third place in another wild best-of-three battle against Barbieri.
Like Tomita, Totsuka cashed in $50,000, and both riders now lead the Snow League World Championship standings with 100 points each.
But the real story? The money.
A total of $370,000 was awarded at just this single event. That’s not season-long prize money—that’s one stop. One day. Snow League isn’t just bringing the competition to the next level; it’s bringing back the era when snowboarders actually got paid like the elite athletes they are.
And the investors? Loving it.
At The Snow Lodge bar, in what can only be described as the most financially significant drunken conversation of the weekend, a VC manager—half a beer away from ordering a round for the entire place…let it slip: “Our firm is impressed. We’re in for more $$ to support the growth of this thing.”
Big money, big stakes, and even bigger things to come. Impressive stuff.
So… What Just Happened?
Snow League isn’t just a contest. It’s a party, a spectacle, a controlled avalanche of hype that makes you want to come back – even if your body is screaming please don’t.
Will it change competitive snowboarding? Who knows.
Will we be back next year?
Absolutely.
