Cover Photo: South Korea’s Lee Seung-hun sends a switch double 1080 safety in qualifiers.
Story & Media by Stephan Chaikovsky
TL; DR: If you don’t care to read the article and just want to see the action, scroll to the bottom for a video recap of the top runs and a YouTube playlist of riders’ best individual runs.
Last month I attended the most exciting competition I’ve ever seen in person, the men’s halfpipe finals at the 2025 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Aspen Snowmass, an event which took place the week after X Games at Buttermilk on the same superpipe. Somehow, this event has vanished into the ether of the internet; there’s seemingly no video or press coverage of it to be found. Not even the winning halfpipe run is available on YouTube, let alone a full replay; if you missed it live, you missed it completely. Since I have been sitting on a pile of unused footage from the event, I decided to fill this void and share my experience at the event in as my debut editorial, complete with videos of noteworthy runs as I progress through the event chronologically.
This was the fourth of five FIS World Cup halfpipe events for the 24/25 season. Here, the eight halfpipe skiers from X Games competed in this but faced an additional 39 competitors they needed to outdo in the qualification heats. Having qualification heats to determine ten finalists from a field of 46 is a totally different format than the selection process for the X Games, where they hand-pick eight top athletes to compete their events. This format made for a much more meritocratic competition, based objectively on performance, where up-and-coming pros had an opportunity to test their skills against the big names.
Like many others, I’ve had my eye on two pipe skiers in particular this season. The first, Aspen’s hometown hero, Alex Ferreira (USA), is this season’s leader in FIS halfpipe points, and arguably the best pipe skier of this decade. The other athlete, Nick Goepper (USA), just received his first X Games medal in the halfpipe the prior week, beating Ferreira by less than a point for the gold. Only two years into his halfpipe career, Goepper made the rare decision to switch disciplines from slopestyle after he wrapped up his career in that realm by winning a silver in slopestyle at Beijing 2022.
The most noteworthy surprise from qualifiers was that David Wise (USA), ranked 8th in FIS halfpipe points for the season, narrowly missed the cut for finals at this event. Wise was the only top 10 ranked skier at the competition that didn’t make the cut. This year was the first time since 2011 that Wise didn’t compete at X Games; this change in routine alone could’ve thrown him off, not to mention that he was up against every X Games halfpipe athlete who’d already spent a week on that pipe.
Finals Start List | FIS Halfpipe Ranking
1. Lee Seung-hun (KOR, 2005) | #6
2. Luke Harrold (USA, 2008) | #10
3. Matthew Labaugh (USA, 2004) | #13
4. Tristan Feinberg (USA, 2003) | #20
5. Hunter Hess (USA, 1998) | #4
6. Brendan Mackay (CAN, 1997) | #2
7. Finley Melville Ives (NZL, 2006) | #11
8. Birk Irving (USA, 1999) | #8
9. Alex Ferreira (USA, 1994) | #1
10.Nick Goepper (USA, 1994) | #3
Runs 1 & 2: A Slow Start…
After qualifiers took place on a cool bluebird day, conditions had changed for finals due to a warm front. The day of finals was balmy 54˚F (12˚C) overcast day; these conditions yielded a softer more forgiving pipe than in qualifiers, at the potential sacrifice of speed and amplitude. Thankfully, the overcast skies on the day of finals saved the course from getting fried, allowing riders to maintain ample speed throughout their runs.
The last skier to drop in for Run 1, Nick Goepper (USA), came out swinging and laid down an exemplary run, living up to the reputation he’s worked incredibly hard to garner these past two seasons. Opening with a massive switch double 1080 Japan, Goepper continued his run with a right 1620, followed by a left double 1260 mute, and wrapped his run up with a right 1080 tail into a unique switch alley-oop misty 900 tail. Aside from a slightly low landing on his first hit, Goepper’s run was as proper as it could be, so he’s going to have a hard time upping his score without changing run if he someone tops his score in the remainder of the competition.
The judges praised Goepper’s run with a score of 94.00, significantly higher than the next highest score posted, an 89.50 from the 18-year-old Finley Melville Ives (NZL), who will likely compete in his first Olympics next season.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1108056/--YouTube
Nick Goepper (USA)- 94.00 (Run 1)
Going into Run 2, the scoreboard was poorly established; there were only four scores over 80, and #1 & #2 ranked Alex Ferreira and Brendan Mackay had throwaway first runs. Of those two, only Ferreira put down a clean full run on Run 2 but needed to clean it up substantially to be in podium contention, let alone to beat Goepper’s 94.
In Run 2, Birk Irving (USA) was the only skier with a run that rattled the podium; he was able clean his run up substantially, leaving little to critique on any of his tricks. Birk dropped in switch, starting with a switch double 1080 safety followed by a right double 1260 Japan, two technical tricks executed with near perfection. On the next hit, he did his biggest rotation of the run, a double left 1440, followed by huge switch 720 Japan to a double flat 720 alley-oop to conclude his run.
The crowd went nuts for Birk when he put this run down, and he was visibly satisfied with it as everyone waited for his score to come in. Birk’s second run received a proper 91.00 from the judges, putting him in 2nd going into Run 3.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1108057/--YouTubeBirk Irving (USA)- 91.00 (Run 2)
Scoreboard Standings after Run 2:
1st: 94.00: Nick Goepper (Run 1)
6th: 77.50: Matthew Labaugh (Run 2)
2nd: 91.00; Birk Irving (Run 2)
7th: 75.25: Hunter Hess (Run 1)
3rd: 89.50; Finley Melville Ives (Run 1)
8th: 59.75: Tristian Feinberg (Run 2)
4th: 87.50; Alex Ferreira (Run 2)
9th: 44.50: Lee Seung-hun (Run 2)
5th: 86.25: Luke Harrold (Run 2)
10th: 39.00; Brendan Mackay (Run 2)
Run 3: The Big Show
In the third and final run, riders put everything they had out there, amping the intensity of the competition up dramatically. Goepper and Birk were lead the pack with the only scores in the 90s, and Finley Melville Ives sat in 3rd, coming straight off his first X Games appearance the week prior, where he finished 4th.
Lee Seung-hun (KOR) dropped in to start off the round, still yet to land a decently scored run that day. He’d had an excellent season to date in FIS competitions. Few things would have been more frustrating than traveling halfway around the world for a competition and make finals, only to walk away with 3 throwaway runs. Thankfully, he managed to avoid this, landing a clean, but unremarkable, run to end his day; however, scoring a respectable 81.25 moving him up to 6th for now with the potential to finish lower.
Next up was 16-year-old Luke Harrold (NZL), who dropped in and laid down a nearly flawless third run, closing with a massive 1620, executing double flips on every hit of the run. Harrold has great taste when it comes to trick variety; personally, I was a fan of the mirrored alley-oop double 900s he opened the run with. His final two hits, a right 1260 into a left 1620 were both huge, and the landing on the 1620 was heaps better this time around than in his first two runs. Judges rewarded Harrold run aptly with a 92.25, putting him in 2nd, and bumping Birk’s 91.00 into 3rd.
Being so young, and only in his second season of World Cup competitions, Luke Harrold has a bright future ahead of him and should be joining Finley on Team NZ for Cortina 2026.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1108058/--YouTube
Luke Harrold (NZL)- Pictured: Run 2 (86.25) | Best: Run 3 (92.25)
Note: I was unable to get coverage of Harrold’s third run; this video is from Run 2, which had identical tricks to Run 3, but with poorer execution, particularly on the final landing.
Starting next was Matthew Labaugh (USA), an Aspen local, member of the U.S. Rookie Halfpipe Team, and the youngest representative of the U.S. in this final at the ripe age of 20. He put down an incredible final run, nailing trick after trick with near perfection. After opening his run with back-to-back switch spins, a switch 1260 blunt and a switch 1080 true tail, Labaugh stepped things up on his next hits with mirrored double 1260s, and concluded his run with a huge down-the-pipe double flat 720 Japan that oozed style.
Labaugh received an astounding score of 93.00, causing another podium upset knocking Birk off the podium entirely the time being. After Labaugh’s score came in, the scoreboard had Goepper in 1st, Labaugh in 2nd, and Harrold in 3rd.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1108059/--YouTube
Matthew Labaugh (USA)- Run 3 (93.00)
In the media corral at the base of the pipe, I was surrounded by Team USA slopestyle athletes; after Labaugh’s score came in, their stoke, and tension, became palpable. At this point, every remaining rider but Goepper needed to top 92.25 to even have a chance at a podium spot.
Next up, Tristan Feinberg (USA), started his final run with a unique switch 360 to drop in to the pipe, but unfortunately went down on his first hit. He was attempting his switch ‘bone-roll’ safety, a unique rotation similar a switch misty 360; unfortunately, he popped too much over the deck and washed out on his landing. Considering how much I liked his creative trick selection, it was a bummer that Tristan couldn’t put down a clean, full run in finals. This finalized his best score of the day, a 59.75 on Run 2, putting him in 9th place, with the potential to get bumped into last place should Mackay lands a decent run.
Sitting low on the scoreboard, Hunter Hess (USA) was hungry to improve his standing as he dropped in to his final run. Opening with an enormous switch double 900, going the biggest he’s gone on that trick all day, he kept up this amplitude for every remaining hit of his run and finished his run with a magnificent misty 5 with a tweaked-mute grab. Finally landing his entire run well, Hunter was visibly satisfied as he awaited his score from the judges, and knowing he would improve significantly from his current position in 8th.
Hess received a 92.50 for his final run, narrowly putting him in 3rd and spoiling Luke Harrold’s chance of making the podium.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1108060/--YouTube
Hunter Hess (USA)- Run 3 (92.50)
After 3 of the last 4 runs encroached on the podium, it was clear that Goepper had serious potential to lose his top position to any of the remaining athletes. The last skier to drop, he would have to sit with that pressure for the next four athletes’ runs; if he got bumped, he would need to go all-out on his last run instead of having the luxury of taking victory lap.
Brendan Mackay (CAN), ranked 2nd in FIS points, sat in the last place on the scoreboard when he dropped into his final run. He put down one of the biggest runs of the day in terms of amplitude, but only received a 77.25 from judges, solidifying his final position at 8th place. This was the most puzzling score of the day; although his run wasn’t perfect, I think that it should have at least scored in the 80s. Despite the score, the run is worth watching, having one of, if not the highest average amplitudes of the day.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1108061/--YouTube
Brendan Mackay (CAN)- Run 3 (77.25)
Finley Melville Ives (NZL) had been pushed down from 3rd to 6th place as he stood at the top of his last run and was ravenous to get back into a potential podium position. He was the only remaining threat who could stop a podium sweep by Team USA, and if there was a foreigner who could land on the podium, he could. Finley stepped up to the plate with an improved version of his first run, opening with a switch right 900 Japan, into a switch 1620, followed by an a right double 1080. He proceeded with back-to-back mirrored double 1620s, something nobody else was even attempting in this event. He was also the only skier in the finals to have an additional sixth hit on his run, stomping a stylish alley-oop dub flat 900. Probably the most technical run of the day, the only place where his run was lacking was his failure to lock in a grab on his left 1620; otherwise, the run was immaculate, and the crowd went wild as they waited on the judges.
When Finley’s score of 91.50 came in, he was visibly disappointed; I imagine he felt it could have been a podium run, because of its level of difficulty, but the score made sense to me considering the missed grab on the left 1620. Given the current leaderboard, Finley’s score was only enough to bring him up to 5th place; that said, I give kudos to him doing such a technical run and managing to squeeze in a great sixth hit.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1108062/--YouTube
Finley Melville Ives (NZL)- Run 3 (91.50)
Sitting in 2nd on the leaderboard after Run 2, Birk Irving (USA) had dropped to 6th by the time he dropped into his final run. Understandably, he felt it was necessary to switch his run up this time around, and completed a clean, full run with some minor variations from his last run. This time around, he swapped his third and fifth hits, doing his double flat 720 Japan first and sending a big 1440 safety on his final hit, adding in a shifty this time around.
Birk’s run was less of a change than a rearrangement of his prior run, and consequently, he did not improve his top score; to possibly improve on his score, he probably would have need to end his run with a 1620 instead of the 1440 shifty.
The Final Showdown: Goep vs Ferrari
It all came down to the final two competitors; Nick Goepper, sitting comfortably in 1st place with his 94 from Run 1, would be the last to drop, and Alex Ferreira, currently in 7th and about to drop in to his final run. Considering Ferreira’s nearly unmatched skills in the pipe, if anyone posed a threat to Goepper, it was Ferreira.
Alex Ferreira (USA) dropped in for his final run, needing to go out with an incredible run if he wanted a chance of making the podium, let alone winning. This event had as high of standards as I have ever seen in a ski halfpipe competition; any sub-91 score would not improve his current position of 7th place on the scoreboard. Obviously scoring varies across competitions, but the scores in this were by no means inflated in this event. Living up to his nickname, the ‘Ferrari’ sped down the pipe, sending every trick deep down the pipe with huge amplitude on his last run.
Ferreira opened his run with a huge switch right double 1080 Japan, followed up by a left double 1620 safety. He continued into a right 1080 tail, complimented by a switch left 1080 tail, and finishing with one of the biggest hits of the day, a massive double right 1620 tail.
Finally, we saw Ferreira at the top of his game, incorporating enormous double 1620s in both directions into his run, and nailed every trick in his run. It was obvious that this run was exemplary; as everyone waited for his score, the only real question now was where he would end up on the podium.
After much deliberation, the judges release Ferreira’s score: a stunning 95.75, moving him into 1st with a notable lead, and putting immense pressure on Goepper to have an all-time run his final run if he wanted to claw back the gold.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1108063/--YouTube
Alex Ferriera (USA)- Run 3 (95.75)
With two rival U.S. athletes fighting it gold on the last two runs of the competition, I couldn’t help but reminisce about Tanner Hall and Simon Dumont’s legendary battles for the gold at X Games Aspen in the 2000s.
When Alex Ferreira’s score came in, Goepper received a hefty dose of karma; his rival, who he barely edged out in the X Games reciprocated the favor and putting 2nd place by a notable margin. Since Goepper wasn’t going to be able to top Ferreira’s 95.75 by purely improving on the execution of the run that got him a 94, he would need to add something new to his run and land everything without even a slight hiccup.
Nick Goepper (USA) dropped into his first hit with the same switch double 1080 he was opening with, landing it cleanly and following it up with a right double 1620, getting the grab even better than on his first run. The subsequent hit, Goepper upped the ante and went for a left double 1620 tindy, but just barely couldn’t bring it around to his feet, finally bringing the event to a close. Goepper was spot-on in his calculations for how his run needed to be modified; to have any shot at winning, he needed to land back-to-back 1620s, as that was the only major thing that run lacked. Although it was sad that Goepper wasn’t able clap back at Ferreira with a completed run, the fact alone that Goepper was essentially forced into trying back-to-back 1620s on the final run of this competition is insane.
Final Results: 2025 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Aspen- Men's Ski Halfpipe
1st: 95.75; Alex Ferreira (Run 3)
2nd: 94.00; Nick Goepper (Run 1)
3rd: 93.00; Matthew Labaugh (Run 3)
4th: 92.50; Hunter Hess (Run 3)
5th: 92.25; Luke Harrold (Run 3)
6th: 91.50; Finley Melville Ives (Run 3)
7th: 91.00; Birk Irving (Run 2)
8th: 81.25; Lee Seung-hun (Run 3)
9th: 77.25; Brendan Mackay (Run 3)
10th: 59.75; Tristian Feinberg (Run 2)
Team USA swept the podium with the gold going to Alex Ferreira, the silver to Nick Goepper and the bronze to Matthew Labaugh.
Concluding the World Cup Season:
Coming out of this event in Aspen, Alex Ferreira maintained his position as the top dog in year-to-date World Cup halfpipe points, and Nick Goepper moved up to 2nd overall, pushing Brendan Mackay into 3rd.
Two weeks after this event in Aspen, the final World Cup pipe event of the season, the Calgary Snow Rodeo, took place at Calgary Olympic Park in frigid temperatures, roughly 60˚F (33˚C) colder than the finals in Aspen. There, Finley Melville Ives (NZL) finally made the first podium of his World Cup career, winning a gold medal with a 92.75. This win catapulted him up in the overall World Cup from 10th to 4th, a well-deserved victory after an amazing season for him; it was refreshing to see him get rewarded for how well and consistently he’s been skiing. Goepper and Ferreira took second and third with scores of 92.25 and 91.25, respectively, and the top three World Cup positions did not change from where they stood coming out of Aspen.
Alex Ferreira lead the World Cup standings going into the final event in Calgary, where he won the 24/25 World Cup in halfpipe skiing.
Stay tuned for my upcoming coverage of the freeskiing events at the FIS Freestyle World Championships in St. Moritz; next week, I will be on location covering the Big Air and Halfpipe events over a series of articles that you can find here on Newschoolers.
Full Recap: Top Men’s Halfpipe Runs- 2025 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Aspen
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