On a cold night in Aspen, with a line-up of the most stylish skiers in the game, the X Games Knuckle Huck went off in front of a frenzied crowd. After a frustrating day of weather delays, the Aspen locals let their appreciation be heard as the men progressed knuckle skiing (is that a thing yet?) in front of their eyes.
Men's X Games Knuckle Huck Podium
Mark Ortiz
Event News
What the huck?!
Alex Hall equals Henrik Harlaut’s X Games medal tally with third Knuckle Huck gold in Aspen
The best thing about Knuckle Huck is gathering a group of skiers that might only ever meet at a street rail outside Montreal, and putting them in a X Games setting but with absolutely no rules—anything goes, full send, full creativity—just entertain.
Edouard Therriault set the tone with a beautiful left 540 nose drag. He popped, grabbed safety and then pressed his tips into the knuckle, and from that moment it was clear this was going to be a good watch.
Daniel Bacher kept the steeze ball rolling with a switch tail butter 540 uncrossed mute. While the rest of riders started to go ham, Dani B kept everything on brand and had the most heartbreaking moment of the session. He looked like he tried to do a super long tailbutter into a rodeo / flatspin 540, but wasn’t quite able to put it down as well as he would’ve liked on the second try. It looked very similar to Henrik Harlaut’s Griselda flip, which I would fight anyone who disagrees is the best trick ever done on skis, so it was a shame not to see Dani put this down.
Dani Bacher bringing the flavour.
Hoffman / X Games
It was Kuura Koivisto who lit the touch paper though, reminding everyone that it’s not called Knuckle HUCK for nothing, with a switch 360 to knuckle bounce (KB) switch left double cork 900. Kuura would finish in 4th putting down a mind bending trick that I can’t really name, let alone describe—he dragged, tapped and buttered almost every part of his body and skis across the knuckle and somehow came out on his feet.
A special mention needs to go out to Juho Saastamoinen, who was unlucky to miss out in such an outrageous field of riders. He stomped a nose butter double cork 1440, a front flip KB continuing double front flip and a revert switch double overflip—a true showman.
The lead kept changing, as each rider one-upped the last. No rider got bogged down trying to redo anything, each drop brought a new approach. Once the dust settled Tormod Frostad would finish on the bottom step of the podium with a trick that he has no right doing off a knuckle—switch tail butter double bio 1260 safety—a trick he has won World Cup Big Airs with in the past.
Winner in 2024, Colby Stevenson, came out swinging with a switch tail butter 720 KB switch nose butter 360. After stomping a nose butter double cork 1080, with a tail tap on the knuckle at 720, Colby was in fourth place, the same ranking he finished in last year. That was until he blew the lid off it with a nose butter double cork 1620 lead japan. Again, this trick could have been winning big airs not that long ago, so to be doing it off the knuckle seems ludicrous.
When Colby landed, there was a nervous few seconds for AHall, but as the ranking came in with Colby in second Alex was guaranteed the win.
Jesper Tjader with a switch backflip double blunt grab, or as Tom Wallisch put it, "the backpack grab".
Hoffman / X Games
Alex stole the show from start to finish. His first trick bent the laws of physics and blew minds. He takes off switch rightside about 90 degrees, but somehow ends up spinning an off axis 540 in the other direction—yeah, I know it doesn’t make sense. He then broke the world record for length of grab by pre-nosing the whole in run and then, while still holding, ripped into a perfect nose butter cork 900. His command over his skiing is unmatched, plain and simple: he has the sort of control Donald Trump can only dream of. His last counted trick was evidence of this, a nose butter 540 to true nose butter continuing 720—the binding never touched the snow—landing with his hands in his pockets.
The win takes him equal to Henrik Harlaut’s 15 X Games medals, and if anyone deserves that honour, it’s Alex Hall.
Alex hall's pre-nose noose butter cork 900—insane.
Mark Yoshida
Men's Ski Knuckle Huck X Games Aspen 2026
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