After flying high inside the walls of Livigno’s superpipe, Jake Pates, Chase Blackwell, and Alessandro Barbieri were welcomed home at Ruby Hill rail park in Denver, Colorado. Fresh off the long haul from Milano Cortina, the trio shook off the jet lag by hanging out with local riders, greeting fans, and even sneaking in a few slushy park laps themselves ahead of this weekend’s Snow League event in Aspen.
With only three days until closing day at Ruby Hill, the near-70-degree temperatures brought out crowds of local riders and fans. Pates, Blackwell, and Barbieri joined right in with the local community, talking about the Olympics, Snow League, and their roots in the sport.
Both Pates and Blackwell grew up in Colorado, and returning home both riders brought back with them valuable lessons from the 2026 Games. Blackwell touched on the pride he felt wearing the USA uniform and Pates emphasizing the importance of believing in yourself. After an early retirement in 2020 due to battles with mental health, Pates returned to the sport in a big way at the Olympic Games. Landing a finals run with a trick learned 2 weeks prior, his confidence is high going into the coming Snow League season.
Blackwell and Barbieri wasted no time getting into the action, both taking turns with local riders lapping unique terrain park features built by Denver Parks and Recreation, including a massive flat box and a quarter pipe where the halfpipe-focused athletes looked right at home.
The session amplified immediately as the Olympic riders pushed the locals and vice versa, giving the whole afternoon a street jam feel, highlights including a Blackwell front flip, progression was the name of the game for aspiring athletes.
Each athlete brought their own energy to the afternoon. An airline mishap kept Pates off his board. His bag missed the flight home. “My bag is on the next flight out so I’ll get it before the event,” Pates said with a laugh. Rather than sitting it out, Pates took out his iPhone taking videos and cheered on the young athletes working on progressing their riding at Ruby Hill. Having grown up meeting pros as a young rider himself, Pates attributes parts of his career to those moments, and on this afternoon he was returning the favor.
Seventeen-year-old Alessandro Barbieri was excited to be in the mix, sill buzzing from Milano Cortina and soaking in the Denver sunshine. Sporting his Team USA polo sweater, he took a moment to reflect on his time overseas and marvel at the park and weather. Qualifying fourth with an 88.50, Barbieri said he was super confident going into finals.
Though his finals day did not land him a spot on the podium after crashing on his final run, Alessandro’s sights are now fully set on Aspen where his goal is to win. Don’t let the easy smile fool you, Barbieri is as competitive as it gets. And he showcased that lap for lap with teammate Chase Blackwell at Ruby Hill.
The Snow League Aspen is set to start this weekend February 27 and 28. Finals day will be streamed live on Peacock where you can tune in and watch athletes battle it out in a head to head style format. All eyes now shift to Aspen, where the next chapter of the season will play out.
