The first chapter of The Snow League is a wrap! Bookended on one side by the inaugural Sports Illustrated x The Snow League Experience Presented by Casamigos, and on the other by championship runs from Sena Tomita and Yuto Totsuka, the weekend proved that founder Shaun White's vision for a world-spanning series of snowboarding showdowns has more than enough talent to go the distance.
But before the half-pipe heroics took center stage, Sports Illustrated, The Snow League, The Snow Lodge and Casamigos set the tone, demonstrating that the brand-new sports showcase could party as hard as the big guys. Held on March 6 at The Supper Club at The Snow Lodge, the crown jewel venue of the St. Regis Aspen Resort, the Sports Illustrated x The Snow League Experience distilled the freewheeling, boundary-busting spirit of snowboard culture through a filter of VIP hospitality and classic Aspen apres-ski refinement. Guests enjoyed exclusive Casamigos cocktails such as the Casa Ginger mint paloma and the Casamigas spicy ranch water, as well as shots served up via the premium brand's own custom-made ice luge.
With White as the evening's host and The Snow Lodge's winter-chic cachet, the Sports Illustrated x The Snow League Experience was bound to draw a capacity crowd, and did not disappoint. Boasting the sports/entertainment crossover who's who that SI events have made their trademark, the guest list was studded with star performers drawn from across the spectrum, including Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev, singer and fashion icon J Balvin, Emmy-winning actress and choreographer Julianne Hough, and Hollywood “it couple” Miles Teller and Keleigh Sperry. The event reached its peak with a scorching set from DJ Cloonee, who spun his signature tech house beats well into the night.
It was a fitting prelude to the show-stopping snowboard action that followed that weekend, which saw Japanese boarders taking top honors on both the men's and women's sides. The men's podium was an all-Japan affair, with Ruka Hirano and Ayumu Hirano taking second and third behind countryman Totsuka's performance. American athlete Maddie Mastro and South Korea's Gaon Choi rounded out the women's podium behind Sena Tomita's first-place performance.
The next chapter of The Snow League's story will be written later this year, Dec. 4-6 at Secret Garden in China, bringing the venue its most anticipated event since the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Written in the Snow.
