Japanese Halfpipe stars back on the scene for Aspen Grand Prix
Jan 06, 2026·Snowboard Park & Pipe)
The Japanese A-team is set to return to competition for the men’s Halfpipe World Cup in Aspen this week after the top riders of the halfpipe world’s powerhouse nation sat out last weekend’s Calgary Snow Rodeo. The result? No Japanese riders on a Halfpipe World Cup podium for the first time in 30 events over seven years.
The second Toyota U.S. Grand Prix – and fourth Halfpipe World Cup of the 2025/26 FIS Park & Pipe season – will begin in Aspen’s Buttermilk resort on Wednesday 7 January.
Among the men’s field of 45 is Australia’s Valentino Guseli, who currently leads the discipline standings on 160 points after winning the Calgary World Cup on 3 January. The 20-year-old’s Calgary victory follows his third place in Copper (USA) before the Christmas break. Fellow Aussie and four-time World Champion Scotty James is not competing in Aspen.
Guseli’s Calgary victory came in a competition where, for the first time in seven years, the men’s podium did not feature a Japanese rider. Prior to Calgary, the last time a Japanese snowboarder missed the podium was on 8 December 2018 in Copper when Scotty James (AUS), Toby Miller (USA) and Chase Josey (USA) were first, second and third respectively.
Like Guseli, Japan’s Yuto Totsuka also has 160 points, but Guseli’s victory puts him ahead of Totsuka, who was runner-up in Copper and in Japan’s Secret Garden (CHN) podium sweep. Beijing 2022 Halfpipe champion Ayumu Hirano led the Copper podium sweep, while last season’s Crystal Globe winner Ruka Hirano was third. Ayumu is not competing in Aspen, but Ruka returns to competition after missing the Calgary event. The 23-year-old will be hoping to bounce back from his eighth place finish in Copper, while teammate Ryusei Yamada comes to Aspen off the back of his Copper victory and fifth place at Secret Garden.
Other Japanese riders capable of a top-five finish in Aspen include Shuichiro Shigeno, who missed out on a podium in Copper with fourth place, and Konosuke Murakami, who finished seventh at Secret Garden.
Among the 15-man strong U.S. contingent vying for a spot on Team USA at Milano Cortina is Alessandro Barbieri. The 17-year-old finished just within the top 10 in Copper, while Chase Blackwell was the highest ranked American in fifth place, followed by Jake Pates in sixth and Ryan Wachendorfer in seventh. Aspen is a key qualifying event for U.S. snowboards hoping to qualify for Team USA at Milano Cortina – and combined with home pipe advantage, this week’s contest should see the U.S. squad in peak form with just two competitions left in the Olympic qualification period.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Campbell Melville Ives returns to competition in Aspen after he was 11th at the season opener in Secret Garden. The 19-year-old will be aiming to build on his five top-10 finishes from six starts in 2024/25, with fourth place at the Calgary season finale his best result from 10 Halfpipe World Cup contests.
Among the women’s field of 23 in Aspen is Canada’s Elizabeth Hosking who started the new year with a World Cup victory in Calgary. The 24-year-old is the first Canadian to top the women’s Halfpipe World Cup podium in over 23 years, with the previous Canadian women’s triumph coming when Maelle Ricker took top spot in Valle Nevado in September 2002.
Calgary runner-up Wu Shaotong (CHN) is not competing in Aspen, and neither is Switzerland’s Isabelle Loetscher who finished third behind Wu. After missing the Calgary event, Japan’s Sena Tomita, Mitsuki Ono and Rise Kudo are returning to World Cup competition in Aspen. Twenty-six-year-old Tomita is aiming to qualify for her third Games at Milano Cortina after securing bronze at Beijing 2022. Tomita began her 2025/26 season with 23rd place at Secret Garden before she was runner-up in Copper and the only Japanese woman to finish within the top five there.
Gaon Choi (KOR) leads the Halfpipe World Cup standings after two consecutive wins but the 17-year-old is not competing in Aspen, nor is two-time Olympic champion Chloe Kim (USA) and last season’s Crystal Globe winner Maddie Mastro (USA). The U.S. women’s contingent of six in Aspen is led by Madeline Schaffrick, who will be keen to improve on her fifth place finish in Copper and qualify for Milano Cortina. The 31-year-old claimed her first World Cup podium last season with third place at Secret Garden.
Women’s qualifications at Aspen’s Buttermilk resort will begin at 9:00 Mountain Standard Time (MST) on Wednesday, followed by men’s qualifications at 11:20 MST.
The finals on Friday 9 January begin at 13:00 MST.
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