{"id":2454539,"date":"2020-02-13T22:48:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T05:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/basalts-maytham-with-help-from-ferreira-chasing-own-x-games-dream\/"},"modified":"2020-02-13T22:48:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T05:48:00","slug":"basalts-maytham-with-help-from-ferreira-chasing-own-x-games-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/basalts-maytham-with-help-from-ferreira-chasing-own-x-games-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Basalt\u2019s Maytham, with help from Ferreira, chasing own X Games dream"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.5571776155718\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-320912-139\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/maythamski-atd-021420-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/maythamski-atd-021420-1-1024x683.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | Chace Maytham discusses his skiing career after halfpipe training for the Aspen Snowmass Freeskiing Open on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Chace Maytham discusses his skiing career after halfpipe training for the Aspen Snowmass Freeskiing Open on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/maythamski-atd-021420-1-1024x683.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Chace Maytham discusses his skiing career after halfpipe training for the Aspen Snowmass Freeskiing Open on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/maythamski-atd-021420-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/maythamski-atd-021420-1-1-1024x670.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times | A skier practices on the slopestyle course for the Aspen Snowmass Freeskiing Open at Buttermilk on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>A skier practices on the slopestyle course for the Aspen Snowmass Freeskiing Open at Buttermilk on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/maythamski-atd-021420-1-1-1024x670.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"A skier practices on the slopestyle course for the Aspen Snowmass Freeskiing Open at Buttermilk on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/basalts-maytham-with-help-from-ferreira-chasing-own-x-games-dream\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/basalts-maytham-with-help-from-ferreira-chasing-own-x-games-dream\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Before Alex Ferreira threw down a 1440 in the superpipe to win his second straight X Games Aspen gold medal last month, he spent hours training on the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club\u2019s trampoline. And Chace Maytham had a front-row seat to the whole thing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI watched him do that run for five months straight before X Games, just preparing,\u201d Maytham said Wednesday. \u201cI saw how focused and dedicated he was to learning that trick and putting together one of the best pipe runs ever done. It really rubbed off on me how hard you have to work to learn those huge tricks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maytham is trying to follow in Ferreira\u2019s footsteps. A 2019 graduate of Basalt High School where he starred as a football player, the 18-year-old Maytham decided to put his full attention toward halfpipe skiing this year in order to chase down his lifelong dream of competing at X Games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He\u2019s trained most of his life with AVSC, but never had the time to fully commit to skiing until after he graduated from Basalt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cBeing a multi-sport athlete, it\u2019s always been tough for him to really give skiing the focus that he wants to,\u201d said Greg Ruppel, AVSC\u2019s head park and pipe coach. \u201cThat worked out really nice for him this fall getting to hang around Alex and do a lot of trampolining, some workouts with him, and just kind of pick up Alex\u2019s mindset and his approach to competition, because I think that\u2019s probably one of the most valuable things Alex has to really teach a newer athlete like Chace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ferreira, the 25-year-old Aspen native and former AVSC athlete who won Olympic silver in 2018, lives near Aspen Highlands and often trains down the street at the AVSC clubhouse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It was there he befriended Maytham and decided to take him under his wing, which was a big boost for the former Longhorn. The two spent hours training alongside each other in the fall and both happen to be taking classes at Colorado Mountain College.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cHe\u2019s been fantastic. He always asks me how a contest went or I\u2019d send him a video of my run and he\u2019d critique it in a different way a coach can do, because it\u2019s coming from another athlete,\u201d Maytham said of Ferreira. \u201cI\u2019m young and I still have a lot to go, but I still feel like I have a lot to catch up on and that\u2019s why I wanted to take this year and really dedicate myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maytham will compete Saturday in the Aspen Snowmass Freeskiing Open, a Nor-Am Cup event that could pave the way for future starts in World Cups, if not even bigger events such as X Games. The contest is held on the X Games venue at Buttermilk Ski Area.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">This will be Maytham\u2019s fourth time competing in the freeski open, his best finish coming last year when he was 12th in the halfpipe. He has a handful of other Nor-Am Cup starts, including earlier this winter at Copper Mountain, but is still chasing that breakthrough performance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He said having so much more time to train this winter has made this year\u2019s freeski open at Buttermilk feel more promising in regards to making finals or even getting on the podium.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019ve never been on the podium here and this year I feel I actually have a good shot,\u201d Maytham said. \u201cNow that I have so much more time to ski and train and really dedicate myself, it\u2019s become my life. I wouldn\u2019t say I was so committed when I was younger, but realizing now this is it, I kind of left all my friends, in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Maytham isn\u2019t quite doing 14s like Ferreira, but did say he\u2019s close to adding a double-cork 1260 to his arsenal, a trick he plans to have competition-ready by the end of the season. Between Saturday\u2019s freeski open in Aspen and another Nor-Am competition in Canada next week, this is an important time frame for Maytham to keep his skiing dreams alive for next season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">If it all falls into place, Maytham has hopes of getting his first World Cup start next fall in New Zealand. Of course, like any local skier, the ultimate dream would be making it to X Games, a feat Maytham sees as possible over the coming years. He\u2019s come so far in only a few months this season that he\u2019s optimistic that trend will continue into the winters ahead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cRight when I graduated I knew I wanted to pursue skiing and pursue it more professionally than what I\u2019d done,\u201d Maytham said. \u201cBefore I can even remember, my dream was I wanted to be in X Games. I had the opportunity to go to a university and do that, but I was really, \u2018This is my shot, my one shot.\u2019 I would rather put my full effort into skiing, because growing up I never really had a full ski schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The men\u2019s ski superpipe qualifier for the Aspen Snowmass Freeskiing Open is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, with finals slated to follow directly after.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Spectating is free.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/basalts-maytham-with-help-from-ferreira-chasing-own-x-games-dream\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chace Maytham discusses his skiing career after halfpipe training for the Aspen Snowmass Freeskiing Open on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times A skier practices on the slopestyle course for the Aspen Snowmass Freeskiing Open at Buttermilk on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times Show [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2454539","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-06 05:09:31","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2454539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454539\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2454539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2454539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2454539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}